My Life-changing Pursuit: College Admission Essay Sample

I sat across the room, watching my father in awe as he typed out a document with mind-blowing speed. I had no idea precisely what I was watching him do, of course, since I was only six years old, but still -- Wow. How can someone move his fingers so fast? I was never even allowed to touch the computer… something about how my “sticky fingers” weren’t good for the keys, or about how I might accidentally “destroy a document,” or some silly thing like that. Regardless, the highlight of my day was sitting on the living room couch, across from the desk where the almighty computer sat, and watching my father type and type. During the weeks leading up to my seventh birthday, my mother asked me what I might want; all I would do in response was point at the keyboard. So when that anticipated day came, after asking for a device like my father's for so long, I sat down to open my present. It wasn’t heavy enough to be a computer, but wasn’t light enough to be something dreaded… like socks. It was a keyboard. My life was forever changed.

After a whimsical childhood of sitting for three hours at a time and typing into nothingness, when I turned fourteen I started taking a University Computer Science Course at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science. I had never been exposed to the nuances of technology during normal school work, so the opportunity to explore the field was exhilarating. After my first few sessions, I found that this class was what I looked forward to most every week. Something about sitting in a room of likeminded individuals, all of us completely focused on programming, just typing and creating… It all felt so right.

After I acquired enough knowledge to support my passion, I decided to throw myself into technology fully, seeing how far it could take me. I took a course in JavaScript with ID Tech, a math and computer science camp, and I continue to take courses at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science. I also started my own tutoring business to push other students to pursue interests in math and science, to motivate them to be part of computer and software engineering fields.

I have been fortunate to know from an early age that activities such as these would play a paramount role in shaping my future; each letter I type has enabled me to pursue my dreams. I am determined to graduate from college with course work in computer science, Spanish, French, Hebrew, and German, so that I can acquire employment that enables me to frequently travel around the world, communicating and programming in all these languages. I will be perfectly content, because every day I will get to sit in front of my computer screen -- no matter where it is in the world -- surrounded online by people who, too, are solving the intricacies and facing the challenges of the technology that binds us. With this dream in mind, I practice and practice in preparation for my future. Now I can type way faster than my Dad.