Engineering Schools Application Essays

According to English folklore, a woman with a widow’s peak will outlive her husband. Well tell that to a self-conscious fifth-grader and tell me how she responds. In 5th grade, a girl in my class sidled up to me, grinning, and informed me, “You have…

I hail from a family of successful engineers, and I have observed the profession carefully since my childhood. From an early age, I possessed a creative instinct and desire to work with mechanics. Simultaneously, my schooling revealed my keen interest for science and my consistent…

“Why did I say yes?” I question past decisions as I frantically pace the empty corridors of the Hershey Lodge. That Saturday night, the Great American Hall vibrated with the sound of popular music and hundreds of happy teenagers. I should have been having fun…

I was white. I was so unbearably white. I walked into this madhouse – this dizzyingly varied place, filled with new and different sights, sounds, and even smells. I plunged into the teeming throng of diversity with apprehension. Jostling my way to my first ever…

Two flamboyant characters sat in the center of the first row; I saw their hands dancing wildly in the air while I tiptoed quietly into the theatre so as not to pop their bubble of eccentricity. However, the heavy door’s loud click as it closed…

“I want to go to the Monkey Room!” Slightly exasperated, I look down at the screaming six-year-old child and try desperately to remember the training on “collaborative problem solving.” Step One: Find a place of empathy with the child. “You really want to go to…

Most people do not realize how much work making sandwiches really involves. Slicing tomatoes, spreading the toppings, positioning the lettuce just right, and selecting the meat to put on requires a delicate touch. Of course you could just slop it together, but then you would…

During the summer of 2007, I worked at a swimming pool, coaching the swim team, giving swim lessons, and lifeguarding. Early on, I realized that this summer job would demand more from me, and in turn give back a lot more, than I had initially…

I walked up to the half-open garage and peered uncertainly into the cluttered space. At this point, I was alone in London, navigating purely by gut and intuition. My voice shook as I rasped out an indication of my presence. As I waited for an…

“It focuses 201 precise beams of radiation directly on the tumor. Scary isn’t it?” As I deliver my prepared presentation about the Gamma Knife during the TSA National Conference, I can’t help but wonder if I have really done justice to the power and complexity…