My father left my family when I was 5 years old so my mom was left to raise my sister and me on her own. My mother went on to marry my stepdad who treated her horribly and was a negative figure in my life. I did not go into extremely personal details but I talked more about how these changes affected the person I am today and how you my character has developed. I did this by effectively "taking the...

I did not use a private counselor. My high school counselor was great. I will say though that you should not expect...

I only had one interview which was with Columbia University. Yes, this was probably one of the most nerve wracking events of my life...

Keep yourself busy in the summer. There are some great programs out there that can really enhance your application but more importantly shape your...