Undergraduate / Outcast -Admission essay to UT, issue of importance [2]

Topic: Choose an issue of importance to you - the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope - and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation..

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This is a difficult school to get into so please help me out guys!!!

Outcast

I part ways with my best friend of 3 years as her mom would love to live in Pennsylvania. Tragically this was the year that we were supposed to start high school together and I without my sidekick was painful. I wouldn't say we were the most popular kids in middle school but we manage to make it out without any harm since we mostly stuck with each other. Now she is gone and I have to face such a big transition alone. My first day of school at Round Rock High School was a short day. It involved me trying to find my classes in a campus with 9 buildings spread out like a college campus. 14 years old at the time I feel like a lost child in the mall. Too nervous to talk to anyone and ask for directions. I look at my map and could not find out how to get to the 300 building. The tardy bell rings and I am still frantically searching for this mystical 300 building. I searched for so long I was positive it wasn't real. So I run to the back of the school and begin to cry as I call my mom. "I can't find the 300 building and I'm already 20 minutes late to class!" I tell my mom. She must have felt my pain because after a short conversation she was on her way to pick me up from school at 1:00. Glad that I got my first day over I knew I had to go back the next day, and well for four more year that I was not looking forward to. That next day went a little smoother because I found all my classes. But when the lunch bell rang my heart sank. I was in a school of 3,500 kids yet I knew none of them. With my fear of eating alone I sat next to the teacher that was on lunch duty and I guess when I made that choice I had also involuntarily cause my social suicide. When the bell rang again to go to class these two girls came up to me and ask me if I was a nark. I looked at her strange and her friend assured her I wasn't but that I was in fact just a newbie nerd. That wasn't quite the welcome I had desired. And that was just the beginning. Along with the increase in antagonizing I had a decrease in self-esteem. I was the quiet girl in class which made people think I was stupid and weird. Being in class wasn't so bad as lunch and the 20 minute wait for my bus. Those were the time when the other kids got bored and decided that my humiliation was going to be their entertainment. They said I was too stupid to go to school and that I should just drop out. And I really considered it a few times but my mother refused to let me just give up. I just tried to ignore it, but it didn't work, it still hurt. I missed quite a few days of school just so I didn't have to face the other kids. Sometimes I would leave school during lunch just so I didn't have to sit alone or hear the remarks from students as they walked by. The other kids would ask me, "Where are your friends?" and laugh as they walked away. I couldn't even count the amount of times that I was told, "nobody likes you, go home." The only place I felt completely safe was when I was home with my mom, she was my best friend during those times. Being in my room alone with my thoughts was not safe because I just would recall the hurtful things I heard earlier that day. High School was a time I'd like to forget but I manage to get through four years of it. Although during my high school years I felt so alone I am not alone in being a victim of bullying. 1 in 4 students have reported being bullied and as many as 160,000 students stay home every day in the fear of being bullied at school. Bullying is an issue on epic proportions and it needs to be stopped. I had trouble in school with bullying and since then it seems like bullying I on the rise. And I feel for each and every kid that has to hear lies told to them that they are not good enough. After listening to that it is hard to have good self-worth. I struggled with it for a while till I got help from a counselor. I think the most important was of prevention is stressing the importance of getting help and also having help available. I am passionate about making sure every young person I know knows that they can do whether they are a bully, a victim, or just on the sidelines. A couple of years ago I helped console a close younger friend and neighbor as the kids picked on her at the same school they once picked on me.

Undergraduate / 'My first semester in college' - Short intro to admissions essay [4]

Issue of importance intro.

My first semester of college, I remember talking to my mom about her own college education and career. I learned that after almost three years of higher education she just simply gave up and dropped out. Puzzled why she would drop out just a year before completion I asked simply, why? She told me that her thirst to work was more than her desire to get her degree. As she explains her mistake made over two decades ago, I can see the regret in her face. Although she has had the same job for 22 years, recently before our conversation she had been demoted and replaced with someone with a degree. This taught me the importance of not only going to college but more importantly about completing college.

Undergraduate / 'zero opportunity' - Issue of Importance, UT APPLICATION ESSAY [3]

Choose an issue of importance to you-the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope-and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

I could already imagine myself walking into the doors of University of Texas (UT) even though it was my first semester at Austin Community College. I pretended I was already accepted and transferring to UT McCombs Business School. Knowing my mother went to UT years ago, I asked her about her own experience there. I imagined her walking across a decorated stage in her burnt orange gown accepting her long sought for degree. But that was only my imagination.

Later that day, I talk to my mother after school and she told me the real story. I learned about her love for education. She enjoyed the challenge just as much as me. I felt close to her at this moment. Strangely we had something in common. Then she revealed even though she loved UT and made good grades, she never actually graduated. After almost three years of college, she just decided she was finished. Puzzled why she would drop out just a year before completion, I asked simply, why? She explained her thirsts for working outweighed her desire to get her degree. As she explains this time in her past, I can see the regret in her face. And as we begin talking about her career she left school for her face reeks of sorrow. She explains how she has zero opportunity is seeing others pass her up at her job because of her lack of adequate education. My mother has taught me through her own past experiences the importance of not only attending college but finishing, because I want to find a job that I would love and have opportunities of promotion in my career.

Consequently, my mother faced an important decision, either to continue her education or work, and she chose work. She can still feel the repercussions of a choice she made roughly three decades ago. She is currently stuck in a dead in job with no motivation for promotion. Most people do not realize that even if you go to college, if you do not graduate you could be detrimental to your career by limiting your opportunities. Because my mom did not stay at school for one more year and obtain her degree she has had a very monotonous career that she has held for 22 years. About a year ago she was hit with an ugly reminder. Demoted from Computer Aided Design and Drafting specialist to a data entry position she was devastated. Her old seat filled with another person that was more qualified, someone with a degree.

Furthermore, learning from my mother's past decision helped me develop the desire for a better future for myself and for others. Since that memorable talk two years ago, I have made myself an advocate of telling others the importance of completing their college degree. I take any chance I receive to talk to my peers, friends, and family members about the importance of a higher education and completion of their degree. This is an issue often ignored because many young adults want to get out of high school or drop out of college and get a job to start making money. In my quest to inspire people I have been shunned many times. For some people it is hard to see into the future. Realizing I will not get through to everyone I am still thankful that I can get through to a few.

In fact with a more competitive job market, in order to receive a good career with opportunities people must understand the importance of receiving their college degree. It shows your future employer all the hard work you have done and that you can make a commitment and follow through with it. These are important attributes when looking for a job. Individuals who are fortunate enough to understand that their future is determined by the decisions they make now have a much greater chance of finding the job they desire for. I hope that one day we will not only see a rise in college entrants but a higher percentage in graduates. Given a great opportunity students must not take it for granted. As Jim Rohn said "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments."