65,700,000. That's how many results you get when you Google "common app essay ideas." Just kidding—it's a measly 1,120,000—but that is how many results the name "Jessica Li" yields. 65,700,000 links and sources culled from various corners of the Internet, each Jessica with her own notch somewhere on the Web. Jessica Li, professor of UCLA Statistics, cardiologist in Orange County, staff writer at the Daily Princetonian, actress on IMDB, events coordinator for weddings—each one lost in the shuffle of a...

“Boo!” All of Al Filreis’s students, including poser students like Rebecca and me, jumped a little from our seats. We sat in the warmth of the Kelly Writers House on a chilly fall afternoon, our eyes glued on his professorly, yet avuncular, figure. We waited to see what he would say next. “What does that mean? What does ‘boo!’ mean?” He looked back at us, equally as expectant. “Why does the therapist say that to Art?” After reading Maus...

The best part about living in northern New Jersey is that New York City is less than an hour away by car. When I first got my driving permit, I drove to the city with my dad in the passenger seat and my mom terrified in the back, her hands clenched in white fists. I have always felt a connection to New York City. In 1999, my father began working as a doctor for a hospital in the city, his broken...

I tried to be very specific in the "Why Us" essay, using personal and vivid details.

Start early!! Definitely start writing those essays (common...

I was deferred from ED to Penn in December, but I continued to send them materials to express my interest. First, I wrote a letter of continued interest to...

I really tried to emphasize my creative writing interest, and how that...