Scholarship / 'high achieving students from low income families' - short answer response [2]

This is for a scholarship for 'high achieving students from low income families'.
This scholarship is very important to me, and i have been working very hard on these answers.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated and taken into consideration.
Thanks!!

1.What are your career goals and how did you develop them? (50 word limit)
I aspire to pursue a career in science and mathematics. I have a great passion for mathematics and am two years ahead of my grade level. More then anything in the world I wish to live life to its full potential by continuously building my knowledge, and challenging myself intellectually.

2.Describe which single activity/interest represents your most meaningful commitment and why? (50 word limit)
I have a strong commitment to my circus training, up to 25 hours a week. Circus gives me a good physical workout as well as a great opportunity to perform. Furthermore, I do a lot of community service through circus; I commonly perform for non-profit organizations, charities, fundraisers, and schools.

3.To what use have you put your earnings (for example, paying for food, bills, personal expenses, saving for college)? (50 word limit)
Performing in circus professionally means that I get paid to perform in many events; however, my earnings go to my family as a whole. By allowing me to train and perform, giving my earnings to the family as a whole is the least I can do to show my gratitude.

4.Please describe any special circumstances concerning your household income that you would like to have taken into account when your application is reviewed. (50 word limit)

Due to the fact that there are 8 people in my household and my father is the only provider, my parents are not able to help me with anything financially beyond the basic academics. As the oldest child I have had to sacrifice many financial aspects for my siblings.

5.If there are any extenuating circumstances, or details regarding your academic performance that you would like to add or clarify, please do so here. (50 word limit)

When looking at my academic performance it is important that you remember the fact that English is my second language and that I have struggles with dyslexia my entire life. I am proud of my academic performance because I work hard to get my grades to where they are.

Student Talk / Spring Vs. Fall admittance...? [7]

I am considering taking a semester off and then applying as an undergraduate for the spring semester, but sadly it seems very hard to find information about the spring admittance/ application process

I have a list of questions, and am having a very hard time figuring out if spring semester is a possibility worth looking into

-does it have any effect of your chances of getting accepted to the university?
-do all colleges offer a spring admittance? if not, which ones do?
-is spring admittance available only for transfer students? or undergraduates too?
- and will this have any effect on my likelihood of getting financial aid?

thank you so much for your help in advance :)

Undergraduate / "My love for circus" - your extracurricular activities or work experiences [2]

This is for the common application,
this essay should be 150 words or less
i am stuck at the 300's and really need help cutting it down,
any writing tips or comments/corrections will also be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance :)
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences

Outside of school I have a strong commitment to my circus training, in fact, I have been preforming professionally since the age of fifteen. Circus gives me a great opportunity to perform, and allows me to do what I never would have been able to otherwise. Through circus I can swing and climb doing amazing things at great heights in the air. I hang by my neck, do crazy flexibility tricks, balance on the top of a 20 feet high pole while doing a hand stand, tumble, and climbing on silks hanging from the sealing doing drops in which I end up with my head but a few inches from the ground.

My circus teacher, 85 year old, ____________ is a seventh generation circus performer who grew up in a traveling circus, and was one of the top and most skilled circus performers in the world. There are very few people who possess as much knowledge about circus as him. Because of that, _______ would work only with the people he picks himself, ones that 'deemed fit', showing enough passion and determination for him to put time and effort into; 'the best of the best'. It took nearly a year and a half of training until Pietro noticed me, with another half a year for him to decide to train me.

I have done many shows with performers from Ringling Brothers and Cirque de Soleil (the world's top circuses). Circus gives me a great physical workout and teaches responsibility and discipline.

In circus I am responsible for my safety as well as for that of the others around me, when you are so high in the air you can't allow yourself to be careless, even for a moment. Further then just being a 'professional performer', the acts I do are exceptionally rare due to their extreme difficulty, which is even more impressive considering my young age.

My brother and I do an act called 'hanging perch', something very few people can do, and most performers have never even seen before; and for a good reason, this act is extremely painful and difficult. In example, at one point of the act I am hanging in the air, spinning by my neck, off of my brother's neck, who is hanging upside-down by his foot. Things like this are hard to put into words, but worth every minute. There is nothing more freeing than being in the air.

does it flow well? and sound as impressive as i hope?
how do I cut it down??