A Part of Me “I’m sorry. I’ll just give you a minute,” the nurse said as she eased the door closed. I stared straight ahead, my vision blurred by tears I was fighting back. My mother did not say a word, but wrapped her arms around me, as a tear trickled down my cheek at the warmth of her embrace. I tried to be strong, yet that single tear had not evaded my mother’s knowledgeable eye. Comforting...

This was initially written for Notre Dame but I did reuse it with a few tweaks.

I'm not sure if it counts as a diversity statement but this one was about a volunteer experience.

I had initially intended to use this as my common app personal statement because I was too scared to get too deep. I'm glad I took the time to rewrite the second essay because although I am not disappointed in this essay, I know it is not as good as it could be.

Home Sweet Dome My first sight of the Notre Dame campus was of the Golden Dome, shimmering in the sunlight with trees lining the road, welcoming me to my future home. Butterflies fluttered within my stomach as I imagined myself spending the next four years as a Domer. I spent a host day with a current student, Dani, who allowed me to experience a day with her as a Notre Dame student. I attended a math class where the professor...

Transferring was the last thing I wanted to do when I began my college application process. I thought that by choosing to go to my "dream school" I wouldn't have to transfer and so I overlooked my other options when I was applying. I should've given each school a fair shot from the beginning and then maybe I wouldn't have changed my mind....

I had my heart set on a dream school that I didn't expect to get accepted to. When I received my admissions offer...

I only interviewed at the University of San Diego because my other schools didn't offer interviews. I still felt that forming some sort of personal relationship with the admission representative who would be reading my essays and evaluating my application was important so I reached out to them at local meet and greets and via e-mail and formed a personal relationship with them to show that I was...

I truly think my honesty set me apart from other applicants. I showed that I am a unique individual with a story and something to contribute to campus. A great piece of advice I got was to make sure that you're essays are specific enough that you couldn't send them to another school and personal enough that...

Initially I declined the other schools because I was stubborn. I had my mind set one way and I didn't think the other schools could compare. I was looking...

I didn’t go out and hire a private admissions counselor. If you do that’s fine but I really don’t think it’s necessary at all. Have faith and confidence in yourself. Know that you have worked hard...