As my family and I boarded the plane and turned our backs on the normalcy of Rhode Island for the excitement of the Big Island of Hawai'i, I thought that I would never feel at home ever again. Despite economic hardships, my parents moved here "to expose me to the rich cultural diversity that Hawaii has to offer." To my ten year-old self, this reasoning seemed like utter nonsense and I yearned to catch the next flight home. However, as...

Prompt: USC students are known to be involved. Briefly describe a non-academic pursuit (such as service to community or family, a club or sport, or work, etc.,) that best illustrates who you are, and why it is important to you. (250 word limit) One of my extracurricular activities that I feel has shaped my character is running cross country for my school's varsity team. An invaluable quality I learned while running my final race was that of mental discipline. When I...

Prompt: Describe your academic interests and how you plan to pursue them at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections (250 word limit). Lately in my life, I have been interested in the issues that affect our society and humanity as a whole. Current issues such as income inequality and race relations in our country have sparked my interest in Political Science. Although I am currently undecided as to what subject I want to study and...

Prompt: Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be the other student in the class, and why? (Please limit your response to 300 words.) I would be thrilled to take the tutorial with Bernie Sanders. His passion is infectious and he has a way of converting people from apathetic to inspired. Regardless of the topic, I doubt that I could lose interest when paired with Bernie. He, in his rugged "Brooklyn...

Prompt: There are thousands of colleges and universities. Why are you applying to Occidental? What influenced your decision to apply and what distinguishes it from your other choices? (175 words maximum length) I guess you can say I'm in a long-distance relationship, because I'm in love with Occidental. As a student who is unsure of my specific passion yet driven to broaden my perspective and discover myself, I believe that spending the most formative years of my life at Oxy will...

Prompt: Our values are shaped over time. What learning experience transformed your thinking during your high school years? It could be a class assignment, a book, a film, an academic interaction – anything that inspired you to view an issue through a different lens and alter your opinion. (175 words maximum length) In my Debate/Argumentation class, my instructor regularly assigned us topics to debate among each other. One prompt I distinctly remember is this: Should Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii be forced to remove...

Prompt: Everyone has a personality quirk. What's your idiosyncrasy, and how does it reflect your distinct character? (128 words maximum length) I like to believe that my life is a movie. I serve as the narrator in my thoughts. I like to look for the irony in the events in my life and how each fits in to the plot. My friends often catch me talking to myself and think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy, I swear! I believe that this...

Prompt: What influenced you the most in your decision to apply to CMC? Please limit your response to no more than 200 words. Because I am physically and financially isolated from the U.S. mainland, I have only learned of CMC from a Pacific Ocean away. As a student who is unsure of my specific passion yet confident in my ability to learn, adapt, and grow in the intimate environment of a small college, I believe that I will thrive in...

Prompt: We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you. (100 word limit) The community that I exist in is that of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, a small town that exudes the feeling of Ohana. One particular aspect of living here that has shaped my character is the cultural diversity. Because there are so many different cultures coexisting in in a relatively...

My first two essays are ones specific to my school, USC. The rest are for various other schools that I had applied to.

I would have taken my standardized testing more seriously. I opted not to take any SAT...

Make friends with one of your teachers during your freshman or sophomore year. The...

Present something to the admissions officers that they can read with a smile. They are more likely...

I barely used an admissions counselor. One of the teachers...

I was awarded a full-tuition...

I interviewed with USC's Scholarship committee in person. The interviewers mainly asked me...

I fell in love with USC during an on-campus program in...

If you are someone with a lot of school spirit and loyalty,...

From my visit to USC, I can tell that the...

I recommend that students look for something productive to do with their summers. Perhaps an...