Amherst College

A topic of your choice. I learned to write essays like prefabricated housing and sensible shoes—standardized, impeccable, identical. No flight of fancy dared disturb the military precision of my supporting arguments as they marched in brigades of four to five sentences, intent upon storming the fortress and seizing the A-plus as a trophy of war. … Read more The Storyteller

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? This is the balcony that extends into infinite dimensions. Inside: paintings and the smell of dusk. Lined against the tiled walls are canvases both void and filled. A soft light overhead. … Read more The Balcony

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,

“Stereotyped beliefs have the power to become self-fulfilling prophesies for behavior.” I stir fried the noodles, steamed the broccoli, pulled pie out of the oven, and set the table. My younger brother Roy put down the forks. We both sat down, and Roy took the first bite. He chewed for a few seconds, looked up … Read more Filling the Gap

Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? The stage lights burst open, blinding and white. I trembled. I was at the citywide poetry slam, Verselandia, about to perform in front of hundreds. Earlier in the month, I … Read more Redefining My Purpose Through Slam Poetry

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

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