It seems absurd to leave school on Friday afternoon to travel willingly by bus to another school for a weekend in classrooms, auditoriums, and cafeterias, but that is the beauty of Model Congress. Mundane hallways, usually ruled by teachers, homework, and tests, are transformed into the stage for an invigorating Battle Royale of Wit drenched in adolescence. The contenders are ambitious high school teens disguised in sweater vests and their fathers’ suit jackets, myself included. I greet the familiar faces,...

“I not only use all the brains I have, but all that I can borrow.” (W. Wilson, March 20, 1914). Columbia University, specifically the Columbia College, presents the opportunity to borrow from a unique wealth of knowledge and provides the resources to allow me to repay my debt to the Columbia community. I intend to borrow from the Butler Library; Columbia’s unique Core Curriculum; internship possibilities located in New York City at corporate headquarters of companies like Google and Viacom; speakers...

The batter digs in. “Wanna play a game?” Whoosh, thud. Strike one. “What?” I was a catcher, and normally I wouldn’t talk to batters while they were in the box. But now I had presidential facts to practice, and I couldn’t help myself. “I asked if you want to play a game. I will say a number, and you have to tell me which president corresponds to that number.” I throw the ball back to the pitcher. It...

“Just a little game we play here before we begin, by a show of hands, who thinks they came from the farthest away?”/“We want to see that you have taken the most rigorous courses that your school offers.”/“Don’t step on that university seal on the ground there! It’s magical.” At every college visit, once you have chosen which student guide you will be joining for your tour, he or she asks the prospective students to share...

As part of my English class’s study of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as an example of a book with great social implications, we watched a PBS documentary that chronicled a campaign to ban the novel from high school reading lists. One girl had only about thirty seconds on screen, but her short interview triggered an epiphany. Although she found the book to be deeply enriching, she defended the parents who were trying to ban the...

I am movable. I am movable because my diverse community and high school education has made me open-minded and sensitive to the perspectives and opinions of others. I am movable because I am willing to sacrifice my confidence or comfort in exchange for a chance at self-improvement, as in my artistic and intellectual pursuits. Of course there are instances where I am immovable, or I move by my own accord, but in everyday life I characterize myself as someone who...

I apply with an undecided major to the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences because my intellectual interests span a broad spectrum of disciplines. Over my school career I have been intrigued and impressed by new information in the sciences, humanities, and arts. The common thread, though, that weaves my seemingly scattered interests into a neat web of learning is history. Like my varied intellectual interests, history finds itself comfortably entangled into every subject, and knowledge of any topic�...

The city of New Rochelle and New Rochelle High School exhibit impressive diversity that has greatly contributed to my well-rounded education. Representing more than 60 countries and having no ethnic majority, the New Rochelle High School student body includes individuals of every race, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation. As a result, my time in school has not only been an education in tolerance, but I have also had the opportunity to benefit from a wide variety of perspectives on all issues....

Make sure you apply to enough schools! Do not discount schools before you apply! When you are applying, you are...