It’s hard to imagine life without clean water, insulated housing, and readily available health care. Ecuadorian villagers live this life every day. During this past summer, I joined a medical humanitarian effort as a health teacher to teach hygienic habits to these Ecuadorian villagers. During my time in the Ecuadorian highlands, I tried my best to offer services to the Ecuadorians who had limited access to severely strained medical facilities. When I first landed in Ecuador, I was amazed...

Notre Dame Question: What excites you about attending Notre Dame? (required response 150-200 words) I would be ecstatic to be part of Notre Dame’s exciting sports culture. The Fighting Irish have an illustrious athletic history in basketball, football, and many other sports. Throughout my whole life, I have been an athlete, playing sports such as basketball, water polo, and swimming. I also love watching sports teams such as my hometown Los Angeles Lakers. As captain of the water polo...

Notre Dame: Question: Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, served as a trusted adviser to U.S. presidents and popes. A champion for human rights, Fr. Hesburgh was one of the architects of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Reflect on the current state of civil rights, the progress that has been made, or the problems still being faced today. ...

Notre Dame Question: What’s broken, and how would you fix it? Social media is broken. Although it has streamlined communication to allow people from all over the world to connect instantly, sometimes the wrong information is spread. Communication has been simplified into posts and tweets, but the problem is that people, especially adolescents, can be affected easily by what they read on their social media sites. In the beginning, the initial threat of cyberbullying showed how people can manipulate...

Johns Hopkins: (I made an edit to remove a specific name as marked by [..]) Question: Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 on a spirit of exploration and discovery. As a result, students can pursue a multi-dimensional undergraduate experience both in and outside of the classroom. Given the opportunities at Hopkins, please discuss your current interests (academic, extracurricular, personal passions, summer experiences, etc.) and how you will build upon them here. (300-500 Word limit) I identify myself in two ways: a...

University of Southern California Question: 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). Undoubtedly, I have a natural inclination for the sciences, especially human and cell biology. The inner workings of the human body from small to large scale excite and intrigue me intellectually. At USC, I would like to take full advantage of the Human and Evolutionary Biology program since I...

University of Southern California (I made edits to remove specific names as marked by [..]) Question: 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) For as long as I can remember, I have been part of the Scouting program, making my way from a Cub Scout to an...

I tried to be specific about the certain programs and classes that I wanted to take in the "Why us" essays. It helps be unique and positive to show that you're excited to attend these schools because ultimately, universities want students that want to be there.

The average Joe would most likely not know Washington University in St. Louis, but it is a very prestigious school. As a result, I had to do much more research to learn more about the school, and I found that I really like the school. From what I read when...

I didn't really use a private admissions counselor because there weren't any in my area. I just received advice on which colleges I should aim for from a director at one of the local test prep centers. She told me that my target...

I interviewed with people from Harvard, WashU, Vanderbilt, UPenn, Yale, and Brown. WashU was the only on-campus interview, and the rest were with alumni off-campus. I was accepted to WashU, rejected by Harvard, Yale, and Brown, and waitlisted by Vanderbilt and UPenn. I declined the Vanderbilt waitlist, but I accepted the UPenn waitlist and was released later on. The general feel I got from these interviews was that they were more about getting to know the person...

Apply early! WashU, at least when I applied, doesn't have a supplement. That means once you have perfected your Common Application essay and have finished taking all of your tests, you should send it! After your application has been processed, you...

I plan to go to medical school after...

I applied for the school's merit scholarships which are accessible on the WashU Pathway after...