“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I stared at her blankly. “Put the xibao in the lixinfenliji. Then pour out the shangqing.” “…okay…” She handed me a tube of liquid and left. She was Mengmeng, a research associate in the neurobiology lab where I was interning for the summer. Like many other lab members, she recently came from China and spoke little English. Despite my ten years of Chinese School classes, her scientific jargon was simply too much—I...

Engineering is all about finding creative solutions to challenging problems, such as reversing global climate change, understanding how the brain works, reinventing the Internet, and developing mechanical devices that improve quality of life. What is the most challenging question, project, or research problem you have tackled in recent years? What did you learn from this experience? They’re dead. I pick up the tube, staring at the unmoving black dots littering the bottom. Desperately, I bang the vial against the...

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do for the pleasure of it. (*)(100 words or fewer) THWOMP! I watch the ball sail over the net, feeling my worries melt away with each swing of the racket. I fake a movement towards the left, and then move into the court to place the ball just out of reach of my opponent. On the court, I am...

What in particular about Yale has influenced your decision to apply? (Please answer in 100 words or less.) I’ll admit it—I dream about being a Yalie. I see myself taking study breaks to attend a Master’s tea or bond with upperclassmen over a snack from the Buttery. I see myself conducting research with a world-renowned professor by day, rehearsing with the Yale Symphony Orchestra by night. I see myself walking to a freshman seminar while discussing the latest...

Please tell us how you have spent the last two summers (or vacations between school years), including any jobs you have held, if not already detailed on the Common Application. (About 150 words) I drugged flies…for the sake of science, of course! I spent the past two summers conducting research in a university neurobiology lab. During the first summer, I tested potential drug therapies on a Drosophila fly model of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS. The following...

Explain your interest in the major you selected. You may describe a related experience you’ve had to that area of study and/or your future career goals. Please limit your response to approximately 300 words. If it was up to me, I would declare the human body the eighth wonder of the world. I am constantly amazed by how the heart can pump so consistently for over 80 years without so much as a break; I am captivated by how the...

Describe your academic interests and how you plan to pursue them at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words) The woman on the other end of the line began to sob. I felt helpless. I was volunteering with the ALS Association, and my job was to invite families affected by Lou Gehrig’s disease to a support gathering. This particular woman felt so distraught by her husband’s battle with the illness that she...

Some people categorize engineers as geeks or nerds. Are you a geek, nerd, or neither? Why? (250 words) “What a nerd,” she scoffs as she walks by. I look up from my book. “Maybe,” I say with a smile. A few years ago, I would have cowered further beneath my book if somebody even mentioned the word “nerd.” Secretly, I was always far too excited for school to start, though I never would have admitted it for fear of being judged....

Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. (250 word limit.) When my biology teacher announced that our next project would be a poster on the cell cycle, I immediately thought, “This is going to be easy.” I soon realized that I was wrong. Very, very wrong. My previous knowledge of mitosis barely scraped the surface. We were now expected to study all the molecular mechanisms that drive the...

Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate -- and us -- know you better. (250 word limit.) To she who has the pleasure of being my roommate: As you prepare to spend the next year living with me, there are a few things you should know: 1. I love being a roommate. Though I grew up as an only child, I attended a...

After I was deferred early action from Stanford, my college counselor actually did me the favor of talking to my Stanford admissions counselor to find out why I was deferred. The admissions counselor said that although I had a very strong application in terms of grades and extracurricular activities, I seemed like I could fit in...

I only interviewed with 3 of my schools: MIT, Princeton, and Yale. All of the interviews were very straightforward, with none of the strange questions you sometimes hear about. Each interview began with the interviewer introducing himself, then asking me to tell him about myself. I brought...

The college counselors at my school generally urge students to send in recommendations from one science or math teacher and one liberal arts teacher. However, I felt that a science teacher and a math teacher were the two teachers who knew me best. While many colleges do not have a preference for which subjects the recommendations should come from, MIT specifically specified having a liberal arts and science/math recommendation. So, I ended up using three different teachers for my recommendations. The first teacher, my biology teacher, had only had me in class for one semester, but had also mentored...

The summer before my senior year, my family visited a lot of different colleges. Based on the college visits, I gained a feel for the atmosphere at each school, as well as the academic and extracurricular opportunities available. I decided that I would limit myself to 10 or fewer schools, and I wanted to make sure that I included a few safety and match schools in addition to reach schools. At the beginning of my senior year, I...

I believe there are two main things about me that set me apart from other students. First of all, I have conducted scientific research for the past two years in a university lab, completing four projects and writing four papers. I wrote my common application essay about this experience, demonstrating how I overcame a language barrier and became an integral...