The world is like a coin. A coin has two sides, two outcomes, two decisions on what side it will fall on, but my coin is different. It may not seem different, it has heads and tails just like any other coin, but mine shows heads no matter what side it lands on, no matter how the coin was tossed. I had always been told how I was going to change people's lives around the world. I never really knew...

For the play in my junior year, I had to play the bard, Balthasar, from "Much Ado about Nothing." His biggest moment in the play was his song, one that was shared by Balthasar and several other supporting roles in the scene; we were supposed to copy the tune and lyrics from the movie version. I was fine singing with my friends and other actors, but I had never sang on stage before, and I had enough stagefright just speaking...

I've moved ten times among four different states, allowing me to pick up a lot of interests, chemistry, physics, board games, card games, Magic the Gathering (it's not just a card game), and many styles of martial arts (my sword training technically makes me a Jedi), just to name a few, but my favorite hobby is my guitar playing. I play many other instruments, and the cello has earned me the most achievements, but nothing in the world feels as...

As a child targeted by bullying, I took the lead in my school in establishing anti-bullying protocols through the student senate. I never had a hero to stick up for me, and I knew that many others didn't have one either, so I decided to be the hero. Many refer to me as a peacemaker (I prefer "sentinel" because it sounds cooler), and I have been the person to people that I wish I had when I was younger. This...

This past summer, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Northwestern as a National Student Leadership Council representative for my school. I had heard so many amazing things about Northwestern from my family members who had attended the school before, my great-grandfather, C.P. Rogers, one of the first African-Americans to graduate from Northwestern and who desegregated the pool, would often speak about the great Northwestern to my grandfather who would then tell me, but I didn’t...

If I could only do one activity out of everything in my high school career, it would have to be Jazz Band. I taught myself how to play guitar, unlike the cello, and could not read treble clef going into Jazz band as a freshman; it was a struggle for me playing the pieces and the pieces played in class were relatively difficult for high school students. I clawed my way from sixth to first chair, challenge after challenge, and...

The Jewish community I grew up in is a small, close-knit group of people with similar ideals and usually similar opinions about issues inside and outside of the community. Everyone works together to make sure that everyone is having a proper Orthodox life, following the Torah correctly and appropriately, and giving back to the community when they achieve the Orthodox standard of living. Not everyone who lives in the community grew up in one or started out as Orthodox; the...

At first, I was attracted to University of Michigan because of its high ranking in biological sciences. I had no reason other than that until I went there with my family to go to the museum of natural history and the museum of anthropology during the spring of my sophomore year. I was exposed to the vibrant college town, the diverse campus, and the commitment to the university show by many of the students I saw walking around clad in...

The prompt for the sixth question asked about my place in that community; I threw in a lot about diversity as a counterargument to the points pertaining to common roles in the community.

Choose recommenders who you know for a fact like you and, if approaching teachers, make sure that: you received a good grade (or worked really hard to maintain a not-so-good one) in their class, they like you, and the subject they...

Before you start this, make sure you visit the campus, or know someone who has, or watch a virtual tour of the campus. That will give you a feel of the school and an idea of what...

Add all the extracurriculars you are passionate in and have had at least a year in doing. You're not going to pick up 18 million hobbies your senior year, nor will you do so in freshman year then drop them all the next...

I know it's a pain, but taking standardized tests and AP tests that allow...

I applied to MANY scholarships. Apply to as many as you possibly can without becoming overwhelmed; college costs A LOT...

UC Berkeley is by the Bay area, overlooking the San Francisco bay. It's warm in Northern California, the fog is cool, and the...

I chose schools to apply to based on the location, the cost, the expertise the schools had based on my major, and...

I chose Berkeley based on the factors of location, cost, expertise in Chemistry, and the fact the...

I plan on going to medical school...

I declined other schools because they costed more...

I spoke about how my past, before high school, prepared me for where I was when I applied. I had an interest in what I wanted to do with my life...

Get some work experience over the summer; internships are a great way to both work and explore your field of interest. Work on your passions; learn...

I would have started my applications earlier. A lot of people see that far away deadline as a large gap of time and say "I have a lot of time!" when in reality, their...

Intelligent (people at Berkeley are very smart and hope to take their education to a much higher level), fun (we're making movie projects, starting bands, creating boba shop raiding parties, MTG club hangouts, San Francisco adventuring clubs, Jazz groups, parkour clubs; everything you ever...

The musical clubs are the most popular. Whether you're playing...