Life, in leading us to a place and time of complete enjoyment and fulfillment, chooses often to take the scenic route. Rather than a simple “point to point” journey, we are taken along long dusty roads, dark valleys, and even around what we originally thought our destination would be. This seemingly cliché concept only became real to me when it hit me square in the face during my junior year. Veering off my path to greatness as a high school...

As my last name and fluency in Spanish reflect, I am of Hispanic descent (half Puerto Rican and half Guatemalan to be exact). And at a Jesuit high school nestled in the heart of Fairfield County, I am one of few that share this distinguishing characteristic. However lonely I may be in my ethnicity, it is never cause for shame. Rather, my culture is a source of happiness in my daily life, and the mold from which I developed myself...

My essays are focused primarily on experiences that relate directly to me. Some of the best advice I received concerning college essay topics was to write about things that I don't have to think about. For me, this meant discarding every draft of my essay that I had. However, it was in exchanging my parents' and siblings' stories for my own that I was really able to exhibit myself most efficaciously to schools.

Above everything else, your prospective school is a learning institution and it is essential that this be the focus of anyone choosing colleges to apply to. In my own college admissions process, I applied to schools that had a wide range of academic disciplines and room to branch out and deepen my knowledge in each. In...

If I could go back and change one thing about my high school career, I would probably make better use of my summers. Summers are...

Although it was an object of pride during my college admissions process, I (regrettably) did not prepare for standardized tests at all. I consider myself lucky...

What I believe set me apart from other prospective students is the fact that I didn't take myself too seriously. My college essay and supplements...