ssommers
ssommers,
Yale
B.A., English
I'm interested in creative writing, politics, art, and history! :)
Features Included
23
Essays
16
Schools
12
Scores
3
Advice
11
ECs
0
Sports

Background

Hometown Brooklyn, New York
GenderFemale
EthnicityWhite Non-Hispanic
Class of2022
First Gen College StudentNo

Results, Essays, and Advice

Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
  • Yale University (New Haven, CT)
  • Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
  • University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Brown University (Providence, RI)
  • Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
  • Georgetown University (Washington, DC)
  • Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
  • University of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
  • Tufts University (Medford, MA)
  • Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
  • Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
  • Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
  • McGill University (Montreal, Canada)
  • Binghamton University - SUNY (Binghamton, NY)
  • Adelphi University  (Garden City, NY)
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.

Yale University (New Haven, CT)

Applied for a B.A. in English

Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: No

School Specific Essays

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
A bit of sunlight streams through a partially covered window, revealing just how empty the bookshelves have become. The mahogany seems smaller, faker than when I was younger. What was once a large collection of children’s books has dwindled to no more than a dozen. I close my eyes and picture my childhood self in this library: bright eyes, knee socks, arms shaking under the weight of one book too many. But that girl is gone, and as the...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
101 Words
Why do these areas appeal to you? (up to approximately 100 words).

Words matter in the artistic sense, in the civic sense, and in the intimate conversations shared with those closest to us. Yet language's evolution is inherently political: throughout history, it has been used as a tool of power, enfranchising and disenfranchising millions. In Peru, for instance, most reporting is done in Spanish, not native Quechua. Though the media's rejection of this aboriginal language is subtle, it is nevertheless an attempt to erase the indigenous people's identities. Language carries both the...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
129 Words
What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or less)

At Yale, the phenomenal Rosenkranz Writers-in-Residence poetry workshops would inspire my creative growth—and with Louise Glück on campus, I would carry a copy of "The Empty Glass" with me at all times, just in case. The Yale Daily News and Yale Historical Review embody Yale’s incredible literary tradition, and I crave the opportunity to join two publications that have nurtured my love for writing, literature, and history. I intend to debate Machiavelli and dissect Aristotle through the...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
33 Words
What inspires you?

I am inspired by the subway's New York sense of possibility; the cacophony of tourists speaking their native languages; and the enormous diversity of those around me, each with their own unique story.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
31 Words
Yale’s residential colleges regularly host intimate conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask?

I'd ask Virginia Woolf if she believes that modern women now need more than "money and a room of her own" in order to create art freely in today's society.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
12 Words
You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called?
The Personal is Political: Analyzing Second-Wave Feminist Influences on Contemporary Literary Activism
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
33 Words
Most first year Yale students live in suites of four to six students. What would you contribute to the dynamic of your suite?

I have the best 2000's Pop playlist, which somehow brightens the most stressful days. I'd make my suitemates smile with my silly music taste, political comedy marathons, and my own constant laughter.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
252 Words
What do you most enjoy learning?
“Esta bala es antigua,” my AP Spanish teacher said, then paused. In a momentary lapse from routine, he continued, “This bullet is old.” For the rest of the class, he broke tradition, speaking only in English to define the poetics of Borges' "In Memoriam J. F. K." His arms waving, he explained that time was not something that marched on, holding history's hand. Violence is inseparable from the human condition. There is no new bullet in the world. While my...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
255 Words
Write about something you would like us to know about you that you have not conveyed elsewhere in your application
My art is mediocre at best. It always has been. As a child, I frequented city museums, daring to imagine myself as the most talented artist who ever lived. But on paper, my own wrists fell limp and useless; passion crumbled at my fingertips. Years later, even though I’ve spent countless weekends crafting in the Guggenheim's basement, I still have the same artless touch. It is here that I am finding the box for an abandoned crayon when a...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Strong beliefs/principles
51 Words
What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?
Political apathy makes democracies unrepresentative of its people; when citizens refuse to vote, society can radically transform in ways entirely undesired by the majority. Today, on the precipice of great social change, it is disheartening how many people remain detached, and how gravely we underestimate the power of civic activism.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
51 Words
How did you spend your last two summers?
I learned how to digitize antique typewriters, got mosquito bites writing poetry outdoors with seven-year-olds, and Skyped with other young artists from all over the world. I wrote stories under summer foliage at Skidmore College, then coached debate and explored Washington Heights as a campaign intern after I returned home.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
49 Words
What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?
I would witness the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, where incredibly progressive American voices passed the Declaration of Sentiments, an anti-traditional call for total social and political gender equality. As a modern feminist, the evolution of the movement fascinates me. I would love to go back to the very beginning.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
6 Words
What five words best describe you?
Writing nerd laughs too much
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
50 Words
When the choice is yours, what do you read, listen to, or watch?
I am obsessed with political comedy, from Saturday Night Live's cold opens to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The modern political landscape can be overwhelming, but watching these shows makes it feel less catastrophic — if humor can help us find common ground, maybe not all hope is lost.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
51 Words
Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford.
Going to a science high school, I crave a collegiate atmosphere that invites genuine discussion of the arts and humanities, in and out of the classroom. Stanford's Structured Liberal Education enthralls me, and I cannot wait to explore iconic cultural works with peers who are deeply engaged in these conversations.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
51 Words
Imagine you had an extra hour in the day — how would you spend that time? (50 word limit).

My favorite teacher, who nurtured my passion for history and made me laugh constantly, retired in June. As a parting gift, she gave me a list of her thirty favorite classic comedies. With more time, I could finally become culturally literate in film, starting with a title from her collection.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
253 Words
Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (250 word limit)

“Esta bala es antigua,” my AP Spanish teacher said, then paused for a moment. In a momentary lapse from routine, he continued, “This bullet is old.” For the rest of the class, he broke tradition, speaking only in English to explain the poetics of Borges' "In Memoriam J. F. K." With his arms waving, he explained that time was not something that marched on, holding history's hand. Violence is inseparable from the human condition. There is no new bullet in...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
254 Words
Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate -- and us -- know you better. (250 word limit)

Dear roommate, There is a constant pile of crumpled papers on my nightstand. Sure, some of them might be discarded poetry — I'm a sucker for a good cliché — but most are unexceptional doodles, terrible sketches, and uneven drawings. My art is mediocre at best. It always has been, and even after months spent working at the Guggenheim, it always will be. When I was younger, I frequented city museums, daring to imagine myself as the most talented artist who had...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
257 Words
Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (250 word limit)

“The old man the boat.” The sentence leaves you disoriented and flustered, staring at the text before you. You furrow your eyebrows and examine the words once more, trying desperately to see all that you first missed. Garden-path sentences like these are grammatically correct, but are formatted to reverse your initial interpretation. These puzzles combine linguistics and psychology to question the true purpose of language, then nihilistically assert that all meaning is circumstantial. They carve ice sculptures in your mind...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Issue of personal significance
563 Words
Tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world.
My art is mediocre at best. It always has been, and even after working at the Guggenheim for over a year, it always will be. As a child, I went to museums on school trips, trying to imagine who the artist was when a piece was made. I pictured them in an apartment cluttered with portraits, creating masterpieces with ease. I envisioned a hand floating in space, then curving against a blank canvas. In my head, I was the most...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
205 Words
Why Brown, and why the Brown Curriculum?
In the picture, she was wearing a gray sweater and holding yellow balloons. The Brown Instagram featured her research on the politics of joy, exploring both political science and happiness. Her obvious excitement about her work fascinated me, but as someone known for my constant smile, it was also intimately familiar. What is learning if it is devoid of joy, stripped of the elation from discovering something new? Brown understands that academia in a vacuum is meaningless, but that the...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Issue of personal significance
105 Words
We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (100 word limit)

In my family, we don't speak Yiddish in full sentences. My aunt tells me to “grab a tchatchke,” holding out a brown bag with small accessories. We use Yiddish's guttural, instinctive phrases, expressing things English cannot quite convey—“oy gevalt.” As reform Jews, our relationship to the religious community is tenuous. Yet, growing up in a polarized neighborhood hostile to cultural outsiders, where I never wore my Star of David necklace openly or used Yiddish vernacular in public, I hold...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
672 Words
Why Penn?
Sitting on a leather couch in late February, I stared at the brightly colored Post-Its lining the walls. One read “east coast, mountain west, in between;” another repeated “memes” five times. Unlike other school visits, my experience in the Kelly Writers House was distinctly, immediately personal. As I looked around, a fellow NYC Poetry Ambassador from my freshman year ate a bagel from the kitchen counter, while a poetry reader for one of the literary journals I write for walked...
Read more...

School Specific Advice

More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

General Admissions Advice

My advice about getting recommenders
65 Words
Having genuine relationships with your teachers (not for recommendation purposes!) will not only make you a stronger applicant, but will...
Read more...
What set me apart from other applicants
70 Words
I had very unique experiences and extracurriculars within my main passion of writing. While my friends were getting involved in an...
Read more...
How I narrowed down my essay topics
175 Words
When I first started brainstorming ideas for college essays, I very much stayed away from writing about my love for writing. I thought it would be redundant, and so I searched for different, edgier topics. They fell flat. Writing was such an integral part of who I was, and the way I fell...
Read more...

High School Performance

Unweighted GPA
4.00
 
Rank
Top 1%
 
Academic Performance in High School Steady

Test Scores

Highest ACT
35
 
ACT Score Details
 
Other ACT Scores
ACT Prep
PSAT Scores

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details10 classes and scores

Sports

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesDebate Club/Team, Art, Academic, Political Campaign, Other Club/Activity, National Honor Society, Research, School Newspaper/Magazine/Journalism, Social Justice, Tutoring/Mentoring, Yearbook
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work

Experience & Awards

Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received

Similar Profiles

mfa1499
Yale


Accepted to Yale, Brown, Georgetown, Tulane, Florida, FSU

I am a first year student at Yale University who is interested in studying environmental studies while on the pre-med track
origdjroy
Yale


Accepted to Yale, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, UConn, RPI

Focused and driven, loves to help others
isabelle923
Yale


Accepted to Yale, Rochester, RPI, Washington, Kansas, Wichita

Yale First Year from the Midwest, Deferred EA Accepted RD
adrianne.o
Yale


Accepted to Yale, Brown, Columbia, UPenn, BC, Wellesley, UVA

I am an incoming student at Yale from Arkansas who is passionate about music, theater, history, and women's rights!
MechieYalie
Yale


Accepted to Yale, ETSU, Tennessee

I'm creative and outdoorsy and can't resist taking things apart to find out how they work - and sometimes I even manage to put them back together again.