Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. “Yeah, this is my mom.” As I make the introduction I see my friend’s eye’s flick from me to my mom, and back to me. Confusion furrows her brow and she opens her mouth, “But she’s white?” August 1998 my mother returned from China...

"Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity -- I am my language." Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera:; The New Mestiza, 4th ed.; (San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books, 2012), 81 I was born in Sichuan Province in April of 1997- I think. I cannot read my birth certificate, its slanted characters and bolded typeface in a language entirely alien to me, a language that graced my lips for the first time only fourteen years after I was born. And even...

Since I was a little girl, I have always loved making things and I have always wanted to help people, friend or foe, and these values have stayed with me well into (young) adulthood because of how fortunate I have been and the opportunities I have been given to see others who are less fortunate. When I was in the fifth grade, I remember helping a boy in my class construct a Rube Goldberg, even though we were competing against...

My sophomore year of high school, I took chemistry and struggled in it. I ended up finishing second semester with a C, 79%, Because of this, I elected to retake chemistry over the summer and as a result, my transcript displays an R for a replaced class. I retook chemistry and was able to get an A. Other red flags for CSU might involve

My essays are very personal, but I also had some "why this school" essays. With these ones it is always good to remember to highlight why this school will help you grow and how you will help those around you grow.

The Model UN team is really popular....

1. Ambitious 2. Committed 3....

My school is fiercely liberal and has a very tight knit community, but this...

Do activities that demonstrate real interest in your academic extracurriculars. If these activities are at the college you want to go to,...

I would hold open socratic seminars...

I would have applied...

I used a private admissions councilor, and did not find...

I interviewed with Columbia over skype and absolutely loved it. It was...

I have done a lot of extracurricular activities and really demonstrated a lot...

I liked my college way too much. I didn't want...

I would like...

My college has this great sense of community, and I saw...

I'm on Class Board as Vice President and serving again as Social Chair. I chose to get involved with student government because the thing I loved most about MHC is the sense of community. I know...

I always gave teachers a heads up about a month in advance of me actually asking...

When I was looking at colleges, I was looking for something that would provide me a well balanced liberal arts education....

My college is on the east coast, which is great....

With schools I visited, I talked to their math and physics professors...

A why us essay should always be about...