1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or a taking lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?
Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?
Sample Essay #1 UC Irvine (517 words)
I used to come from a family of four, which consisted of my mother, my father, my brother and me. I was doing well in school, at the top of my class, impressing my parents. We were a very stable, healthy family until we reached a moment that turned our lives around 180 degrees. My mother was pregnant with my baby brother when finally the day came that we welcomed him into the family. We were very happy to meet him. We left them at the hospital that night expecting to come back the next day to bring them back home. I did not realize at the time that only one of them would come home with us. My mother developed a blood clot in her thigh that her doctor had not noticed. She immediately passed away.
My life began to spiral down from there. I gave up on myself, not really knowing what had happened. Every day after that, I started to drift away. I isolated myself from everyone around me, constantly thinking about what had happened. I stayed in this mental coma throughout my third grade year, ending up at the bottom of my class. My dad had told me that I needed to take on the role which my mother once had, which was to take care of my two little brothers. Soon after, my dad started to develop a drinking problem. He would leave us at home for hours to drink alcohol with his friends and I would have to take on the role of both my parents. I would cook, clean, help my brothers with their homework; meanwhile, I would try to stay on task with school. I knew that this was worsening my situation, but I did not want to show this weakness to my brothers. As my father gave less care towards my brothers, I had to give more.
I started to do well in middle school because I wanted to set a great example for my brothers and I knew that my mother would not want me to be sad for her; I started to do well as I entered middle school because it was a fresh start, leaving most of the bad memories behind. My life could have easily continued to go downhill from the first obstacle, but I eventually found out that in order to become successful, I needed to overcome it all.
My mom never knew of my desire to pursue a career in the medical field; I have never told her because I was deprived of that opportunity. I aspired to become a doctor, a significant person in someone’s life that will never fail them like my mom’s doctor failed me. She would want me to help those families that need their loved ones in the right hands. Once I reach my goal of obtaining a career in the medical field, I would like to help that hospital in which my mother passed away and find improvements so that this easily preventable tragedy will not happen again to another child as it did to me.
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?
How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?
Sample Essay #1 Brown (372 words)
My father has always said that I have “brain surgeon hands,” probably because they’re rather large with fingers so long and thin that my school ring has to be held on with masking tape. Those who knew less about my ambitions tend to call them “basketball player hands.” Of course, there is always that small minority that persist in calling them “ballet hands.” (Although I danced for nine years, I no longer harbor dreams of Nutcrackers and Swan Lakes.) Under it all, I am primarily a writer; writing has allowed me to express my thoughts and ideas in every discipline, and in the words of Carl Van Vechten, “An author doesn’t write with his mind, he writes with his hands.”
Often, when I have a free moment, I find myself looking bemusedly at these hands of mine, and reflecting on the many things they have done. When I was a child, they curled themselves around a crayon to scrawl my first letters; they clutched at the handles of a bicycle, refusing to trust my training wheels; they arched delicately over my head in pirouettes and slid, wriggling, into softball gloves. Later, they held a pen ready to express all the ideas and questions and answers that bloomed in my mind.They hoisted my increasingly heavy knapsack to my shoulders and toted it back and forth to literary editing sessions, Spanish dinners, and council meetings. They donned white gloves to ring handbells with the Lambrequins, and twisted nervously behind my back while I performed; they adjusted colored lights for school performances and learned to pluck a microphone from its stand with apparent ease.
Someday, these hands will grip forceps and retractors, tense and slick; they will rake through my hair with fatigue as I sit in library carrels studying graphs and figures, Someday soon, they will hold a daisy-adorned diploma from Lincoln School, and they will hold again, as they have in the past, trophies and book awards and certificates. I have confidence that they will become the hands of an M.D., with the power to heal and comfort solemnly implicit, and I have every hope that these hands will someday, thrilled and proud, touch the opened Van Winkle Gates as they enter.
Sample Essay #2 (316 words)
When most people listen to music, they mainly admire the guitar and drums, yet some do notice the bass. Personally, I find playing the bass is a unique part of my personality because it is a piece of a whole that often goes unnoticed, yet plays a very important part in the whole. Like this often over-looked instrument, I too am an outsider, not acknowledged much of the time, yet known well by a few. Just as there are songs in which the bass stands out the most, there are times when I too am well-noticed. I stand out when it comes to presenting or volunteering in some sort of presentation or group activity. One such time was when I had to present a speech for an argumentation class I took over the summer on a topic I had to create and support an assertion about. Having the opportunity to be heard was a time in which I felt part of the whole, similar to when a bass has an amazing solo in a song.
The bass and music in general are important in my life because they both are avenues through which I can let out my emotions and be relieved of any stress or problems I’m having. Without music I probably would not be the person I am now. Music is a creative form of art in which anything I want to say or any message I want to convey can be expressed with more facility than in regular speech. Playing an instrument has become a part of me for the past three years and will stay with me in my future. I hope that with this skill, I will continue to see the positive effects of expressing myself through music. I will continue to express myself through music and hold firmly to my aspirations of leading a positive and successful life with it.
3.What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?
Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?
Sample Essay #1 UC Irvine (371 words)
I found a steady passion, playing volleyball, throughout all of high school. No volleyball season was every the same. As time passed, new players came and old ones left to continue their life. I created bonds with girls I would never have known otherwise and learned how to work efficiently with others where the bond was not as strong.Throughout it all, there have been times where I could have stopped and where I wanted to stop, for reasons I do not remember, but the love I had for the sport kept me hooked. Now that I am no longer playing, I wish it would last longer. Volleyball has truly become one of my passions; not because of how well I can pass a ball or how many points I can score on an opponent, but because of how it has enriched my adolescence.
Playing volleyball has made me realize who I was and what I was capable of. When I began playing, I was a novice to the teen world. I didn’t know how I would handle the moodiness and the drama yet to come, but playing has helped relieve all the stress. After a good practice, I was in a happy mood and felt like I could accomplish any task. It helped me become more social and affable and not afraid to speak in public. I am now able to try new things for the sake of my improvement and am not afraid to fail a couple of times to get things right. Though now I am only seventeen and have yet to discover all of who I am, most of what I can do at this point is because of the experience playing volleyball has given me.
As the last game of my last season ended, I could feel the sweet summer turning into a cooler fall. I can see myself transforming from the young naïve girl to the young adult eager and more prepared for the future. Nothing from now on will be the same as before, the warm comforting days where my worries were about how to improve my skills on the court will change to chilly nights wondering what life choice is best for me.
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.
If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strived to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today?
Sample Essay #1 Harvard (554 words)
I have had the unusual experience of being in a hospital without being sick—well, I did for a while. In May 1995, I began working once a week at Massachusetts General Hospital. I imagined myself passing the scalpel to a doctor performing open-heart surgery, or better yet, stumbling upon the cure for cancer. It turned out, however, that my title was “patient discharge personnel.” My wheelchair and I would be called on to fetch newly discharged patients from their rooms.
This discharge experience taught me lessons—both comical and sad—about hospital life.
Last spring, I handled the discharge of Oliver, a twelve-year-old boy undergoing chemotherapy. When I asked how we would be going home, he replied, “how do I get to the nearest subway station?” Apparently, Oliver’s parents were busy and couldn’t bring him home from the hospital. I gave Oliver 85 cents and walked him to the Charles/MGH subway stop. After explaining what inbound and outbound meant, I watched a frightened little boy board the train. Teenagers in my town have one thing in common: our parents lavish us with attention, even spoil many of us. But what I saw that day opened my eyes to a life wholly different from my own.
Some months later, a thirty-something man came to the desk asking for his father’s room. When I looked up his computer entry, the father name came up with the code for the morgue: deceased. Not knowing what to do, I told him my computer was down and directed him to the attending physician.
Then life changed. On a beautiful, hot, August day, my lung collapsed. I was at a basketball camp in Cambridge when I felt a searing pain through my upper back and chest. Anyone who has had a pitchfork driven through his shoulder knows exactly how I felt. The camp trainer said not to worry; at worst, I might have an enlarged spleen, a telltale sign of “mono.” The trainer had no idea what he was talking about. Next stop, the hospital.
I spent one night at Mass General, sleeping with an oxygen mask to pump my lung back up. The doctors sent me home the next morning with a sore back and no sleep: this collapsed lung was just a singular event, a one hit wonder. Wrong. In October, my lung collapsed again. This time I spent two nights with the oxygen mask. I was about as recognizable as the face behind Darth Vader’s mask.
Though I knew I was in good hands, my main feeling as a patient was helplessness. Nonetheless, I experienced one small triumph near the end of my stay. On the way to the CT scan, my wheelchair attendant had no clue where we were going. Not only did I know the way; I knew a shortcut. The attendant was impressed. For a moment, I was not a patient, but again part of the invisible fraternity of hospital workers.
The most consistent component of my life during that year was the hospital. When I see someone with an oxygen mask wheeled by my desk, I don’t assume an attitude of indifference. I know what it is to push- - and be pushed in—the wheelchair. An extended stay at the hospital helped me realize and appreciate what a normal life is.
Sample Essay #2 UCLA (501 words)
Walking into the animal shelter, I knew what I was getting myself into. Knowing I would be working with the one specific animal I did not like gave me anxiety. I walked in hesitantly, but as I began to do my job, to nurse 1-3 week old kittens, I fell in love.
Cats were the only domestic animals that I disliked. Despite this fact, I decided to give this specific volunteer work a try. As I opened the door to the nursery room, a peculiar smell hit me. The smell of cats that I despised was filling the entire room. At first this really bothered me, but I wanted to follow through with what I had signed up for; therefore, I tried not to let something as small as this affect me. There were cages stacked from the ground to the ceiling, against every wall in the room. Each cage had at least three cats in it. I felt overwhelmed by the sight of so many cats surrounding me. Again, I tried to suppress what I was feeling in order to focus on the reason I was there. I began to look closely into each cage, glimpsing at each kitten, when I noticed a three-week-old grey, long haired cat. This cat really caught my attention because, not only was it beginning its life in a shelter, but it also had to live without an eye. I then realized I was there for an important reason, to care for kittens that cannot care for themselves.
I eventually fell in love with these animals and with the tasks I had to complete. My responsibility was to bottle-feed the kittens. This sounds simple, but there is a lot more to it. Because these kittens are so young, their immune systems are very weak. Therefore, everything has to be kept clean while we perform our tasks. Each specific cat has its own bottle so diseases won’t be spread. I have to make sure not to mix up the bottles and to remember to wash my hands after everything I do. It is a lot of work just to bottle-feed a kitten, but it is truly worth it. After gathering my materials, I have to grab a kitten and wrap a small blanket around its body, like a burrito, so only its head is visible. As I place the bottle filled with warm milk into the kitten’s mouth, it begins to drink. While they drink, their ears flap back and forth. Watching their tiny ears flap fills my heart with joy, knowing that I am caring for these helpless animals.