Lehigh University

Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn? It was 2 AM. As my fingers moved across the keyboard, words sprang onto the surface of my laptop screen like drops of tar. Word count revealed that I had only written 500 words today. … Read more A Fairy Tale

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. He reached out, unfurled his hand, and looked up at me with what can only be described as a look of … Read more Coming Full Circle

Topic of your choice. Giving up my weekend nights for swim practice was something I was used to by the time I reached high school. Swimming, I felt, was my niche, and with that niche came many sacrifices. Yet, for all the “hardships” that came with it, I earned the benefits back ten-fold. Practices were … Read more How Swimming Has Affected My Life

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. It was a crisp, clear January day in Park Ridge, New Jersey, a few miles from the middle of nowhere. Before me stood an imposing sight: Schubert’s Impromptu. With a length of fourteen pages and … Read more Piano Conquest

Any Topic “Merudh, get up, get up!” It was four in the morning, and I was four years old. The heart-pounding sound of my dad’s voice woke me out of a deep sleep. As I peeked through my bedroom door, I saw my father bolt out of our house with my mother in his arms. … Read more A Simple Smile

Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? The best way to learn is through blood, sweat, and a little bit of vomit. Prior to my relatively new experiences in EMS I always believed that the classroom was where you … Read more Challenging the Classroom

You’ve just reached your one millionth hit on your YouTube video. What is the video about? It’s May 5, a typical Thursday. Your alarm rings. You sit up, check your phone, and spot a Facebook viral video on Holocaust Memorial Day. It’s not an ordinary day. Plugging in your headphones, you brace yourself and hit … Read more Holocaust Memorial Day: an Underrated and Under-recognized Holiday

Imagine you just completed your visit to Lehigh University. What would you tweet and why? Two dogs with bladder problems, one screaming six year old, and one painful, fifteen-hour drive. After suffering through traffic jams, vehicle smog tests, and no privacy, my parents decided to uproot our San Diego routines and begin a new life … Read more @Home

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. My hair used to fall out because I thought I was strong, my heartbeat used to waver because I thought I was in … Read more My Hands

Common App Essay : Describe my life story I felt an unequivocal sense of community when I gazed at my dinner plate one night at Chewonki and acknowledged that the beets, potatoes, and lettuce on my plate were plucked from the earth by me and my best friends. The hours that we expended on the … Read more Common App Essay