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. “Allison, can you just ask Mrs. Piper to switch your lunch seat? I mean it’s pretty clear that we don’t want you to sit with us.” Ashamed, I obliged and was switched to a table with some girls in the grade below me. We...

What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way? The Sistine Chapel took my breath away. Without a doubt, its interior is the most beautiful work of art that I’ve seen. However, its delicate beauty was not what had taken my breath away. Instead it was the conflict of ideals within me. This internal conflict made me question all I thought I knew about my religion and left me...

We are a community with quirks, both in language (we’ll welcome you to Grounds, not campus) and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is a part of who you are. It’s Sunday morning. I sit down at the table with my coffee on the left and scissors on the right. By now, my mom knows not to throw out the section of advertisements and savings that come with the Chicago Sun Times. I remove...

Do things that you enjoy and that you are passionate about in your free...

After growing up in Chicago, I knew that I would not be able to go to college in the...