This gym is overwhelming me aesthetically. Hm, why’s that? Well, the scene is flooded with neons - not the flashing lights of convenience stores, but the characteristic colors of expensive sportswear. There’s not an Airwalk in the place: Jordans, Nike, Nike, Adidas, Jordans, Nike. I know what clothes from WalMart look like; nobody here is wearing them. Where am I? Oh, only a couple of miles from home. And on the rich side of town. The not-so-urban, not-so-rural...

Art lies, but art is not a lie. An artist is required to tell some lies in the process of creating a work that, in its whole being, tells the truth. With even a simplistic evaluation of historical art movements, it becomes clear that art lies. Expressionists exaggerate and morph certain features of the subject in order to communicate emotion. If Edvard Munch did not lie about the facial structure of his model for The Scream, could he have communicated...

If you could take a tutorial at Williams with anyone in the world, who would you choose? No one famous came to mind when I read this question. I have favorite authors, favorite artists, but I’m quite satisfied learning from them via observation. For me, learning happens best as a collaborative process with my peers - other teenagers, often with interests and approaches different from mine, but sharing my enthusiasm and intelligence. That’s why I really can’t...

Everything about Yale is refreshing to me. In life I tend to feel I am wading through an ocean of bull, and most colleges’ information is no different. Never have I encountered any bull from Yale. And that’s a gorgeous thing. Yale is real, like me; Yale is sensical, neat - something I need. The curricular requirements, the little chart explaining them, the info session, the website, the Admissions Musical: all intelligently designed. This is an environment where I...

During my portfolio interview with a BU CFA professor, he listened to me describe my myriad interests. I learned that at BU, I can rigorously pursue all of them--“BU has everything for you; I don’t think there’s anywhere else like it.” As I’ve conducted research, I’ve come to agree more and more. I get the impression that this is a school which will encourage me to enrich my understanding of all my intellectual and artistic...

Application explaining why you are applying for a double-degree in art and a social science/humanities discipline. I intend to pursue a BHA so that I can study both the social sciences at the DC and the visual arts at the CFA. I’ve chosen this because I find my intellectual and my artistic natures inseparable. I don’t see my devotion to both as a contradiction in me: instead, this duality makes me not only a stronger learner overall...

Why do you want to study the areas of study you indicated on your application? Sociology and psychology are the study of people--how they interact and how their minds work. I’m so curious about how people operate, and further, I simply like people. They’re what care about. Of course I’m excited by brain-teasers and deep philosophical questions, but in my view, when it comes down to it, all that matters is the human experience. If someone is...

explanation of your artistic process My art teacher has complained that he can’t sketch me while I’m working in class, because I won’t sit still. I step back, I check the balance of everything, I step forward and make two strokes, I step back further and realize making the foreground warmer would fix the depth dilemma, I step forward and do that, I step back and check if it worked, I step back further and check if...

I put a LOT of time into my essays. The most important thing about them, though, is I was completely myself. I was very frank, occasionally brash, and completely informal. Be yourself. Show who you really are and be refreshing. Have a couple of trusted adults and two to five trusted friends read them. DEFINITELY do this, because other people may not interpret certain things the same way you do when you read your own writing. Tighten up your grammar,...

I wouldn't have BS'd the supplements for schools I...