“I'll never get into the ivy league now. At this rate, I probably won't even get into Vassar.”-Lisa Simpson. When I was in elementary school, I remember watching TV at night with my family when The Simpsons came on. It was there that I first heard of a school named Vassar, and at the time, I remember thinking “Wow, this must not be a very good school if an eight-year-old character is badmouthing it.” Since then, I've clearly changed...

Elaborate on an extracurricular activity. I often wonder how soccer coaches can manage to yell as much as they do. It is as though every game is the World Cup Final, and every call is a controversy that requires the input of each coach. As a soccer referee, I had to learn quickly that there are rarely games in which everyone is satisfied with the quality of refereeing. The losing team is generally unhappy, and sometimes the winning team is...

Unique, intelligent,...