I started applying for jobs on my sixteenth birthday and within a month, I found myself at Dairy Queen. I spent the next fourteen months perfecting the art of creating soft serve ice cream cones and maximizing drive-thru efficiency. My boss was a tyrannical woman in her fifties named Roberta who had been working at Dairy Queen since she was a teenager. Rob’s style included sparkling green eyeliner, flashy purple eyeshadow, and pants pulled up past her waist. Her...

Since 1892 only four Democratic presidential candidates have received Electoral College votes from North Dakota. Conservative views are a substantial part of this culture and are usually passed through generations without hesitation or question. I am actively seeking a diverse, challenging environment. A place where I will be surrounded by peers who want to challenge themselves and challenge me, and my views of the world. And as I read Wellesley College’s “Five Elusive Things” I envision just such a community. ...

I have been raised by two parents who stress the importance of self-reliance and independence. I do not fear a challenge and in fact have sought them out. I strive to educate and improve myself and learn about the world. I first received a Barnard postcard my sophomore year of high school. It was just one of so many, but my mom advised me to pay closer attention when I started to look at colleges more seriously. A year later,...

Pick one woman in history or fiction to converse with for an hour and explain your choice. What would you talk about? I would converse with Hillary Clinton. She has survived and thrived in a male-dominated profession. I would be fascinated to hear about her struggles and how she found the strength to endure everything she has faced, both professionally and personally. In speaking with her regarding her role as the Secretary of State, I would desire to hear her...

Alumna and writer Anna Quindlen says that she “majored in unafraid” at Barnard. Tell us about a time when you majored in unafraid. I enrolled in AP physics against the advice of my peers. They told me it was the hardest class offered at my high school and it would ruin my “perfect 4.0”. I was determined to prove to myself that I could do it. The first day of class my teacher came into the room and wrote on the...

Community - educational, geographic, religious, political, ethnic, or other - can define an individual's experience and influence her journey. How has your community, as you identify it, shaped your perspective? Since 1892 only four Democratic presidential candidates have received Electoral College votes from North Dakota. Conservative views are a substantial part of this culture and are usually passed through generations without hesitation or question. I became aware of this overwhelming majority in my seventh grade Global Studies class. My popular, charismatic...

Biography Essay for Questbridge Application I like to believe I had the perfect childhood. My kindergarten self was convinced that the only way my life could get better was to grow up and have real babies to play with. As I remember it my parents could fix any problem and my grandma would always be there if I wanted to make treats. I knew I was never far from someone who wanted to play and could never imagine my life...

For fourteen years I have lived in Bismarck, North Dakota. Large for the area, yet amazingly small compared to the great cities of the world. We are surrounded by prairie which gives many of us an escape if we ever need to see the stars or listen to the wind blowing in the grass. Our isolation from other largely populated towns has created a sense of identity unique to the community. I am extremely proud to have grown up in...

Junior Year was supposed to be perfect. I had friends, a job, and a challenging yet interesting class schedule. I finished my first semester with all As and was tired from my activities, yet proud of my success. I was expecting the second semester to be the same when my mom lost her job in the beginning of February. Bills were paid with my mom’s retirement savings and my work hours were increased to pay for most of the...