Application Essay Excerpts

Donating Daringly: A New Flash Seminar at U. Va. At the end of the year, my parents typically start to consider where they should make their charitable donations. Should they give to the Red Cross or their local synagogue or perhaps somewhere new?..

The Great Philosophical Debate Through my deep participation in Lincoln Douglas debate, which focuses on evaluating ethical considerations of key current issues, I have become interested in studying philosophy. One reason that I find the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences to be so appealing is that it sponsors an excellent philosophy department, a number of whose members are public intellectuals who apply philosophy to the most significant issues of the day...

I view my experience at Hunter College High School as having two major and nearly equal components: my academic studies and my participation in high school debate. Because of this, I think it is essential to explain more about my obsession with debate...

Debate Girls 2015Okay, Sarah, breathe. You've done this more than a hundred times before. Notes? Check. Water bottle? Check. Take a sip. Now look up and get ready to launch into your first argument...

Every morning in the laboratory I tended to my cells, much as a mother cat tends to its litter. I was trying to combine cells from the body's immune system with the body's fat cells, all within a petri dish. As an intern at Rockefeller University, I was working on obesity research, mentored by an expert in the field...

I have a wide array of academic interests: from history and philosophy, to mathematics and science. With its liberal arts orientation and access to the extensive resources of the University, the College of Arts and Sciences would be the ideal environment in which to pursue my interests...

I once read an article that stated “undergraduates change their major at least 10 times while studying at university.” I just find this to be really strange because I have always, and will always want to, study medicine after school...

My feet are usually bare. Sometimes I wear socks, rarely sneakers. At times, ballet shoes - but only when required. My "uniform" varies depending on temperature, comfort, and accessibility...

For me, Penn has always been a constant. My childhood and early adolescence were dotted with vivid stories of my mother's four lively years in University City. The campus visits for alumni events and tours were something to be cherished; I would once again get to walk Locust Walk, sit in the Quad, and peer into the ivy-covered buildings, hoping that one day I too would be a Quaker...

I was seven years old the first time I attended a volleyball practice. My dad was the coach of the eighth grade team at my school. I merely observed the first few times, thinking, as many young children do, that “bolleyball” was the name of this intriguing sport...