California Institute of Technology Admission Essays

My legs dangled high above the ground as I sat next to my mom on the train. As I fidgeted the way little children do, my mother spoke to me. “You have plump fingers, not thin and bony like mine.” I frowned at her as…

While my classmates conversed in hushed tones about philosophy, I stood alone in the back corner of the room—hula hooping. My Humanities teacher had asked me to hula hoop for the entire class period to prove my claim that I was the “best hula hooper…

My mom stood in front of the cash register, waiting for the cashier to scan her credit card. Employees walked back and forth, shouting requests for price-checks or scanning items at lightning speed. But today, I didn’t notice these things. I didn’t even check to…