Amherst College

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 woke up at six that morning. My mom had left an hour earlier to work her two full-time jobs. It … Read more Finding Christmas

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. It was already 6 PM, and I walked across the classroom, wary of the many fingers tapping away at their keyboards, their mouse clicks, their resizing and editing articles, photos, and captions. It was … Read more Student Newspaper in Every Middle School

Write on a topic of your choice. From Negative to Positive (Or Positive to Negative?) The lurid confessions of a member of Teeny-Bopper AnonymousWow. Wasn’t I cool? Since this picture was taken, everything outside of myself – my appearance, my surroundings, even my superficial attitudes about life – has undergone a complete revolution. Contrasting me … Read more From Negative to Positive (Or Positive to Negative?) The Lurid Confessions of a Member of Teeny Bopper Anonymous

Topic of your choice. Another failed sports season passed: no hits, no touchdowns. I entered 6th grade with my dreams of becoming a jock squashed. Then my parents informed me that I was enrolling in band. Still clinging to my ESPN hopes, I warned my parents that taking band would be social suicide. In the … Read more Music

Describe a situation in your life that you considered to have been a life-changing experience. Include any negative or positive variables that were associated with this event. Essay must not exceed two pages in length. “Wow,” I whispered to myself as I walked into the main doorway of my new high school. I walked through … Read more It Doesn’t Matter If You’re Black Or White,

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. When I was ten months old, I grabbed onto the coffee table and hauled myself up, arms shaking, fists clenched, knees wobbling; ten … Read more What I Learned from Synchronized Swimming

“Translation is the art of bridging cultures. It’s about interpreting the essence of a text, transporting its rhythms and becoming intimate with its meaning…Translation, however, doesn’t only occur across languages: mentally putting any idea into words is an act of translation; so is composing a symphony, doing business in the global market, understanding the roots … Read more The Art of Translation

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. For me the world can have a strangely retentive quality, in which certain places represent the nerve points of my past. When I … Read more Art 101