Princeton University

Tell us about a person who has affected your life in a significant way. I graduated in 2000 from Rockway Middle School, at the time a “C+” crowded public school struggling to improve its programs; to the surprise of some, I did so having had the honor of being taught by several excellent teachers. They … Read more From Clashes to Wisdom

Please briefly tell us about yourself. I may seem to be a little bit unexpected, a tad too brash because I’m frequently rushing from one place to another, one meeting to the next, one errand to a physics lab: a windmill of both activity and laugher. However, if it seems slightly perplexing to my peers … Read more Echoes

One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of… One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of the human brain. After a particularly lacklustre discussion in my religion class, our teacher gave us an extra writing assignment. “Who is responsible,” she posed to the class, “for … Read more The Human Brain

Personal statement for the common application. A year and a day’s journey lay ahead of every fabled knight in search of the ever elusive Holy Grail, and if said knight was deemed worthy to find it, exhaustion would cause him to sleep at the feet of the Grail without ever truly seeing it. And while … Read more Finding My Faith

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Waving our banner wildly, we counted down the seconds, not at the homecoming game, but rather the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff. With only six weeks to build, wire, and program a 120-pound machine, my … Read more Robotics Brainstorming

If you believe that there is some fact, experience, talent, thought, or quality that didn’t fit into our application but which you’d like us to take into consideration, let us know about it here. Recently, a seemingly small, insignificant memory stick changed my attitudes about the world and myself. The power of this small device … Read more A Life’s Fable From a Small Memory Stick

Discuss a significant quote you live by. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” –Michael JordanIt didn’t register … Read more Failure Leads to Success

Elaborate on an experience without which you feel you would be a different person today. I am breathing heavily, not from fatigue but simply the anticipation of exhaustion. My heart beats fast, waiting for the sharp pierce in the air. Finally, the gun fires, and I see fifty pairs of legs begin flying, and soon … Read more Racing Doesn’t Always End at the Finish Line

Please tell us how you have spent the last two summers (or vacations between school years), including any jobs you have held; 2500 characters max Soaring over rocky peaks, the colossal metal bird carried me in its belly, and after hours of flight, I finally reached my destination: Baltimore, Maryland. Despite the sea of people … Read more Summer

Please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience) “Poetry is a packsack of invisible keepsakes.”~ Carl Sandburg It is impossible to convey the art of words with more words. Case in point: try to find another word for “salty.” It isn’t bitter; it isn’t sour; it’s salty. Likewise, the terms … Read more Poetry