Northwestern University Application Essays

A silver eagle gleams as it soars over the Australian countryside on an early Tuesday morning. Inside this majestic mechanical bird, however, I feel nauseated and shiver vehemently despite the heavy suit I have on. The aircraft gives a violent lurch, amplifying the sickness I…

He wore a black collared shirt with the logo of American royalty, a purple horse, embroidered over the left breast. His hair was glossed and spiked with an expensive gel that smelled like an overripe kiwi. My attention, however, was focused on another feature: his…

I have not always been a talkative person. Though the idea of a quiet John Cowgill is quite amusing to the teachers, friends, and family who know me best, I was indeed at one point in my life an introverted individual. In fact, I once…

One Way Out of Gym, the mystery of a murdered gym teacher, is not a timeless classic. It’s a novel that spent zero weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. There’s only one copy—I published it myself. Few care about Detective Charley or the…

The two party system of American politics is obsolete. Politicians need to recognize the futility of polarization and instead realize that it is moderation and increased openmindedness that better serves the interests of the public. Instead of only trying to prove the other side wrong,…

I am a traveler, continually guided and inspired by the Homeric hero Odysseus while leading a life marked by departures and subsequent beginnings. The first journey began on November 9th, 2000, when my family and I left China in pursuit of bountiful opportunities in the…

I laugh when people say that they wonder about the meaning of life. I ask them, what will you do with it once you find it? I then tell them, find a purpose behind your own life before seeking to explain all human existence. My…

I refused to leave Sedona, Arizona, home to a “spiritual vortex,” without visiting at least one of the city’s renowned psychics. Sharing my spirited lust for travel, my mom brought my sisters and me to “Sedona Center for the New Age,” where I was convinced…

Stellar academics. A gorgeous campus. Endless opportunities. Northwestern University is the epitome of these three qualities. I do not know whether it was the top-ranked academics or the luscious campus which attracted me to this university; however, I do know that I fell in love…

My grandfather’s hands hardly appeared photogenic. They were red, cracked, and rough, and they often bore cuts and scratches from whatever mechanical object he had last worked on. I knew those hands from an early age. They used to slap my back as soon I…