Undergraduate / "I found my name!" - my common app essay? [3]

"I found my name!" my friends would excitedly say at the gift shop. I calmly watched them, already knowing that my name was too uncommon to be on any of the pre-customized key chains hanging on the wall. Years later, I came to the conclusion that my name reflects who I am as a person. I am different from the others, and I am proud of it.

You see, I was never a normal person. I picked books over dolls and quidditch over soccer. I abhorred pink and my dance moves consisted of flailing arm movements. I have never had a burger and opted for fruit over candy. I could recite every line of the television series "Friends" and hula hoop while typing. All my life, I have tried to blend in with my peers. I tried to become one of those generic key chains sold down the shore, and I have failed miserably every time.

Those key chains, like futures, are made and determined by others. They are planned beforehand and follow an assembly line in a factory powered by domineering work hands. This mass production not only makes my friends' lives easier, but it also produces the same results for every one of them, regardless of their subtle differences.

I now realize that my keychain will not be hanging in a store, premade and ready to be purchased. I must make my own in order to stray from the assembly line of conformity. My supplies are laid out in front of me, unwrapped and ready to be used. I plan on making my own keychain a masterpiece of illustrated experiences, starting with college.

Undergraduate / 'everyone in NYC is in a rush' - villanova essay [2]

be brutal :)

Emblazoned on our University Seal is a flaming heart which symbolizes St. Augustine's passionate search to know God and love others. What sets your heart on fire?

Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Many things in life go unnoticed as people race to complete their daily routines. These little things, that are often overlooked, set my heart ablaze.

With New York City only a train stop away, it is no wonder why I spend most of my time there. Whether I am sitting on the red steps in Times Square or strolling through the Financial District, I noticed something: everyone is in a rush. It made me wonder, "How can anyone appreciate reaching their destination without fully experiencing the journey?"

Ever since I was little, I was extremely sentimental towards my surroundings. I notice the streetlights I pass on my way to buy gelato, and the stickers that adorn them. I notice the struggling artist painting on books covers every time I am in the Village, and the anxious look he gives each passerby. Insignificant or not, I feel these tidbits are vital to my way of living. Every time I visit these areas, I expect to see these familiar figures. When I do, my heart is ignited with flames of recognition and warm nostalgia. If these "sparks" were suddenly absent, a part of my life would be missing, and my heart a dark icebox.

Whether it is indulging in a pleasant breeze from the Hudson River or receiving a smile from a local florist, concepts that might seem commonplace hold a great significance in my heart. They are the "sparks" that set my heart ablaze. Without them, I would not be able to appreciate extreme events in my life. It is like a beautiful mosaic that could not have been made without the fragments that comprise it. After all, a fire cannot be started without a tiny spark.

Undergraduate / 'Transvoltum, l'appel du vide' - UCHICAGO [2]

PLEASE help me check for grammatical errors before I send it in!

Essay Option 3: Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, 'Between living and dreaming there is a third thing. Guess it.' Give us your guess.

Transvoltum, l'appel du vide. This term, when literally translated from French, means "the call of the void." Your soul divides into two cliffs: the state of living and the state of dreaming. But what divides them? It is the call of the void, tempting you to jump from the high cliffs of your familiar world. It is transvoltum.

Since the dawn of time, humans have been enticed. Eve bit into forbidden fruit and Pandora opened her box. Time has passed, but nothing has changed. We are foolish creatures, always wanting what we cannot have. The evolution of human nature has embedded temptation into our souls between life and dreams, in the form of transvoltum.

Ever present and always calling, transvoltum slithers into our lives. Quite rarely do we answer, but those unfortunate enough follow its voice. Upon entering the void, we are stuck indefinitely, resulting in comas, unconsciousness, and "brain dead" mental states. Once imprisoned in the chasm of transvoltum, it is difficult to escape. But miracles occur every day.

What is in this void? The infinite abyss, altered according to the person trapped. Transvoltum's transformation depends on a number of factors: your heart, soul, and consciousness. A guilty person would be condemned to experience his sins on a loop, an empty person endless isolation, and so on. Unfortunately, whoever is stuck in this void will be aware that transvoltum is not the correct state of mind, and that it can never compare to living and dreaming. Incidentally, transvoltum holds a second meaning: the urge to jump from high places.

Within the void, one will always experience the urge to escape their current state. A person is overwhelmed with "the urge to jump" from the high that is transvoltum, onto the low lying states of living and dreaming.

In the landscape of the human soul, the ground splits to create two cliffs: living and dreaming. Beyond those two cliffs lies transvoltum, separating the two. It is a flexible entity, shifting according to each person. Simplified, there is only urgency. There is only transvoltum.

Undergraduate / 'unconventional essay prompts' - why uchicago essay [11]

"You're doing it wrong," my classmate scolded me. I embarrassingly looked down at my artwork in a shameful silence. I failed again. Although my ostentatious 64-pack of newly sharpened Crayola crayons was able to dazzle my peers, it was unable to cure my inability to color inside the boundary lines of my coloring page. Similar to my classmate, society has reprimanded thinking and acting against standard norms, including coloring outside the lines. Bored with the status quo, I yearned for something more. Then I stumbled upon the University of Chicago.

At UChicago, there are no lines. Nowhere else can I find a college with unconventional essay prompts such as "don't write about reverse psychology" or one that has a "50-foot robot" for a librarian. The quirkiness of the university comforts my eccentric side like a warm blanket. "At UChicago, you are more than your gpa and test scores." These words hit me like a ton of bricks. Throughout my academic career, I have been identified through numbers, whether it is a rank or a social security number. Finding a college that actually considers me as a person sets UChicago apart from the others. Not only am I pushed to think, I am encouraged to have fun with the college process. At UChicago, I can happily broaden my horizons and grow intellectually. Not only can I face a rigorous curriculum, I can participate in UChicago's renowned scavenger hunt. At UChicago, where originality is encouraged, I can finally color freely.