I am the The Little Engine that Could; you know, the children’s book, by Watty Piper, where the little blue engine whispered to itself, “I think I can?” I hope you won’t deem my essay as too cliché already, but my perseverance is what helped me survive junior year. True to urban legend, my junior year was my most difficult. I was a crazy person to willingly juggle all that I was doing: marching band, three AP classes,...

Last November, the counselor’s office at my school was hosting a Notre Dame college visit. Extremely prone to procrastination, I signed up one day before. I initially scrawled my name on that sheet of paper because I had heard good things about Notre Dame: it was prestigious with an affiliation to my religion, Catholicism. Due to its high ranking, I expected a histrionic presentation on the legacy and prestige Notre Dame could provide but was pleasantly surprised by the...

I think the real question here is, “How well can you answer the vaguest essay prompt ever?” Truthfully, I usually despise open-ended activities; I’m terrible at music composition, drawing anything but inanimate objects, and creative thinking in general. Despite all of my previous failures, I like this question. It may be due to the fact that my brain is fried from calculus and other college applications, but no matter, I’ll try to pull this off. The only thing...

Decide what colleges you want to go to early on. When I first starting...

Have well-rounded essays. I had two very well respected teachers at my school...

This one is a no brainer. The weather is amazing. For someone who lives in...

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer. Just keep yourself busy. Have a job, go...