Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. “Do you need help with that?” Her eyelids squinted in expectation, allowing the scleras to glow with the fluorescent light. These were no longer eyes; they were horribly expectant answer boxes, waiting for my ballot to be cast. The question was simple - so simple -...

Describe the world you come from—for example, your family, community or school—and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations (444 words): I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of individualism. I love it. I love how, even in the darkest eras of humankind, we’ve managed to keep this idea alive. Markus Zusak in “The Book Thief” speaks of Nazis and Jews as individuals; Ji-Li Jiang in “Red Scarf Girl” shatters the image of...

Emory University welcomes first-year students with two distinct options to begin their liberal arts education: the research-infused Emory College or the smaller, experiential learning Oxford College. If you could create an academic course that is in the Emory University spirit of collaboration, creativity, entrepreneurship and inquiry, what would it be? What impact would the course have on you and your classmates’ educational experience?: The professor walks into the classroom in waves, each step mimicking the ebb-flow fervor of her thoughts....

The Admissions Committee would like to learn why you are a good fit for your undergraduate school choice (College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, The Wharton School, or Penn Engineering). Please tell us about specific academic, service, and/or research opportunities at the University of Pennsylvania that resonate with your background, interests, and goals. (400-650 words): “Pavilionista.” I’d made the name up three seconds ago - the name of a poem, naked without caesuras, syllables, Leitwortstil-laced lines....

Choose a book or books that affected you deeply and explain why. (150 word limit): I’m a writer. Every book that has ever affected me has taught me something about writing: Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit gave me the courage to write on controversial themes; Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief taught me how to develop a character so thoroughly that their pain becomes my reader’s. But I learned more from ten pages of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt...

After I committed to an Ivy League school, many of my underclassman friends asked what extracurricular activities they should pursue to seem like attractive applicants. I told them the same tenant I had lived by since sixth grade: Do nothing for your résumé. Do everything for yourself. If you are truly passionate -- if you are truly a leader, an innovator, someone who is pursuing a field out of real love and ambition -- it will show on the...

The interview does not count as...

Choose recommenders in your junior year. From day 1 of junior year classes, keep an ear out for teachers' comments and...

Apply to everything that applies to you. You will...

The University of Pennsylvania is very pre-professional. It's not strange to (as I do)...

It wasn't just the prestige. I took in a number of factors: A. I am not entirely sure what I want to be. I love three things: creative writing, business, and neuroscience. Penn is highly ranked for neuroscience and #1 for business, and its Kelly Writers House emailed my English teacher a year ago trying to recruit me. Their creative writing program is...

I...

Pre-professional Driven...

I never knew about the "work hard, play hard" environment. Or rather, I'd heard of it, but only in the same way that I'd heard "Berkeley has hippies" or "UIllinois is where fun goes to die." It was just a silly colloquialism that was left unverified, and probably not true of the general population...that is, until I visited. The alumni network at UPenn is exceptional. And since it's such a selective school, only about 30 people from Washington state get in per year. Thus the Washington network is...

I'd have applied for Creative Writing instead of Neuroscience. It's in the same School of...

Stress your reasons for transferring, as well as your progress made in your school before your transfer. Transfer Application Checklist Ensure you have the prerequisites for the undergraduate school to which you are applying Common...

Found something. Start something. Innovate. Colleges love when you show vision and take steps to create change or make an impact,...