Writing the college application essay is a daunting task. One great way to get started is to read examples of successful essays. Reading sample college essays gives you great ideas and helps to illustrate what is expected from a good college essay. Check out these college essay examples for inspiration!
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
With moments to spare, I catch a glimpse of the boarding platform for my train. Like a captain frantically seeking port in a storm, I haul myself through the turbulent ocean of people, trying to avoid being stranded – or trampled – in the dustiest city in the world: Beijing, capital of both China and smog.
Luckily, I board my train with seconds to spare, and without being turned into a pancake – always a plus. The conductor welcomes me aboard. At last, it is time to return home to Shanghai.
Durlabh kundli software free for windows 7 64 bit. It is the summer of 2012, and Shanghai isn’t to be home for much longer. In another week I will cross the globe to start a new life in a foreign land called Charlotte.
Which is home? The place I am leaving or the place I am going? Arrival or departure? Like a compass with a broken magnetic strip, I can’t decide my true North.
Unsettled, I turn to my ever-present book for comfort. Today it is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, already worn and slightly crumpled. They say the best books tell you what you already know, resonating with your own thoughts and emotions. As I read, it is as if the tempest of my thoughts is spelled out on paper. The overflowing sense of hyper-reality in Tim O’Brien’s words of warfare spills into my world. His words somehow become my words, his memories become my memories. Despite the high speed of the bullet train, my mind is perfectly still – trapped between the narrative of the book and the narrative of my own life.
I feel like I should feel disturbed, but I’m not. I read the last page and close the book, staring out the window at the shining fish ponds and peaceful rice paddies. I feel like a speck of dust outside the train, floating, content and happy to be between destinations.
I am at home between worlds. I speak both English and Chinese: Chinese is for math, science, and process, but I prefer English for art, emotion, and description. America owns my childhood, filled with pine trees, blockbuster movies, and Lake Tahoe snow; China holds my adolescence, accompanied by industrial smog, expeditious mobility, and fast-paced social scenes.
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Welcome to college essay examples heaven. In my opinion, one of the best ways to write a successful college essay for your college application is by learning from real college essay examples that worked.
Jul 16, 2020 Welcome to college essay examples heaven. In my opinion, one of the best ways to write a successful college essay for your college application is by learning from real college essay examples. How to Use College Essay Samples. If writing a college essay is unfamiliar territory, then using samples and templates as references can help you a lot. Here are some ways on how you can maximize the usage of college essay samples: Refer to college essay samples but do not copy their content. Sam’s essay connects the skills he learned from switching sports—seeking out advice, taking risks, and being open-minded—to other aspects of his life. He shares with the admissions committee traits that he values as well as concrete examples of how those traits have defined the way he handles situations.
We are drawing into Shanghai Hong Qiao station. My reverie isn’t at an end, but I have the answer to my question. Home is neither arrival nor departure, neither America nor China. Home is the in-between, the cusp of transition – that is where I feel most content.
What works?
In our College Essay Clichés to Avoid post, we advised students against writing about moving to America from a foreign country. Too often, such essays are formulaic and uninspiring – after all, while it’s certainly a challenge to learn a new language and culture, millions of people do it every day, so it simply isn’t something that sets a student apart.
This essay is an example of how to tell the story of moving to America in a unique way. This student focused on a single question – where is home? – and showed the reader a lot about who he is as a person. Through this skillfully crafted essay, we learn that the student has led a very international life, the student has a way with words, the student loves literature, the student is bilingual, and the student is excited by change. The essay is a joy to read, sharing a detailed glimpse of the student’s personality without feeling like it’s trying to list positive personal qualities.
College Essay Example #2: “Most Original” Pumpkin
Prompt: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
I won “Most Original” pumpkin at a Halloween party years ago. I have the “Most Original” award. It’s a consolation prize. You can’t be the best, or the prettiest, so you have to be “original.” I’ve won the “Most Original” award a fair number of times. I was even named “Most Original” at a basketball awards banquet. What does that even mean? How can anybody be “Most Original” when she’s playing basketball?
Csgo black screen startup easy fix for mac. Recognizing the “Most Original” award for the pity-prize that it was, I grew increasingly hostile toward the very word “original.” If you win this cursed award, everyone around you offers feigned sympathy or, even worse, insincere congratulations. Phrases like “oh, bummer” or well-intentioned but half-hearted “well, good for you” circle the recipient, creating a cyclone of regret from which the “winner” will never recover.
Okay, maybe I’m overreacting – but I cannot for the life of me understand that award. “Most Original” always let me down, and as a result, I hated to be original in any context. In my hometown of New Haven, Connecticut, where normality was…well, the norm, I tried to be a typical student – absolutely, perfectly normal. I blended into crowds, the definition of typical. I became a person who refused to surprise people. Just another brick in the wall.
Dull.
And then I moved to Berkeley for six months. It’s an odd, vibrant place with odd, vibrant people. Originality is celebrated there – not in the half-hearted “good for you” way, but in the full-throated “GOOD FOR YOU!” way. One of the first of my fellow students to befriend me wore corset tops and tutus and carried a parasol with which she punctuated her every utterance. Her best friend was a boy with purple hair who once wore a shirt with built in LED lights for Christmas. They were the most popular people in school, in direct contrast to all that was socially acceptable in New Haven. Our peers recognized them as being unique, but instead of ostracizing them or pitying them, the students in Berkeley celebrated them.
In Berkeley, I learned the value of originality: Those who celebrate their individuality are not only unique but strong. It takes great strength to defy the definitions of others, and because of that strength, those who create their own paths discover a different world than those who travel the same worn road.
I returned to New Haven a changed person. My appearance was certainly different – red streaks in my hair and a newfound fondness for tutus certainly made me stand out. But the change went deeper than that: I had embraced the idea of being myself, no matter what others thought was cool or “normal.” Spending time in a place where “Most Original” was the highest compliment allowed me to explore myself without fear of being different or lesser, and I liked what I had found.
I’m still skeptical about the “Most Original” award. In the context of an award ceremony, it’s still just a meaningless consolation prize. But I don’t think of being “Most original” as an insult anymore – I wear it as a badge of honor, proof that I am myself and no one else.
A friend recently joked, “If there were a ‘Quirkiest’ award in the yearbook, you’d definitely win.” We were standing outside of a classroom, and I was wearing a pair of gold, glittery shorts that definitely caught the eye. “Quirkiest?” I said. “How about ‘Most Original.’”
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This writer’s style clearly shows off her sense of humor. If one of the purposes of a college essay is to make yourself come to life off the page, then this essay hits the mark. Far from seeming unfinished or unedited, the somewhat stream-of-consciousness style establishes a humorous and self-deprecating tone that makes the reader instantly like the applicant. More than anything else, it is this writing style that elevates what could have been a fairly superficial statement of personal growth into a truly informative story that showcases the author’s personality.
College Essay Example #3: Baked with Love
College Application Essay Examples
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you feel perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
The sweet smell of cinnamon resonated through the house. A wave of heat washed over my face as I opened the oven door to reveal my first batch of snickerdoodles. Small domes of sugary cookies shyly peeked from the edge of the door. I smiled as I thought about the joy these cookies would bring to my friends. They like to compare me to the witch in Hansel and Gretel, joking that I fatten children up and then forget to eat them. I don’t particularly love being in the same company as an evil witch, but any rancor I might feel at this comparison is overwhelmed by my enjoyment of their anticipation of my baked goods.
There is something about the warmth of a kitchen filled with the buttery smell of pastry that evokes a feeling of utter relaxation. I find joy in sharing this warm and homey experience by showering the people around me with sweets. The smile that ticks up the corners of someone’s mouth as they bite into my food gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
For as long as I can remember, baking has been an integral part of my life. Thanks to busy parents and hungry siblings, I was encouraged to cook from a relatively young age. Time spent in the kitchen naturally piqued my interest in baking, and that glimmer of interest blossomed into a heart-warming hobby that rejuvenates my stressful days, improves upon even the happiest moments, and brings joy to the people around me.
They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It has been my experience that the way to ANYONE’S heart is through the stomach. To me, food is not simply about sustenance. The time that I spend in my kitchen, the effort and care that I pour into my confectionary creations, is a labor of love that brings me just as much satisfaction as it does my hungry friends and family.
This essay doesn’t share many life-defining revelations; we learn, as a brief aside, that the author often cared for her younger siblings, but little beyond that. Yet despite its relative lack of major information, it reveals a lot about who the author is. We learn that the author knows how to turn a phrase, the author is a warm and caring person, the author has a sense of humor, and the author will bring us cookies if we admit her to our imaginary college. All in all, we see a student who is a skilled writer with a warm heart – positive traits, to be sure.
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This summer, the UF Admissions Office identified a few of the exceptional essays written by newly enrolled UF students (with their permission, of course). The assortment that follows offers a glimpse into the diverse backgrounds and experiences, as well as the writing talents, of our newest Gators. Remember that each of these sample essays is just that—a sample that may serve as some inspiration.
With such adversity present in my small home, I never expected my mother to become pregnant, especially 17 years after her last child.
Being away from home had its benefits. Escaping limiting precedences conjured a short–felt freedom from reality. I was visiting New York with a friend, who brought me along free of charge. It allowed me to flee from a financially struggling single mother who had a tendency of hindering my opportunities through her inability of providing much for her children. Leaving the spirited city was difficult, however, my life had taken a monumental spiral of unfortunate events.
My phone rang, and as I read “Mom” displayed across the screen, I felt a rush of excitement to inform her about my last few moments in New York. She took me by utter surprise when she immediately blurted, “Estoy embarazada.” I foresaw all the additional hardship that would soon loom over us due to her newfound pregnancy. “Felicitaciones, mama,” was all I could choke out. I couldn’t find the courage to display my consternation before my friend. I wallowed in my own hysteria, wondering: how will we afford a baby with my mom’s low-paying job?
Soon after, my baby sister, April, has been nothing but a delight. Our financial situation, however, was not as gratifying. My mother was forced to leave her job as a nighttime newspaper carrier. Her only way to ensure our survival was to apply for welfare and food stamps. My world felt smaller than ever, since this occurred during my junior year. I was at the top of my class, involved in extracurriculars and sports; however, this irreversible burden cost me the ability to participate in clubs with dues too expensive to afford. Epic browser unblock youtube proxy.
I never felt entitled to admit defeat. I found the inner strength I possessed in order to quell any desires that my adolescence urged me to feel. Maybe all too quickly, I transitioned into adulthood and the working world, helping my mother pay our bills and fixating my attention on my studies.
After my sister was born, I was thrown into the realization that what my future holds depends on my lasting decisions. I became aware of the importance of relying on one’s self and continued my trek towards an education that no one in my family had yet achieved. Adversity has given rise to my unwavering persistence and confidence through its harsh lesson that in order to succeed, one must learn from what they endure, and move forward with the anticipation that such events will be around the corner.
Thanks to Twitter, I found Kalpana Khadka. She is just one of hundreds of girls worldwide that have been given the opportunity that so many of us take for granted; to be educated and graduate from a secondary school. While checking my Twitter feed during freshman year, one tweet led me to this extraordinary teenager. Reading about She’s the First (STF), an organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness for girls’ education globally, inspired my friends and I to open a chapter at our school. After administration approved our club, getting students involved proved more difficult. To grasp our classmates’ attention we partnered with another club, Girl Up, to create our Mavies fundraiser. Our version of the Academy Awards is named after our mascot, the Maverick, and allows students,to vote for fellow classmates in several fun categories. All money raised goes right back to girls’,education. Planning and promoting this event was very challenging. Both clubs worked together to get the job done. As Secretary of STF, I organized committees to create ballots, count votes, arrange food, and write the show’s script. How did we promote this fundraiser? We went back to where it all began: Twitter! Through SnapChat, Instagram, and Twitter we got the word out about the Mavies. The 1st Annual Mavies was a success raising an impressive $950. With more student interest, we doubled this amount the following year. Our show raised money for girls’ education and brought recognition to STF. As a result, our club membership has grown and the Mavies has become a Maverick tradition. So who is this girl, Kalpana? She’s a bright young student from Nepal. With the money raised, our chapter is sponsoring her education. Recently we received a letter from Kalpana. She wrote about her studies and aspirations. It was so inspiring to read her letter and see our dedication making a difference in one girl’s life. Kalpana’s dream of higher education is possible with the help of our school community. Her eagerness to learn and desire for a career made me realize how lucky I am. Students in our country often take education for granted. During stressful, late nights spent studying I often thought, “I wish I didn’t have to go to school tomorrow.” In reality, many girls around the world would love to be in my position. My experience with STF has been so gratifying. I hope to continue working towards improving girls’ education globally by joining the STF chapter at the University of Florida.
At first glance, I thought searching my past for a story that can effectively describe who I really am would have been simple. However, after tedious rejoicing and constant debating with myself, I came to the conclusion that it was not going to be as effortless as I originally thought. Prior to my attempt of enlightening you on who I think I am, I want to share a quote by Chuck Palahnuik with you, “I hate how I don’t feel real enough unless people are watching me.”
Honestly, my story is not one of great nobility, unprecedented glory, or even gratification of who I am. Despite this, I know my story tells more truth about my character than anything else, which is why I decided to tell you this instead of one that makes me seem as if I am some flawless human being. My revelation of character begins with a simple hobby of mine: weightlifting. Who would have ever thought that a basic way of staying fit and strengthening my body would result in a lifealtering story that no one would ever know about until now? You see, my weightlifting career began as a small 135lb. freshman kid who just wanted to make a varsity team, but is now a somewhat epic tale that has forged an athlete with three school records, a FHSAA state record, three Florida Weightlifting Federation state records, strongest pound for pound Saint Cloud High lifter of all time, Pan American Games runner-up, etc. I could continue, but I spend more time contemplating the future than reminiscing in the past. My experience began one night during a very hard training cycle prior to a state competition my junior year. It was late, around 1 in the morning, and I found myself sitting alone on an ancient, slightly broken chair in between squat sets at 385lbs. concluding my second session of the day. As I found myself drifting in and out of sleep in between sets, I ground through the training telling myself it would all be worth it! The neverending training, arduous mental and physical breakdowns would end in a gold around my neck. I sometimes confused my sweat with tears of pain in my joints and muscles. This night is not what revealed who I am. It was the state competition that ended in my loss. I did not win that meet, I had gotten second place. Afterwards, I thought back to that night. I did not stop the training; I used it to motivate myself further. Ultimately, this story does not describe myself; It describes who I think I am. Accept me and help me further figure out who I will become.
Growing up I believed that I would live in the same house and the same neighborhood until I went off to college. College it seemed, was like initiation into the real world and I was happy to wait until it was my time. “Home of the heroes.” When driving into Pueblo, Colorado this is the phrase that people see proudly displayed defining the town that I grew up in, the town I learned to call home, and the town that three years ago, on June 13th, I left. Six months earlier my parents asked all of us if we wanted to move to the Gulf Coast and though I was less than excited about the idea, I didn’t want to be the only reason we stayed. My friends were here and the soccer team that I had worked so hard to be captain of was here, this was where I was supposed to live my life. Why would we move? When we arrived in our new city I tried to make it work. It seemed that my family had no problem fitting in, yet I faltered. I am not a shy person, I love meeting new people but it seemed that my new home wasn’t like home at all. Every day I went through the motions: meetings, school, practice, homework. I knew that something had to change. My struggle was that I didn’t believe that this was my home. I did not feel like this was where I was supposed to be spending my high school years.
I believed that the town you grew up in was where you were supposed to stay, until college. I believed college was the stepping stone from childhood to adulthood. My belief of how I was supposed to grow up was completely redefined. Macdraw pro. I knew that I couldn’t continue down the road that I was currently on. My solution was to throw myself into everything I could think of. I joined the Cross-Country team, the Debate team, and every extracurricular in JROTC. Slowly, this strange town began to feel like home.
Free College Admission Essay Examples
Until the age of 15 I didn’t know many people who had moved away from their childhood homes. Everyone that I knew growing up were the people I thought I would go to high school with. I believed people were meant to stay in one place until they knew who they were and who they wanted to be, which I believed happened upon graduating high school. However; when I moved from Colorado to Florida I realized that this wasn’t true at all. Moving has made me the person that I am and has helped me to decide on the person I want to be and given the opportunity I would choose to move again. Although I have no idea what my future holds, I know I will succeed wherever I am, because I’ve had this experience.