Application Essay Excerpts

Purging Pride and Prejudice I think it is safe to assume that no one would consider me incredibly ladylike. I usually have a calculator in one hand and my lacrosse stick in the other. I’m never one to draw any attention to myself either...

When I visited Northwestern University last spring, I was unsure how I would like it. Five minutes after arriving to campus, however, I had already made up my mind...

It didn’t take long for me to understand the ideals of Wellesley College. The college promotes a global community, strong friendships and networks, and a balanced, liberal arts education. All of these things make me feel as if I would fit in with this unique group of women...

My biggest failure in choosing a college would be to choose one with a philosophy that differs greatly from my own. I am someone who has always yearned for exploration, whether I am traveling a new country, researching a fixating concept, or examining my own mind. I know that Johns Hopkins would accommodate my adventurous spirit and provide me with every opportunity to quench my intellectual thirst...

I had, for a long time, been content with my knowledge of the world. I knew about other cultures; I had read about them in books, had seen movies, and had even met some people from the world outside of my own. I liked to fantasize about traveling to many different places and immersing myself in other cultures...

When someone asks me which sports I play, I say three things—volleyball, lacrosse, and math team. I’ve gotten a few quizzical looks in answer to my response, a few laughs, and a few retorts of “math team isn’t a sport!”...

The one thing that is central to my identity is that I move. What I mean is that I have been moving since the day I was born. My dad’s business has taken me all over: from Turkey to Poland, Germany to Russia, and finally from Russia to Switzerland. With each move I’ve attempted to adapt to the continual changes, whether it be a new home, new language, new school, or new friends, but the one thing that has remained constant regardless of my journeys – has been my unwavering affinity and appreciation for rock music...

The professor walks into the classroom in waves, each step mimicking the ebb-flow fervor of her thoughts. And then she announces, in a very Viola Davis sort of way —“Welcome to Startup 101.”..

“Do you need help with that?”Her eyelids squinted in expectation, allowing the scleras to glow with the fluorescent light. These were no longer eyes; they were horribly expectant answer boxes, waiting for my ballot to be cast...

​My friend once showed me an infographic that said we retain 90% of what we teach. “That,” she declared, “is why I should teach.”Two months later, on January 25, 2014, I was onstage at LifeStories Sammamish, teaching adults how to tell stories through poetry...