Application Essay Excerpts

It’s 6:00am, and the face of Robin Williams summons me from my dreams. It’s Mr. Keating. Again.As my mind clears I rush through my morning routine, and at 6:40am, 15 minutes before the bus comes, my headphones fill with country music...

Beams of light materialized from the gloom, transfiguring the clouds into a blanket of dull gold. I gently opened my eyes and rubbed them for several seconds in an attempt to invigorate my senses. A glance through the airline window revealed the source of the heavenly glow, sunrise..

Human mind is one of the least understood areas in science. I have always found it amazing how the physical existence of our brain translates into something as transcendent as thoughts. We are aware of neurons and synapses, neurotransmitters and receptors, but little is known about what happens at a fundamental leve..

I have had a peculiar obsession with nooks and hideaways for as long as I can remember. I have always tended to attribute certain feelings to certain places; whether it was the tree house I hid in when I was little, or the roofs and other fascinating (yet ordinary) places which nowadays let me enjoy their sublime view...

"I don't want to go here. It looks scary. I am not an artist," I said. My mother insisted I give the art studio a chance. Even at the age of nine, I was a stubborn Capricorn...

All it takes is one small anomaly to turn what was originally an inchoate idea into something beautiful, new, and meaningful. That is what research is to me. In my first experience, I challenged myself in new ways I never even imagined before, honing my problems solving skills from theory to real world applications...

My desk is home to my imagination. Of the many places I feel content, only my beloved desk brings the power of solitude and allows me to focus on whatever I set my mind to achieve. From creating origami to studying higher calculus and topology in my free time, my desk provides a platform for innovation and creativity...

“One Thai chicken basil quesadilla, please.” It was around noon, at the congregation of food trucks on the corner of 34th and Spruce near the Vagelos Chemistry Labs. After an exhausting walk around Penn’s campus, I couldn’t wait to try this recommended delicacy...

Every child has heard it. "You have to clean your room because it's my room. You're just staying in it. You can't do what you want." Or after a fight with the parents they say "You're so selfish. I've given you so many things. But I bought them. They're mine. I can easily take them away."..

With a strong background in math and science, I was sure I wanted to go into engineering when I attended college. For right now I'm settled biomedical engineering or the like. But as someone with other interests, especially that of learning another language (I'm currently working on Spanish), I have been interested in studying abroad as well...