I like to fight. While Coach Ricardo Vera is the biological father of one of the girls on my water polo team, he has become a father to all of us. Having worked in all the poor neighborhoods of Los Angeles, he knows what it means to fight and persevere, even with the odds against his team. Ric emphasizes the same mantra to us that he has held for thirty years: “progressive development.” Every game is about improvement, not about...

Describe why you are interested in studying engineering, any experiences in or exposure to engineering you have had, and how you think the programs in engineering offered at Princeton suit your particular interests.

Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

National Merit: Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way. Twelve Earth hours equals 10 Zorgotronberg hours and there are 100 Zorgotronberg minutes in each Zorgotronberg hour. Find the smaller angle that is formed by the... This is the kind of question that appears on my favorite kind of test - a math contest. When I first set foot in my sixth grade honors pre-algebra class, I was greeted by a room full of Mickey Mouses. Unlike...

MIT: Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? My greatest challenge has been feeling lonely. People think that I work much too hard; my view is that I feel responsible for busying myself with something useful, rather than sitting by idly. I try to use my time to better my skills as a club leader and enrich other students’ lives in...

MIT: Describe the world you come from, for example, your school, clubs, family, community, town, city, or activities. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? I am one of the few youths who have never owned a cell phone. In fact, my family could be described as a herd of tech dinosaurs. In my world, separation from the electronic buzz of gadgets heightens my awareness of my immediate surroundings and allows me to focus my thoughts. My schoolwork...

Discuss some creative work that illustrates the way you see the world and the way you see yourself in the world. The work may be a scientific theory, novel, film, poem, song, or other art form. I make my greeting cards by hand because I can make them more heartfelt and sincere than cards purchased from a store. I try to include personal references in the design for each card, such as fruits and squashes for my teacher who loves...

Essay 1 (Engineering): How do we exist? The wonder of biology lies in the enigma that lifeless elements such as carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen are what comprise all living organisms. I want to understand what life is at its most fundamental level - the realm of molecules. I love how science allows us to make magic happen and then dissect those events into logical explanations. Chemistry stands out to me because everything we encounter is composed of molecules. I love visualizing...

Princeton is surrounded by a calm environment, free of distractions, so it's a nice...

I almost always choose the harder path. I think it was...

Do something fun but also mildly challenging. If you're an athlete, obviously...