Four years ago, on the day my family moved out of our suburban house and into the city, I took a moment to say goodbye. For my whole life up to that point, my bedroom was the one with pink walls and white window shades in the top corner of this home. My Polly Pockets dwelled in my closet and my American Girl dolls beneath my bed. My mom watered the blue petunias that she planted next to the driveway...

I wrote a 'Why us?' essay for 7 schools. They each followed a similar pattern of describing how I imagined myself at their campus, what I would contribute, and how the 'energy of the campus' appealed to me. I found a class/place/teacher/event that was unique to that school and described why I liked it.

Design your own class; Describe a time when you were unafraid; Describe the environment you come from;

Why us? Sample: I became interested in Carleton College because of a friend that graduated from my school a couple of years ago. She took a gap year to travel and then came back to study at Carleton. For the past couple years, I watched as her Facebook profile filled up with pictures of the Winter Ball, boxing lessons, accordion players in the street, face paint, and ultimate Frisbee. I got a sense of the energy of the campus through...

Enthusiastic, Inquisitive,...

Sexual Health Educator: When I arrived on campus, I was surprised by how many people had had poor...

This question is meant to find out how much a student has looked into the school. Do some research. Find something unique about the school, like a cool event that was held...

I would have started earlier. I dabbled a bit in writing essays but ended up spending my winter break hunched over my laptop trying to crank out the...

I was ultimately choosing between Barnard and Wellesley, two women's colleges. I had a feeling that I would really benefit from the same-sex education, and I stand by that feeling. I absolutely love...