Indiana University

The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? It was an ideal day for a wedding. The sun was shining and was seventy degrees on top of one of … Read more Dealing with Failure in the Floral Business

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. Taking my spot in the third seat, I face the coxswain as she commands our boat. As we push off the dock, adrenaline … Read more Fingerprints

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? To many, it may seem farfetched to associate the feeling of being perfectly content with a sport as salty as fishing, but not to me. The way the cork grip of … Read more Hook, Line and thinker.

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? For many of my friends, summer break means swimming at the local pool and hanging out at our downtown movie theater. Yet for me, summer means traveling 6,000 miles to a … Read more Home Away From Home

General explanation of who I am and why the university should accept me “Jooooorrrrddddannnnn,” my mom screamed with utter fear and panic in her voice. Surprisingly, amongst all of the chaos, her voice was all that I heard. I’m not sure if I was disoriented, bewildered or just in complete shock but at that particular … Read more My Life

Common application “What make you, you?” “On Thursday,” announced my religion teacher, “we will be going to the zoo to find our animal totems.” For those that don’t know, an animal totem represents the Native American belief that each person has a connection to a specific animal. I was excited to begin my search, and … Read more Finding Your Animal Totem

In 300-500 words, please describe your musical background, objectives or future career plans. If there is additional information that you feel would be helpful to the Admission Committee please feel free to include it in your personal statement. (Note: This was for an undergraduate transfer application.)My musical journey began innocently enough, in my infancy, with … Read more A Keyboard in my Crib

For its series “Uninvent This,” The New Yorker asked writers to discuss what they wished had never been invented. Answers covered everything from technology to mundane objects to concepts. In that same spirit, what would you uninvent, and how would your life—and the world—be different without it? Photos freeze the world in place for just … Read more Uninvent Your Camera

Common Application – Free response question June 4th 20065:50amThe volunteers in the red shirts direct us to enter our corrals. It’s race time. Twenty-three thousand of us cram into our assigned areas and stand shoulder-to-shoulder, no room to move. I know what lies in wait—fifty-four thousand steps, or twenty-six and two tenths miles. It is … Read more Willow Tree

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? A six-year-old girl stands at the edge, unsure about the leap she must take. She is nervous; … Read more The Edge