Undergraduate / 'Soccer field' - Uva: Discuss your favorite place to get lost. [NEW]

High school is a crazy, stressful place that barely gives you a second to breathe. There's always a project, due date, or test looming above your head. Not to mention the stresses of senior year where you have to make the hard decisions that will dictate the rest of your life. Everyone needs a place to calm down and forget about the overbearing weight resting on their shoulders. I throw that load off my back the second that I walk onto a soccer field. The competitive drive in me makes this sport perfect because I get to relieve my stress in a healthy way. I can push myself, battle others, and feel the excitement and strain of a hard game. I enjoy the pain of a grueling practice or match because I can feel my dedication giving me results. I always leave the field feeling lighter than when I walked on, whether the score is in my favor or not, because I get so much joy out of playing. Soccer not only relieves my stress, but it also gives me valuable time with my close friends. I have made the strongest bonds with my teammates and coaches because they are the people who have seen me at my best and worst. My day always gets brighter when I see them lacing up their cleats and stepping onto the grass with me. I take every opportunity I can to get lost playing this beautiful game.

Does this sound okay?

Undergraduate / Work of science: University of Virginia [2]

What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
(250 words roughly)

Most teenagers spend their summers tanning, going to the beach, and procrastinating on their homework. I spent part of my summer counting mutated cells and dissecting mice because I had the opportunity to intern with Ann Sutherland in the cell biology labs at the University of Virginia. I was introduced to different mutations in the mouse embryo, but hearing about how the experimentation on mice can apply to human issues really affected me. Her dedication to the gruelingly slow work of problem solving the long experimental models inspired me. All of the women in the lab work around the clock performing research that may help mankind. It is a very slow task but it could possibly have huge rewards if they made a scientific breakthrough with their research.

It impacted me that the lab was made up of all women. Science is a very difficult field for women to break into because of past stereotypes and beliefs that females are not as competent in mathematics and sciences. Ann's lab was composed of herself, two female graduate students, one female undergraduate student, and me. This was an amazing example of the strides that women have taken in entering the scientific world.

My experience in dealing with the research in Ann Sutherland's lab has inspired me to break into the scientific field with vigor. Her dedication to her work challenges me to do research of my own. Being able to intern at Ann Sutherland's lab has definitely changed my outlook on science.

Undergraduate / 'everything she has to teach me' - Common Application: Maddy [2]

The Common Application Essay - 500 words

I jumped into the seat of my 1990 Cavalier. The giddy laugh of two teenagers acting recklessly floated in the wide open windows and mixed with the static pop blaring from the radio. The carefree faces of my sister and best friend looking through the wrong side of my windshield seemed comical. Their knuckles were pale from gripping the rim of the hood. Their legs sliding back and forth as we weaved around scattered lights. One turn too fast. Too tight. And my sister tumbled off the side of the hood. The sickening thud of her body hitting the pavement broke through the autumn night.

I was wading through quicksand as I stumbled out of the driver's seat and sprinted to her side. I remembered thinking that the worst thing that would happen was that Maddy would tell my mom about our reckless behavior. But as I caught sight of my sister lying on the pavement I knew that our problems were substantially bigger. I was aware of every moment. How her body was limp and unmoving. The blood soaking through her purple jacket. She looked insubstantial under the flickering parking lot lights. I moved without comprehending the situation. My mind was cloudy with fear for my baby sister.

I cradled my sister in my arms as Ashley and I jumped into the car. Maddy was whimpering incomprehensibly. She was trying to focus on my eyes as I whispered soothing lies. You're fine, sweetheart. It's just a bump. We few down the abandoned roads, daring to be pulled over. The car skidded to a stop in front of the Emergency Room and I was left to carry her limp body through the daunting automatic doors.

All motion stood still for a second as I entered the waiting room. Everyone looked up from their own preoccupying injuries and illnesses to witness the macabre scene. Motion returned in full speed as we were surrounded by a dozen swarming nurses in brightly colored scrubs. Maddy was placed on a thin hospital bed and the nurses and doctors converged on her like flies. My sister was made to look even tinier by the wires and tubes covering her body. She was poked, prodded, shaved and stitched. My shame had reduced me to a place where I couldn't even cry. I just stared blankly at the foreign scene before me as time blurred by.

One fractured skull, two massive pavement burns, thirteen stitches, one lining of the brain torn, two more endless days of doctors and Maddy was finally able to hold a conversation. While I blamed myself for not protecting my baby sister, she amazingly didn't even consider it. Instead she looked to me for help. I was the only person that she would let assist her, and I did not take my responsibility lightly. Maddy continues to be affected by headaches and has to be careful. We haven't suddenly developed the perfect relationship, but I now appreciate everything she has to teach me.