Tulane University

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. It was our last scrimmage game before the start of the 2009 Valparaiso girls’ varsity basketball season. The clock counted down not only the time left in the game but also how many seconds I … Read more Another Door Opens

In roughly 500 words provide an insightful personal statement. During a typical fall morning in my second grade year, I came across my dad contemplating an endless list of blurry numbers that covered the pages of his newspaper. Looking up at me, he pointed to a sketch of man’s face. “This is Warren Buffett,” he … Read more A Lifelong Passion

Describe an experience that has affected you personally. One Sunday morning in March 2008, I dug into the recesses of the Bakersfield Californian to find an opinion article stating the possibility that our river could flow again after two dry years. A full river? My mind drifted back to when I could take my dog … Read more Saving the River

Describe an obstacle that you have overcome. I always looked forward to June 17, the birthday of my only living grandparent. Every year I spent the day composing corny jokes that made her to snort with laughter and murmur loving approval. But in 2002, in a matter of seconds, my associations with June 17 changed … Read more A loss that has changed me for the better

Open-ended My father has always told me that education can break down many barriers, whether they are class, racial, or religious. For this reason my father has made it a priority for me and my sister to attend well established private schools. This education has come at a heavy price to my father. As a … Read more From Humble Beginnings

Topic of your choice. “Test does not exist! We only think she exists!” The pale pink room was filled with too-bright morning light. High up on the Himalayan mountainside, the monastery had a sweeping view of the fog-covered village below. The portly monk continued, in strained English, why I wasn’t real, and everyone laughed good-naturedly. … Read more Letting Go of My “Eggo”

Please describe why you are interested in attending Tulane University (800 word max) Maybe my primitive attempts at making “medicine” from crushed berries in my backyard as a child were a foreshadowing of my current interests. More recently, AP Biology, where we explored the inner workings of life and the small details that shape it, … Read more Tulane University College Essay

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. I stood there, nose squished against the thick glass wall unmoved by my eager hands. After a “quick” hour and a half drive … Read more Common App Essay About Polar Bears

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? My junior year of high school, I took Honors Biology. Although I expected to do well, as I had always had … Read more Finding Opportunities for Self-improvement in Failure

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. What was it about Claudia’s brain that made her forget our entire conversation? Is her inability to remember my response affected by a … Read more Love on the Brain