In my Common App essay, I talked about my lifelong love of visual arts. I discussed my background in drawing and my recent exploration in painting, including specific details about particular pieces I had created and their personal significance. I ended the essay by referring to a list of lessons I had seen a famous artist publish, and creating my own. I listed 10 lessons I had learned from my experience as an artist and how they affected me in ways...

Question: how you hope to use your college education. I discussed my experience at Harvard Summer School, referencing how much I appreciated being in an environment with so many international friends. I spoke about how it was intellectual curiosity that brought us all together, despite all of our differences. I concluded by saying I wanted to use my college education to explore my place and obligations in the world in a place where I could learn about open diversity and...

It's important to start your essays early! I wrote tons of drafts for all my essays before I got to my final versions, so it took me a long time. It's important to write about something you are super passionate about, otherwise your essay will probably sound boring and unoriginal.

My favorite course so far was a drawing class about architecture that I took my freshman fall. I loved it because it was a small class (about 15 people), so I got lots...

driven, creative,...

Before I came to Harvard, I thought everyone would be insanely intimidating and smart. People are definitely insanely smart, but they're not intimidating. When I was beginning freshman year I often felt like "why did they choose me?" because Harvard...

I was really influenced by my experience at Harvard Summer School. I loved the classes I took,...

I did a lot of college tours during my junior year. That was by far the most important factor for me when I was...

Harvard's location is one of the best parts of the school! It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Immediately surrounding the school is Harvard Square, which has everything a college student...

It's most important to make sure you sound passionate in your application. Show the school how dedicated you are to whatever your...