Explain selected major at UVA: The Omnivore's Dilemma, a beautifully written work of scientific journalism by Michael Pollan, destroyed my blissful ignorance at the dining table. Before reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, I was an omnivore without many dilemmas: I happily consumed what my taste buds desired, including succulent steaks and fragrant fried chicken. Pollan informed me, however, in his easily digestible language, that my beef used to stand in piles of its own excrement. My pork chewed off the tails...

USC Annenberg: I feel most alive in the focused, energetic atmosphere of a press room. When I report, edit, and lay out, my passions for writing, aesthetic design, and human connection are fully engaged and serving the enlightenment of others. Having edited my school newspaper for several years, I've experienced the pitfalls: deadline crunches, word count inadequacies, insufficient sources, dropped citations, the cold fear at the thought of genuinely being unable to make a deadline, the biting reactions to a...

USC: My Saturday afternoons are frequently spent dashing from play rehearsal to Science Olympiad practice, my Sundays consumed by chamber music rehearsal and coding. My interests defy left- and right-brain dichotomy. Though specialization seems inevitable, I want to continue integrating science and humanities - not merely practicing them side-by-side, but weaving them together to augment each other. Scientific journalism, specifically pertaining to the green energy and food industries, particularly appeals to me in this aspect. At USC, I would be...

Stanford Roommate Essay: Dearest Roommate, We will actually be a three-person dorm room: you, me, and Chris. Chris is imposing in stature, thick-legged and hard-headed, stout in body and soul. Chris is my music stand. I arbitrarily named him because I was told by a professional to "befriend" my instrument - and I thought, heck, why not name my music stand, too. (My flute, Murray, will also live with us, but he's too small to be a person - more...

What matters to you and why? Of my first mandatory theater class, I remember only the command to "Find the light!", to which I responded by stepping into the incandescence as if it were radioactive. The rest of the period - my withdrawn eighth-grade self agonizingly writhing through a mime routine onstage - has vanished in the manner of many not-so-fond memories. That indelible phrase, however, has since evolved from theater instruction to life mantra. Where has this mantra led...

All the schools I ended up choosing between in the end had similar reputations, resources, and opportunities all of the academic programs/extracurriculars I was looking for. The decision boiled down to location and atmosphere. Boston's accessibility from...

Don't be afraid to talk and sell yourself! I know sometimes I have a hard time doing it, but if there's ever a situation in which you shouldn't be too humble or restrained, this is it. The interviewers are there to listen to you paint yourself in the most flattering light, really. This doesn't mean...

Never be afraid to call or email, even multiple! This goes for anyone involved your process: admissions officers/offices, professors whose classes you want to sit in on, coaches, teacher recommenders, outside recommenders, anyone who...

I'm not a knockout star in any single extracurricular. I hadn't won any major international competitions, patented anything, state-medaled in a sport, etc. But my lifelong passion for writing manifested in my essays, which I spent a huge amount of time on, and served as the centerpiece for a huge array of passions, ranging from science to every kinds of art and performance to cultural organizations and sports, all of which I did to a degree worth noting, if not stand-out in...