Undergraduate / "Performing art in Centre Pompidou"-- Common activity essay [6]

After some discussion with my friends and counselor, I decide to write about this art experience instead of China's anniversary. I'm applying for Early Action so it's only a few days before deadline. Please give me your comments!! Thank you all!!!!

Topic: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences (150 words or fewer).

Chilled by its skeleton-like appearance, I embraced myself in front of the haggard bride statue. Participating in WEMUNC Art Program, my friends and I were visiting Centre Pompidou and appreciating modern arts. While Picasso's paintings and Alexander Calder's sculptures were fascinating, what I enjoyed most was creating ways to honestly reflect my ideas. I danced beside a trash-made cube which impassioned me with extreme color contrasts. Facing a canvas of peacefully overlapping circles, I enclosed myself in a woolen, cozy scarf to convey a sense of tranquility. People gazed at me, some smiling, some frowning, while others slightly shaking heads. But I just took joy experimenting performance art and expressing myself, not afraid of being stared at. I knew it is being myself that is the real challenge and essence of art-and life, and now that I had the courage to do so, there was nothing to fear.

(there are already 150 words...)

Undergraduate / "Battle with a mosquito" Stanford essay, intellectually engaged [4]

I have worked out several versions on this, but none seemed satisfying. Is it too story-telling? Do I show that i'm intellectually engaged? Please give me your critism on this essay!! Thank you all!!

Prompt: Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging. (250 words or fewer)

I quietly knelt down on the floor. My breath was held. My body was still. My eyes were focused on the black little spot on the wall. After seconds of motionlessness, I slowly raised my arm. Then all in an instant, I slapped on the wall. "Ha-ha! I finally got you!" I thought happily to myself. Just as I opened my fist and expected to see my trophy, I heard a buzz and saw a dot flashing into the distance. I couldn't believe it; I must have killed the annoying mosquito! I was acting with such caution as to avoid alarming the insect, then how could it detect the coming danger?

However, when I searched the Internet to find out how this tiny creature had managed to escape, I was even more astonished: mosquitoes are equipped with compound eyes, the same biological structure found in dragonflies. At that time, dragonflies and mosquitoes were completely irrelevant to me, the former beautiful and beneficial, while the latter bloody and harmful. But there is indeed a build-in link between these two seemingly unrelated species.

The idea that things fundamentally in common may be conveyed in entirely different appearances appealed to me greatly. From the anatomic similarity between whale fins and bat wings, to the genetic closeness between chimpanzees and humans, my knowledge range continued expanding. Enjoying myself discovering the inherent connections among creatures, I know I have found what I love-experiencing the magic of life, and unveiling the mystery of life.

Undergraduate / "apology for any future trouble I may bring" - Note to your roommate-- Stanford Essay [6]

VIRTUALLY ALL OF STANFORD'S UNDERGRADUATES LIVE ON CAMPUS. WRITE A NOTE TO YOUR FUTURE ROOMMATE THAT REVEALS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU OR THAT WILL HELP YOUR ROOMMATE - AND US - KNOW YOU BETTER

I'm applying for Early Action, so the deadline is only a few days ahead...Any criticism is welcome!

Dear Roommate,
Before you rush to hug me welcome, please accept my sincerest apology for any future trouble I may bring. Sorry for innumerable calls and video talks. The twelve-hour time difference between China and America is far too powerless to prevent my parents from chatting with me-- and you. And don't think it a joke when one day, they invite you home; they mean it. Besides family members, my friends will also contact me whenever they seek to share happiness, let off sadness, or confide secrets.

Another problem would be an over-crowded dorm. Boxes of books, CDs, and Chinese cuisine will fill our room, and before you hooray for having consumed all the food, you will find more having arrived across the Pacific. Talking about food... you are not trying to control weight, are you? Since I am a really good cook and take every chance to make dishes, it is highly likely that you will gain some pounds instead losing one.

In addition, please be patient with me after every vacation. My tours within China and around the world, table tennis practice, parties, concerts, exhibitions... I will try to control myself, but I'm not sure if I can stop before pouring out details and demanding your comments on the thousands of photos I take.

Finally, don't get anxious when, if ever, you see me shedding tears and murmuring to myself. The smiling and energetic girl you're familiar with will be back in no time.

Undergraduate / China's 60th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China-common app [8]

the limit is 150 words and i've got 149 already...

The National Flag was rising, and here I was, proudly singing March of the Volunteers on Tiananmen Square, anticipating the start of China's 60th Anniversary.

As a volunteer background performer, my job was to switch 48 pictures simultaneously with 100,000 others during the two-hour performance. Despite the sweltering weather, my partners and I had trained almost every day from seven till noon for over three months. For a better effect, we composed jingles to remember the picture order, counted the duration of each image, and even invented tools to fix the unstable property. Though the hard practice and innumerable rehearsals sometimes exhausted me, the thought of contributing to my motherland's anniversary in person would always fill me with infinite vigor and excitement.

"March on! On!" the ending climax indicated the beginning of the formal ceremony. Three. Two. One. Presenting the first image, I murmured from my heart, "Happy birthday, China!"

Undergraduate / Academic Interests and Colorful Life-- Why Stanford Essay [7]

I have never written any essay before... please help me!!

Prompt. TELL US WHAT MAKES STANFORD A GOOD PLACE FOR YOU (no more than 250 words)

The picturesque scenery, the bright sunshine... since the first glance at a Stanford postcard years ago, the gorgeous campus has always been my dream place of university study.

However, as I later realized, Stanford is far beyond an attractive site; it is where I can truly pursue my academic interests. Ever since I owned my first pet chick when I was a little girl, my passion for life has never faded. As I later learned more about creatures and did various experiments in my biology courses, my desire to explore this inspiring field in person grew increasingly stronger. The pioneer in life sciences, Stanford is the ideal place for me to satisfy my curiosity and acquire cutting-edge information. I can discuss about brain behaviors with world-famous professors after freshman seminars, do researches on ecological communities in Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and get access to limitless biostatistics in Falconer Biology Library.

In addition, Stanford's diversity of students also appeals to me. An enthusiastic traveler, I became crazy about Renaissance sculptures after admiring David in Uffizi, and fell in love with Spanish dishes when tasting paella in Barcelona. However, the fulfilling week with my cross-cultured host family in The Hague made me realize I wanted more than one-culture-at-a-time trips; I wished to get day-to-day contact with multiple cultures simultaneously. Living with students of all backgrounds at Stanford, I'll find no better place to experience various cultures in the meantime I enjoy sports, concerts, and abundant other activities with my diverse peers.

(there are already 249 words...)