I can't equate joy to a goal on the soccer field, or a three pointer in the last seven seconds of the game. My bliss is not at the tip of a paintbrush. Life for me is not even attached to a stage or to a pair of dance shoes. As I stood in front of my class, guiding my closest friends through a simple grapevine, laughing to the beat of the catchy song on the speaker, it was clear....

Princeton: response to the quote "One of the great challenges of our time is that the disparities we face today have more complex causes and point less straightforwardly to solutions" On a trip to El Salvador, I was given the opportunity to work with an after-school program in an area known as Camones, a squatter village dominated by the local gang. The kids involved in the program have parents involved in the gang activity. These gang members would observe our...

Occidental: Identify and describe a personal idiosyncrasy that helps define you. Warning: I'm that person who's always whispering at the movies. I can't ever stay completely quiet about the art playing out on the screen in front of my eyes. It's truly worth the occasional dirty look or the bitter shush. The nuances of film intrigue me. I'll comment on the presence of the color red, the location trends, and possibly a quality shot. From continuity errors to director's choices,...

Occidental I am lucky to say that my world for the past four years has not been high-school sized; rather, it has expanded far beyond my immediate surroundings. High school has been both literal and mental travel, from trekking the rural lands of China to raising questions about the importance of self-defense classes for young women after high school. From trips across the world to in-class discussions, I have forged a means of global communication, addressing serious problems afflicting a...

Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. In order to obtain a valuable education, there is nothing that I value greater than the power of well-rounded learning. As I digest new information and form new opinions, I cannot allow myself to absorb only one source. I aim to step outside of the natural bias of each source in order to understand multiple point of views. What matters is asking the critical questions to...

I really recommend investing time into creating an arts supplement. In my case, I dance many hours outside of school and wanted to showcase some of my...

I found that coupling my personal experiences with the core values of Occidental helped express how...

I would have applied Early Decision to my top choice university or Early Action to my 2 reach universities because in the end, the majority of students were picked from both...

Reach out to get an interview, especially at smaller schools. It gives a much more personable interaction, understanding of how the...

Get out there, get a job, get an internship, travel. Expand your horizons. In high school, I got a lot of really...