William and Mary College

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum). The fan is chugging away overhead, desperately fighting off the heat that Jinhua’s summers are infamous for. But I am oblivious: I’m finishing my drawing of Mickey Mouse. With pencil in hand, markers sprawled about, and … Read more Artist

Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? Eye color was evenly divided in my family before I was born: two sets of blue eyes and two sets of green eyes. My birth would have traditionally tipped the scales, but I was born with one blue eye and … Read more Unique Eyes

Try to fit who you are in 500 words. Anything allowed! I am well known for having many strongly held personal convictions. Whether people look fondly on my convictions or harness utter disdain for them is a completely different story. Some are seen to be outrageous, such as believing that dipping Wendy’s fries in Frosties … Read more A Man of Convictions

Students at the University of Notre Dame are passionate! Their passion gives direction and definition to campus academic, community, and spiritual life. Recognizing that you have already provided us with a list of your extracurricular activities, please briefly describe your greatest passion and tell us how it defines and directs you. I stood on my … Read more My Passion for Literature

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. No matter how old I grow, the meaning of friendship has always remained the same – loyalty, sympathy, understanding, and unwavering support. I learned this lesson early in life, back when my best friend’s trampoline … Read more “All That Matters”

Topic 5 from Common Application: Personal Topic Describe a character-defining instance of strength in the face of adversity. (Submitted as supplemental essay to some schools) “Kai houtos manthano.”* To most, they are meaningless words, incomprehensible and bizarre. But to me, their meaning is legion: secrecy, silence, concealment. They are Greek, and they mean subversive. I … Read more A Battle for Insight

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. In my hometown, Nanchang, China, the Gan River divides the city into two worlds. One side of the river has enjoyed much government … Read more Personal Statement

William and Mary Common Application supplement: Tell us a little more about yourself. Submit anything you like — an additional essay, a collage, a photo album — that will give us a better idea of who you are. I have been told I am a thinker: one who is commonly lost in thought – which … Read more Lost In (which is “en” in Greek, “in” in Latin, but “en” again in Latinates) Thought

“Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.” I stared at the inmates crowding the courtyard in front of me and began to wonder what I was doing in a prison. My visit was for three weeks during which I was tasked … Read more A Summer Away From 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. On my first day of third grade, I wore tap shoes to school. The majority of my elementary school years was a blur, … Read more The Tap Shoes