Accepted10 schools Stanford, UCLA, UMich, UCSD, Rochester, Case, Washington, UC Davis, Purdue, VA Tech
Waitlisted or Withdrew1 schools Harvey Mudd
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.
Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
Applied for a B.S. in Chemical Engineering
Accepted and Enrolled
Legacy: No
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Would my family be a sitcom or a soap opera?
If there is any phrase I could use to describe my family life, it would be the "domino effect." A problem or a spark would ignite a fire that would engulf our whole existence.
It all started with my birth. While I was lucky to come into the world easily, my twin brother did not have that privilege. He incurred birth defects, one of which cost him nerve control and...
Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
How do you start solving a science/math problem?
Most might suggest writing variables or equations, citing units, and all that jazz. But me, being a rebel, choose to sketch a diagram. Funny how that physics and math, epitomes of experimental sciences, actually incorporated some artistic qualities to me.
It all started when I was 5; I was sad on my first day at preschool and missing my mother. But when the arts period came, this sadness faded away. My first...
Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Hard pages, fresh ink odor, those were the characteristics of my 12th birthday gift. Throughout childhood, I was infatuated with science. Thinking back, I don't quite remember how this infatuation came about. Was it my obsession with sci-fi films and TV shows? The reverence I somehow held in regards to scientists? I don't know but my entire family knew of this infatuation. For that I got the 600 pages Science Encyclopedia as my birthday present.
I spent the following days unraveling...
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Throughout high school I felt privileged to be bilingual in Arabic and English. While I used this knowledge to help my classmates with homework and such, I never really applied it on a large scale. That was, until my senior year in high school when I was approached by my teacher to become the main translator for the Afaaq Academic Future Program, which aims to introduce students to the different majors and courses at King Saud University.
The position required...
Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
Some people might say college would be their biggest challenge, but I say, bring it on! I have faced plenty of challenges, and I am not afraid.
Despite being born to an upper middle-class family, we faced our fair share of setbacks. It got to the point where I started to wonder if I were somehow transported into a soap opera. Each time things started getting brighter, darkness struck out of nowhere.
My twin brother was born with serious birth...
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Why is my brother so different from me, even though we are twins?
That question haunted me at five years old. I came home from school each day to the typical sight of my twin brother playing silently on the floor with his toys. One time, however, he was not alone. Behind him stood my mother with an expression of heartbreak and anguish on her face, tears dripping down her cheeks. I confronted her the following morning. After some hesitation,...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
262 Words
Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – know you better.
Dear Roommate,
While I have not met you, I am certain of one thing, whether you are from Nigeria or Sweden, Canada or Russia, Pakistan or Israel, you will still become my best friend. In fact, I hope you are from a place as different as can be, as only being different from you will make me realize our similarities.
As roommates, there a few things we should get out of the way. Firstly, me being a neat-freak will either...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
255 Words
Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why.
Words, how magnificent are they?
So trivial yet so important, so basic yet so complex, so harmless yet so fatal. Words can bring down a nation or build it, raise a child or kill him, and inspire love or hatred.
Words can mean hell or solace, peace or war, life or death. We imprison words in our sentences, only to have them imprison us for life. We put them in the back of our memory for years, only to have...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
262 Words
The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.
What is the earth’s greatest mystery? Volcanoes? Hurricanes? Or white rice?
Growing up, white rice was a favorite of mine. I observed my mother making it countless times, and then one time it hits me at 8 years old. Why and how do hard rice grains turn into fluffy goodness?
My first course of action to answer that question was to do an experiment. I heated water at an electric kettle without letting it boil, boiling water is scary stuff...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
313 Words
Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.
How can an “Ice” turn into a “curtain” and finally evolve to a “chosen one”?
That question is central to my upbringing. During elementary school, I was a quiet and shy child that didn’t talk or show any facial expressions, thus dubbed “Ice” due to this cold demeanor. This ice somehow turned into a curtain in middle school. Probably because it grew bangs that looked like curtains, and evolved finally to a “chosen one” in high school.
“chosen one”...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
318 Words
Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests?
I was a mosquito of a child.
Light, mankind’s oldest, and, probably, most vital form of energy is present everywhere. We however don’t think much about it. Light intrigued me as a child, “how did it work?” I would wonder until reading one of my first ever science books about its discovery. After reading about light, I was further drawn into it like a mosquito, literally and figuratively. However, I also became interested in other areas such health...
Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
156 Words
If you could only do one of the activities you have listed in the Activities section of your Common Application, which one would you keep doing? Why?
The Afaaq Academic Future Program (AAFP) proved to be the most rewarding experience I have participated in.
In it I was able to utilize my bilingualism to help my classmates find their passions. I had to stand next to foreign faculty in front of a crowd and translate their lectures. It wasn’t easy, but the look on my classmates’ faces made it all worth it. Not only did that experience help me hone my presentation and public speaking skills,...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
342 Words
Our motto is Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). How is service to others important in your life?
Throughout high school I felt privileged to be bilingual in Arabic and English. While I used this knowledge to help my classmates with homework and such, I never really applied it on a large scale. That was, until my senior year in high school when I was approached by my teacher to become the main translator for the Afaaq Academic Future Program, which aims to introduce students to the different majors and courses at King Saud University.
The position required...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
258 Words
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it
What is the earth's greatest mystery? Volcanoes? Oceans? Or white rice?
Growing up, white rice was a favorite of mine. I observed my mother making it countless times, and then one time it hits me at 8 years old. Why and how do hard rice grains turn into fluffy goodness?
My first course of action to answer that question was to do an experiment. I heated water at an electric kettle without letting it boil, boiling water is scary stuff for...
Supplemental Essay: Other
303 Words
Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.
Some people might say college would be their biggest challenge, but I say, bring it on! I have faced plenty of challenges, and I am not afraid.
Despite being born to an upper middle-class family, we faced our fair share of setbacks. It got to the point where I started to wonder if I were somehow transported into a soap opera. Each time things started getting brighter, darkness struck out of nowhere.
My twin brother was born with serious birth...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
95 Words
How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)
Purdue's current 130 research institutes will provide the breadth of learning I want to pursue. From the Center for Offshore Foundation and Energy Management (COFFEE) to the Purdue Energetic Research Center to the Bindley Bioscience Center, I cannot wait to explore all the research taking place in there and would be honored to work with such distinguished faculty. Outside of the classroom, by utilizing Purdue's almost 1000 organizations, I intend to enrich my college experience. I am especially interested in the Alpha...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
93 Words
Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)
Chemistry, Math, Physics. Those were all subjects that intrigued me. Throughout childhood, I developed an infatuation with science and math. I don't know how it started but my family noticed it right away. They started buying me science books. From the development of radio to the formation of volcanoes, I loved unraveling every subject of those. High school marked my transition into experimental sciences. Upon my work in the Afaaq Academic Future Program, I discovered my passion for chemical engineering....
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
285 Words
What influenced you to apply to Harvey Mudd College? What about the HMC curriculum and community appeals to you? Please limit your response to 500 words.
While it is said that “school is your second home,” I never felt the sense of belonging in my high school. Sure, I had friends, but I didn’t have anyone to discuss Les Misérables with. The most diverse experience I had in my high school was a Syrian themed party, and we barely did any lab work for most classes. I was always either mocked or praised for reading foreign literature, with some going as far as saying...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
385 Words
What is one thing we won’t know after reading your application? (500 words or less).
You wouldn’t know my whole character.
the weird habits I have, some which come in handy, such as cleaning things to distress myself, there is just something so soothing about wiping away stains off dishes and seeing them shine. My mom can’t stop thanking god for the application process, thanks to it our house never looked this clean in years. You wouldn’t know about how I tend to ¬¬sing self-deprecating phrases whenever I do something wrong, even...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
258 Words
Fugitive slave, abolitionist, entrepreneur, feminist, intellectual, and Rochester luminary Frederick Douglass said “Man’s greatness consists in his ability to do and the proper application of his powers to things needed to be done.”
You’re showing us your “ability to do” in this application. Please describe also how you apply your “powers to things needed to be done.” Explain why you want to joi
Throughout high school, I felt privileged to be bilingual in Arabic and English. While I utilized this knowledge to help my classmates with homework and such, I never really applied it on a bigger scale. This changed in my senior year, I was chosen by my teacher to be the main translator for the Afaaq Academic Future Program, a program that aims to introduce students to the different majors at King Saud University.
The position required me to stand in...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
512 Words
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Why is my brother so different from me, even though we are twins?
That question haunted me at five. I came home from school each day to the typical sight of my twin brother playing silently with toys. Once, however, he was not alone. Behind him stood my mother with an expression of heartbreak and anguish on her face, tears dripping down her cheeks. I confronted her the following morning. After some hesitation, she finally gave me the full story....
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
304 Words
Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the University of Washington.
I come from a world far away, where women can finally drive, and the people drink crude oil for breakfast.
Jokes aside, this stereotype, while holding some truth, is to no surprise, quite extreme. While I was blessed to be born to a slightly upper middle class family, this blessing had its hardships. To be truthful, I faced plenty of those in my life, enough that I started to wonder if I was transported into a 60s drama. Just when...
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