Sweating, shaking, and bouncing nervously, I reach the starting line and turn to face the incoming stampede. Extending a nervous hand behind me, I reach towards the Columbia blue jersey rapidly approaching, but my eye sticks on the shiny tube of metal in her hand—the key to two minutes and thirty seconds of pain and bliss. The runner lands at my side, the baton lies just inches from my hand, and my heart is beating out of my chest. ...

[Georgetown University] “Thankfully, dreams can change. If we'd all stuck with our first dream, the world would be overrun with cowboys and princesses.”- Stephen Colbert Colbert’s “cowboy” was a marine biologist, but he ditched his cowboy hat and studied drama. My “princess” is a journalist, but my physics teacher showed me that nothing goes better with a ballgown than a lab coat. Begrudgingly, I enrolled in a physics course my junior year. The teacher, Mr. Chen, forced every...

[Northwestern University] “Thankfully, dreams can change. If we'd all stuck with our first dream, the world would be overrun with cowboys and princesses.”- Stephen Colbert, Northwestern ‘86. Colbert’s “cowboy” was a marine biologist, but he ditched his cowboy hat and studied drama at Northwestern. My “princess” is a journalist, but my physics teacher showed me that nothing goes better with a ballgown than a lab coat. Begrudgingly, I enrolled in a physics course my junior year. The teacher, Mr....

[Duke University] While I entered high school believing I would one day exit as an up-and-coming journalist, I now leave as a confused, writing-obsessed math nerd. My eclectic interests demand maximum malleability, and on my quest for the most flexible school, Duke (to no one’s surprise) came out on top. Trinity’s Program II could be my only shot at combining my loves for both mathematics and writing. Even a double major couldn’t effectively mix my unique pair...

[Lehigh] I knew I wanted to be a journalist before middle school. As a curious child, journalism gave me an excuse--even the duty--to ask “why.” But during my junior year, I realized that it didn’t quench my thirst for understanding. My physics teacher, Mr. Chen, led me to an epiphany--physics is key to explanation. I panicked. Everyone, including myself, thought I wasn’t a “math person.” But I didn’t back down. Mr. Chen and I spent many lunches...

[Brown University] One of my biggest fears about going off to college is that I’ll be deprived of my favorite foods. My tour guide on my first visit to Brown worked at the Ivy Room, an eatery on campus. One of their specialties happens to be falafel, one of my favorite foods, making Brown the first school that I know of to sell it on campus. So, I decided that Brown deserves a closer look. I hope to continue...

[University of Pennsylvania] The center of the University of Pennsylvania is located 1.9 miles from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. After returning from a class trip to the Institute in fifth grade, I was already begging my parents to take me back. I took off my visitor badge, stuck it on a neon piece of paper, and posted it on my bulletin board. I wrote “Franklin Institute 2008” and attached a photo of myself standing next to the huge beating heart in...

[Georgetown] In the space available discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. Eight times a year, I drop everything to make a newspaper. I roll out of bed on Sunday morning, throw on a sweater and jeans, grab my backpack, and drive to school. I stop at the bagel store and buy four dozen bagels. I stumble into the newsroom at 9:45, arms full, throw down my things at my...

Lying on the ground has comprised a large part of my sports career. It all started in the fourth grade, when I decided to join a soccer team. After avoiding the ball for the entire game, a teammate passed the ball to me in a pinch. I dribbled towards the goal, and next thing I knew I was face to face with a girl twice my size, who proceeded to take the ball from me, knock me down, and run...

[Wake Forest] List five books you have read (with authors) that piqued your interest. Discuss an idea from one of these works that influenced you. (100-300 words) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand Miss Tizzy by Libba Moore Gray Night by Elie Wiesel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee So B. It by Sarah Weeks On the inside of my favorite notebook, pasted in with an Elmer’s glue stick, there is a small watercolor picture of a smiling woman with...

I have many more essays that I wrote, as I applied to 14 colleges. Please let me know if you would like additional materials. I applied to Georgetown University, Washington University in St. Louis, Duke University, Vanderbilt University (which I am attending), University of Maryland, Harvard University, Princeton University, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth University, Wake Forest University, Lehigh University, College of William & Mary, and Northwestern University.

If I could change anything about my college application process, I would visit the schools earlier and...

I did not use a college admissions counselor. Many of my friends did, but I do not think...