These are just little excerpts from the essays I wrote for admission into CMC. I was born and raised in the city of Lynwood, California—a city where committing crimes was more respectable than reading a textbook, where violence and poor living conditions were standard. My parents were both immigrants from Mexico who came to the United States and began working in the fields of Fresno, California picking fruit. They each came from big families who struggled to make ends...

I would say 5 words that describe people at Claremont McKenna College are: Driven, Talented,Engaging, Wealthy and Fun. These students are driven in that everyone is constantly seeking internships and looking st jobs. It creates an atmosphere where getting an internship is the norm, which is obviously something great for success in the future! CMC students are also very talented in that everyone has a talent that they are great at, which leads to a very diverse pool of people...

My favorite course would have to be the course I am currently enrolled in, Microbiology with Lab. Microbiology is the study of bacteria and viruses, which makes for a very interesting lab course. Every week we have four hour labs in addition to lecture, in which we are currently growing our own bacteria from our skin and performing various microbiology techniques such...

One thing I was not fully aware of was the array of students on the political spectrum at CMC and how different that would be compared to other schools in California. I had heard that CMC was considered to be...

Score high on the SAT/ACT test. For me, the ACT test was easier because it had the...

The fact that I had done research in laboratories during high school...