The University of Iowa

Common app free writing prompt, Write about anything you want? Would you ever drop everything – your time, your friends, and your family – to serve other people? To be completely honest, I never thought I would. But somehow I found myself on the beach in Samos, Greece. I unlaced my high tops and placed … Read more Efcaristo

Describe a leadership experience you have had. My stomach lurched violently as if it had been caught on a fishhook and jerked suddenly forward. The scene before me, a bunch of shorts and t-shirt clad high school marching band kids puffing through various instruments, swayed and became blurry, as if separated from me by a … Read more From Stomach-Churning to Leadership

Tell about an experience that changed you. Two flamboyant characters sat in the center of the first row; I saw their hands dancing wildly in the air while I tiptoed quietly into the theatre so as not to pop their bubble of eccentricity. However, the heavy door’s loud click as it closed behind me gave … Read more The Performance Changed the Performer

Presidential Scholarship Personal Essay – (750 to 1000 words): Write about an experience that made you realize you were growing up. High school is a time of confusion for almost everyone. At times it seems that nothing is clear or simple. There is confusion about who you are, what your personal moral code should be, … Read more Growing Up