My single-parent family unit matters most to me. The credit for that goes to my Mom. I was six years old when my Dad left. He was the world to me, so when I realized that he wouldn't be living with us anymore, I was crushed. It seemed so unfair--I envied my friends whose Dads cared about their homework, or took them to LEGOLAND while my Dad was halfway across the world in China. His visa and job problems made...

It was the day of prom. I was dressed in a long red gown--but instead of going to the Ball Room, I found my heels walking across the XXX Symphony Hall stage, where a large audience waited to hear me play the Saint-Saens piano concerto with the XXX Symphony. Having just taken my AP exams three days ago and in the midst of preparing for the last final exams of my junior year, I was still nervous backstage, knowing that...

Just be you. Don't be fake. It can be about something small, or a short moment...if it's very important to you, write about it. That's the key to making your essay sound real.

Being a pianist/artist, I found older peers already into college who had similar profiles.....