We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations, and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors helped you to grow? Before my mother’s unemployment, I lived the stereotypical life of an adolescent in suburban Las Vegas. Dad was off in San Francisco doing who-knows-what, Mom worked most days out of the...

UChicago: Find X. In my still premature experience in Calculus AB, I usually find that I am given a value x as a component of a problem, like when finding the slope of a line tangent to f(x) at x=n, or differentiating an equation at a point (x,y). In these cases, x is a known position, much like x marks my location on a mall directory. So, if x is already given, it’s essentially already found,...

Vassar College Since as early as I can remember, I’ve been striving to obtain a strong post-secondary education. I’ve always known that I would want to pursue a career in medicine, but I’ve also found that I have quite varied interests when it comes to academics. As my senior year started, I was approached by the QuestBridge program with its offers of amazing educational and financial opportunities. This is where I found the impressive and promising Vassar...

Why are you interested in healthcare? As a student of Sports Medicine at West Career and Technical Academy, I have gained a deep understanding of healthcare and the different aspects of knowledge required to succeed. Throughout my four years in high school, I've always known I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. Learning about the human body, in a wide breadth of sciences including anatomy, physiology, biology, biochemistry, and biophysics has deepened my passion for health care. With clinical experience...

As a QuestBridge applicant and finalist, I had to complete a lot more essays as I applied to ten schools through the scholarship program. The schools I applied to were: Swarthmore, Haverford, University of Chicago, Vassar, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Wesleyan, Trinity College, Washington and Lee, and Bowdoin. I had to write additional essays for each of the schools, apart from the personal statement. I also applied to other schools through the common app, where I had to write even...

Though many people will stress that the interviewing process shouldn't make you nervous or too worried, I would have to disagree. I think having a great interview makes all the difference. I'm naturally a good conversationalist, and I know how to highlight my strengths when approached by a potential employer or a college interviewer/alum. In the end, I had the most positive...

As a student from a very low financial background, my first deal-breaker was the cost of attendance (because it was my biggest barrier to a college education). There are many resources out there, such as net price calculators on the CollegeBoard, to estimate how much federal, state, and school aid you will receive. I also took into account that at most schools, I would receive some sort of merit-based scholarship. I joined QuestBridge (www.questbridge.org) in September of my senior year and was named a finalist in the running for a full ride scholarship to one of their 36 partner...

I'm an incoming freshman, and I will not have to take out any loans to attend Vassar. The financial aid package they have awarded me, including scholarships, work-study, and federal grants, covers all but about $1,200 of my yearly tuition. I am a finalist in several local scholarships through the Public Education Foundation, and if I am awarded those scholarships as well, my financial aid will be in surplus. The best thing you can do while waiting for college decisions to come out in the spring is apply...

Vassar is located in Poughkeepsie, New York, just over an hour up the Hudson from NYC. It's in a very quaint college town that is beautiful year round, with crisp snowfall in the winter, warm summers, and beautiful changing...

Athletics is a big part of extracurriculars at Vassar, as they field 27 varsity sports teams, for men and women, across many leagues. Particularly, I'm...

Driven, intelligent,...

I'm not at attending college yet, but one thing I know is an issue is the complaints about the school food....