Essays from several of the high school seniors that The Inquirer is following through the admissions process.

College Essay for George Washington University

(Tell us in no more than 500 words what motivated you to apply and describe what contacts you have had with GW. We have told you about the dynamic GW classroom, campus, and city experience, now tell us how you will make use of these resources in meeting your educational goals.)

When I first stepped onto the campus at The George Washington University, everything felt right. I had some ideas about what my ideal college would be like and where that college might be. When I arrived at George Washington, the academic classes, the community feel, the campus life, and the location were everything I had in mind. From the start, I was interested in the Social Sciences and International Relations because I like learning about different cultures and how people act socially and economically. Since Washington DC is the home to the national government, it is the perfect place to pursue my academic career because of the many resources and opportunities it has to offer. The embassies and governmental internships on and around campus would be beneficial and very convenient to my learning. I would have a first hand experience in what I want to do and the organizations are located less than a mile away.

The campus at the university is very lively and welcoming. The undergraduate population is a big enough size so that there are many things happening, but is not too big to get lost and forgotten. City schools are known not to have school spirit and a neighborhood sense, but when I came to George Washington, I was surprised to realize that that was exactly what I felt. This is what I was looking for in a school. I think I would fit right into the student body because I like to be around people, and, from what I have seen and heard, GW students are hardworking while happy and fun to be with. Also, the intelligence and diligence in the professors and students themselves is contagious. I know I would learn a lot in the environment and academic atmosphere.

The two completely different settings on each campus give the school the best of two worlds, a city and an oasis. I do enjoy the hustle and bustle, but I know I would take advantage of the quiet, rolling hills at Mount Vernon. Because of the two locations and the city, the places to go and discover at the school seem never-ending, directing me to where I would study and places I would enjoy. The activities on the campus as a whole are endless, and the clubs and organizations fit every background and every personality because of the beautiful diversity at the school. I want to become involved in the activities the university has to offer and extend the tradition of involved students. This university had every aspect that I could hope for in a school plus one thing that distinguished it from the others; I felt comfortable. From the first moment I stepped onto the campus to the last moment when I left the parking garage, I was smiling.

College Essay

One of my teachers once said "variety is the spice of life." When she said this she meant that learning more French adjectives would vary the words so we would not use the same words in a monotonous slur we called a sentence. But to me the saying made me think of Mexican Food. In Mexican Cuisine everything is colorful and different. The textures, colors, and flavors create a fiesta that everyone can enjoy.

In life I think Mexican food every day would be amazing because who could get sick of it? You could have a dish that is not any more similar one to the previous than a school newspaper is to Lab internship or to a choir singing Brahmsʼ fourth movement of his Requiem The food is thick and sweet but at the same time smooth and spicy. The food is always different. Life is always changing and full of different things to try.

When I found out that I was Editor-in-chief of my school newspaper I was happy at first, then scared. What was I going do? I had almost no experience with the newspaper except for an occasional article. But as I started to get the first issue together I found that the newspaper, despite its black and white appearance, was more like Mexican food than I ever could have imagined. Every article I wrote and laid out was different and unique, each with a voice that spoke in tones so different. Some in dark hushed tones to spook the audience at Halloween, while some had warm bright colors to tell a story so moving. Each article a nacho, some stale and bland some cheesy and perfect. The newspaper is now my life, and the Mexican food keeps me full.

As an education major a summer job as a lab intern was not really what I had in mind. Each day was getting up in the gray part of the day, entering a gray building and sitting at a gray work bench. It was who I worked with that made every day different, from three just out of college grads, to a few Doctors, to someone who had gone skydiving and water-skiing. Each person was a different face and attitude. The salsa of life was there in the people who inhabited the grayish gloop called Coriell. Coriell was the rice in Mexican food that looks bland and mild but is really a delicious party of spices and sweetness.

"It is most likely one of the most beautiful pieces of music in the world!" said my music teacher when we started ʽthe Brahmsʼ. "A German Beauty,"she said. Well one month later and we were almost done learning the German and my teacher said that she would use this piece when she directed some all-national chorus in Oklahoma City or Kansas City or one of those cities with a state as its name. Another month went by and our winter concert came around. We sang the fourth Movement of Brahmsʼ Requiem followed by the Joyful, Joyful from the Sister Act 2. No things were as different, ever.

My experiences and my life are a Mexican restaurant's menu. I have done things like work in a Medical research lab dealing with blood samples and DNA to laying out a school newspaper. From the spicy colorful nachos to the mild greyish gloop called a chimichanga my life is a Mexican fiesta. Most people I know would rather just have the same bowl of plain mush every day, never thinking that life can be any more flavorful than a mashed bean. But I would rather have everything in my life be different and unique, just like a bowl of green, orange, and yellow salsa.

College Essay for Drexel

Several years ago, I went to see the musical "The Phantom of the Opera," which hundreds of thousands of people have probably seen since it premiered in the late 1980s. I sat in the back row of the theater and was pulled into the dilapidated 1919 Paris Opera House for the next two and half hours.

It amazed me afterward how much the story depended upon the idea of masks and how much my own life revolves around masks. These are not conventional masks but more of acting a certain way around certain people. We all do this, I believe. I certainly do. My own masks vary from class to class, and home to extra-curricular activities. During lunch, I might be comical and out-going (or at least try to be), while during European History, I am quiet and studious with my ever-moving hand taking notes. Then, at rehearsals for plays or musicals, I become relaxed and humorously-sarcastic. It is strange to realize how much I, like many people, change personalities or appearances when entering a room or the presence of someone else.

The creative aspect of our lives depends heavily on this idea of masks. Pieces of literature spanning from novels to poems to plays all promote an idea hidden behind a story. Architectural plans promote a idea through the design of a building. Though the idea is never clearly stated with either architecture or literature, both have an interior motive for being created.

A major cross between these two disciplines is theater, where set design and playwriting coincide. Personally, I would enjoy trying to do both. As a playwright, I present an idea to the audience, which can be enhanced or even twisted by the set design. The theater, itself, is an object of illusion. It provides an opportunity for people walk around in front of hundreds of people, put on a mask, and act like someone else. The sets, costumes, make-up and lights create a picture which does not really exist. I have learned this first hand in high-school theater as an actor and as an audience member at professional shows. The strange part about all this is that people envy those who get to partake in such an event. Even I do, one of the reasons I would like to contribute to theater through writing and designing.

Skill come with both time and practice. I have taken some preliminary courses at high-school (two drafting classes taught by an architect) and done some independent work (three or four original plays I have written) for both subjects, all of which have made me realize how much I would love to pursue each on a more professional level. I want Drexel University to be the school that allows me to step out from behind my masks and explore my passion for writing and architecture to my fullest potential.

Throughout my 17 years on this earth, I have learned many valuable lessons from both my family and my peers.  Of the most important lessons I have been taught, one of them sticks out strongly in my mind: faith makes all things possible.  If you do not have faith in your actions, words, or thoughts, what purpose do they serve?

Both of my grandfathers taught me this lesson, first when my father’s father needed a quadruple bypass heart surgery nine years ago.  Before the operation, my grandpop had faith in the doctors in the operating room and believed that his recovery would progress well if he had faith in his physical and mental capabilities.  My grandpop never gave up or stopped trying.  When the doctors told him that he might not do well after the surgery, my grandpop was determined to prove them wrong because he knew that he would make his recovery a success by thinking positively about his situation.  My grandpop has shown me that you should never call it quits; you need to run the race and believe in yourself before admitting defeat.

The idea that faith makes all things possible has played an important role in my life, especially when my mother’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.  After 10 years of living with this disease, he continues to get up every morning, do his physical therapy exercises, and function seemingly just as well as any other 78 year old.  I once asked him what kept him going, and he told me that, even at his toughest moments, he is reminded that there are people out there in a much worse condition than he is.  He says that he never surrenders to the disease and knows that God will give him the strength to make it through each day.  My grandpop inspires me to take a deeper look at my life and realize that I was only given this life because I am strong enough to live it.  Everything happens for a reason, and faith leads to courage and hope, knowing that, even though it may be difficult sometimes, I need to believe in my abilities and those of the people around me.

At Villanova, I know that this concept of faith making all things possible will continue to dwell within me and encourage me to work to my potential.  While I always put 110% of myself into everything I do, whether it be academic or extracurricular, I understand that I am not perfect.  I learn from my mistakes and feel that my potential years at Villanova could prove to be the most formative years of my life thus far as a learning and growing experience.  I have learned to value what I have been given and to not take anything for granted.  At Villanova, I would cherish the opportunity to share this lesson of faith with everyone I come in contact with.  If someone is going through a tough time in their life and feels as though all hope is lost, I would remind them that anything truly is possible if you just believe.  The outcome in the end might not always be what you were hoping for, but there truly is a reason you are dealing with a difficult situation.  Presently and in the future, I hope to show people that they should believe in themselves in order to make their dreams and aspirations possible.

During my time at Villanova, I would make it a priority to apply myself diligently to all my school work and club involvement.  If I need to take a difficult test or write an extensive paper that might seem practically impossible, I will keep in mind that I just need to have faith.  Whenever I set my mind to something, I am determined to complete it, create it, or achieve it.  I hope that the excitement I exhibit in my activities in college will motivate others to feel the same way.  My grandfathers have touched my life in ways that I will never be able to fully understand, and I can only wish that I am able to bring the same encouragement into the lives of others.

At Villanova, I hope that my consistent drive to do well and learn will be taken as a sign of the dedicated work of the professors.  By putting my all into everything I do and never saying never, I hope to prove to the professors that their work has inspired me to be a better student and a better person.  In the many research opportunities Villanova offers, I look forward to working side by side with fellow students, and learning from the environment around me.  If a challenge presents itself, I feel that I would be able to motivate my classmates to realize their full potential and to recognize how important it is to never give up.  When someone tells me I cannot do something, I feel even more compelled to do well, knowing that working to my fullest potential is all I or anyone else can ask for.

Villanova will help my belief in the power of faith come to fruition.  My future is bright, full of many challenging steps ahead, but knowing that I have faith will carry me through anything.  I hope to bring change and enlightenment to the world by impacting the life of one person at a time through faith.  In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into,” and this is exactly what I will continue to do!

As I looked around, I observed the vast array of students in the lunchroom. There was a table for the drama kids, the football players, the African American kids, the “divas”, the “out there” kids, the so-called losers, and the kids who did not seem to fit in anywhere. My observation caused me to ask myself the question, “Where do I fit in?” All of my life I have considered myself to be somewhat of a chameleon. Similar to the way in which the lizard can change the color of its skin to adapt and camouflage itself in new environments, I seem to be able to fit in with almost all of the multifaceted members of these social groups. Or, does this mean that I do not necessarily fit in anywhere? My ability to adapt and feel comfortable with the people with whom I surround myself is partly due to my friendly, reserved, open-minded and non-judgmental personality.

The change in color of a chameleon is not only a result of its ability to blend in with its environment but also the representation of its physical and psychological condition. The chameleon’s skin is most representative of my ability to accentuate the part of my personality that compliments those who surround me at the time. If I sit with the jocks, I recall the most amazing play of the game last Saturday, or if I sit with the drama kids knowing about the most recent play on Broadway enables me to contribute to the conversation at the lunch table. However, the group that most unmistakably identifies itself with me, based on the color of my skin, is the African American table where it seems that I would be able to be most like myself, no camouflage of character or false precepts necessary. Yet, this is not the case. In all of my years of being able to successfully fit in with those people who from first glance may not seem to reflect a part of who I am, I feel the most pressure in trying to fit in with those who look most like me.  Ironically, I have felt like this for the bulk of my life. Having the privilege of attending a predominately Caucasian private school for a significant portion of my life has had both its pros and cons. For instance, although I have been exposed to some of the greatest educational resources available, being in predominately Caucasian environments for such lengths of time has caused me at times to forget about those who most greatly identify themselves with me. Though I can blend in with many different groups, the color of my skin is something that is constantly with me. There is no way to literally transform the color of my skin like a chameleon can, and this was somewhat difficult for me to understand initially. At the African American table, sometimes I have to act differently, speak differently, and even be interested in different subject matters than I would at others tables. Is this not similar to what a chameleon does all of the time?

Considering myself a chameleon in terms of my personality has its positives and negatives. For one, I can sit almost wherever I want without being questioned or looked at funny and can often, without reluctance, relate to the topic of conversation. Also, I feel that in being a chameleon, I broaden my ability to make different friends. Being like a chameleon has been socially advantageous. Floating gracefully among tables, I have been able to easily communicate with a variety of people, a skill that other students often struggle with. After all, it is not easy for a person who sits at the drama table all of the time to be able to fit in comfortably with the jocks. On the other hand, being a chameleon is not always easy. Sometimes during lunch I feel pressured to sit at one certain table while trying not to upset the people of another group sitting at a different table. Also, I feel that being a chameleon takes a lot of responsibility and makes others have greater expectations of me. Sometimes it is difficult to balance moving from one group to another. Yet, being a chameleon teaches me about the importance of flexibility and how to expand my horizons and branch out to others who may not necessarily be interested in me at first glance.

Everyday as I look at this separation of groups in our cafeteria, despite my initial hesitations, I have come to realize that my chameleon-like personality is ultimately advantageous. Although it may seem as though the football player has nothing in common with the “drama nerd,” or the so called “geek” has nothing in common with the “it” girls, I have discovered that they all, we all, have a great deal more in common with each other than not and that our differences only serve to enrich us individually and collectively.