"He is gone, isn't he?" I turned to see my mother's red face, eyes welled with tears that I have not seen since my family immigrated to the United States. I remember the sorrow and vulnerability consuming my mother's face, but I only heard my heart pounding against my chest. For the first time as a child, I remember hoping my suspicions and theories about my father's long-term absence were wrong; How could he abandon his young family? Why would...

As I conclude my research during my work-study in Mason Laboratory, I hear that an A Capella will be performing; could it be Out of the Blue or Duke's Men, or maybe even Baker's Dozen? I will have to stop by and listen, after I finish studying in Sterling Memorial Library for a humanities test. Although I have not visited Yale, the atmosphere and culture of the school manifest themselves into my goals. Yale is the only university that I...

My identity as a Syrian-American immigrant would enable me to enrich the lives of my suitemates; We could Skype with my friends in Syria, eat my prepared Chicken or Vegan Shawerma, and read Surah Al-Baqarah from the Qur'an.

Throughout my primary schooling, I remember my illiteracy in English forced my teacher to read books aloud to me. The disappointment I felt in myself propelled me to learn how to read; Being absorbed in sadness would not have addressed my illiteracy.

Is variety the spice of life? Does the idiom represent a macrocosm of the mechanics of existence? I believe that diversity, or variety, has dictated the patterns of life for eons. During the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, ¾ of the planet’s animal and plant population became extinct. However, Darwinist diversity prevented natural selection from claiming ¼ of the original population. However, diversity does not, and should not, restrict itself to species. Diversity in the political landscape has granted the United States...

Although I have stressed my hardships throughout my application, I do not restrict myself to my past. I do not seek anyone's pity, as I love my childhood. I have met scores of people who wallow in their past, restricting themselves from any future action. I carried this mindset, blinding myself from so many opportunities that would have bettered my position. Once I began taking advantage of a plethora of opportunities, I began to develop a narrow perspective pertaining to...

The research into specific programs with...

Increased scrutiny into whether or not a compulsory student contribution should be required at Yale in the face of the rising acceptance of first-gen, low-income students. The compulsory requirement...

When seeking recommenders, it is important to find someone that knows you outside of the class at a *hopefully* personal level. If they do not know you at such a personal level, ask them to conduct an interview to learn...

To me, Yale is the quintessence of diversity, advanced academics, and unlimited connections. You can argue that these traits are found in other...

Immigration to the United States: a phrase associated with a variety of political, emotional, and socioeconomic perspective. To me, immigration to the United States was not a mere phrase; it was a lifestyle that stripped me of my father, home, and future, and yet, it developed my perspective on challenges along with my academic aspirations and life goals. My family and I immigrated from Syria to the United States when I was 7, yet my father immigrated a year before us, in order to find a home. Living in Syria, my family was poor, and my parents firmly held the belief...