Undergraduate / "I accomplish whatever I put my mind to" - accurate school record, MSU essay topic [6]

-If you feel that your high school record does not accurately represent your academic abilities, please explain why. Include and discuss particular extenuating circumstances that may have contributed to any scholastic challenges.

What makes me special is the fact that I accomplish whatever I put my mind to. I am a talented intellectual, and a 2.7 GPA is not reflective of my desire to learn, nor does it gauge my intelligence. A 2.7 GPA in my mind is average, and I am anything but ordinary. The first two years of high school were dismal for me, GPA wise. However I performed exceptionally well my junior year. My grades are directly correlated with my living situation.

First, my freshman year of high school was chaotic to say the least. During the first semester, my family was suffering from extreme debt. We could no longer afford to keep living in the house that I grew up in. We moved in with relatives to help deflect some of the bills. This decision proved to be positive for my family's financial situation however it negatively impacted my grades.

Ninth grade year is difficult for most students already, however, ninth grade combined with a cramped living situation, and a part-time job is a recipe for disaster. My parents were more focused on feeding my siblings and I rather than our grades at that point. I, regrettably, was more focused on working so that I could buy nice clothes to help stop the teasing from and hopefully impress the people that I didn't too much care for.

Thankfully, this all changed my junior year. My parents had finally accrued enough money to buy a house, and my mother had finally found a job. They were also more involved in my education, and I was motivated toward attending college. The decision to joined newspaper proved to be the best decision 'd made my entire high school career. My advisor credits me with bringing the newspaper into the modern age, because I was the first artist to produce works digitally. Newspaper gave me a reason to look forward to school again. I felt as if I was doing something important for my community by changing the way people viewed Southfield High School, and African American teens in general.

A 2.7 does not properly showcase my abilities, nor my goals in life. I believe that accomplishments made my junior year show that I am competitive candidate for admission to Michigan State University's communications program.

(i know it isnt the best essay...please be ruthless)

Undergraduate / Twin essay for UMiami. I have high testscore and a low gpa, so this essay is crucial! [6]

Prompt: Describe someone who has had a significant influence on your life, evaluate said influence.

Before I begin this essay I would like to assure you that: no, I am not telepathic, and yes I am sure. As strange as that statement sounds, I've said it hundreds if not thousands of times, after responding yes to the question, are you a twin? Incessant inquisitions such as "can you and your twin read each other's minds?" have been asked of me too many times to keep track of. Because my twin sister, Tia, and I are fraternal, I've heard more frequently, "you're lying, you guys don't look alike," or my favorite "You all don't look alike, so it's no point in being a twin," Although Tia and I do not share the same face, or a supernatural connection, we do share a bond that comes with living with your best friend for seventeen years. Tia is a large part of my life, and her influence on me as a child has made me into the adult I am today.

I always felt as being a twin gave me a super childhood. When Tia and I were bored, we would make up games. If it was raining outside, we would play "the-floor-is-molten-lava-so-jump-on-the-couches-pillows-and-tables-to -get-to-the-treasure" game. On long summer car rides Tia and I named those little Kleenex tissue paper particles that only became visible once they hit the light, "tattle bee's", and we would avoid them at all costs. Our escapades, largely modeled after the TV show Rugrats, influenced my creativity, and my art. Even as a child, I was the one who conceived the idea, and Tia, the engineer, made my thoughts a reality.

Tia helped me find my voice. Strangely enough, I was shy when I was younger and I did not talk to anyone until I was three years old. A large part of her vocabulary consisted of "Tania said she wants..." or "Tania didn't get one..." Even as we grew older I depended on Tia for everything, until one day it all stopped.

As we entered high school we started to branch off into separate activities, for once in our lives we didn't share the same set of friends or interests. Initially I felt abandoned. The thought of doing things on my own, without someone "having my back," terrified me. However, as time passed I found that I liked having my own activities, and friends. Eventually I became more comfortable expressing and sometimes arguing my opinions in class. Tia and I even spent weeks apart when I would venture off to business and journalism camps.

Finally, we shaped each other's personalities to become exactly what the other one needed. She was the logical, serious angel on my shoulder, and I was the creative, thoughtful angel on hers; claymation couldn't mold a better counterpart. Because I was taken out of my comfort zone, I went from being the shy artist who scribbles silently in the corner, to the outgoing creative who's not afraid to take on leadership positions, and who's receptive to novel ideas. These qualities ultimately affected my decision to major in communications, and have made me into the responsible adult I am today.

-Thanks Everyone. I not really looking for grammer corrections, i really want to know if its memorable, and unique. thanks again :)