Pennsylvania State University Application Essays

The women stood in the doors looking out at their husbands, who were talking to the landowners. The children gathered behind them, one bare foot on top of the other. They all watched tensely as the negotiation dragged on; their lives hung in the balance….

“Mr. Grove, you can come back in the room now.” Wiping pints of sweat off my forehead, my heart racing, I reenter the room containing four people: the four people whose sole job is to challenge everything I have done for the past six years….

All it took were fourteen words to obliterate twelve years of passion. It had all been taken from me. As I sat in the cold hard chair across from the neurologist’s desk, I heard her voice, but I didn’t want to. Her words were a…

My confidence is always tested within the first few seconds of revealing that I’m a feminist. Misconceptions of feminism usually surface to repudiate the validity of my stance, and since feminism isn’t a common attribute within my age group, I always felt apprehensive to vocalize…

Akim, Jerusalem. That is where I was sent for the summer by my parents, after they heard that a school for the mentally disabled was in need of volunteers. I appreciated the idea of helping children in need, but was not thrilled about it being…

I still remember the day I was first introduced to him — a man I would never meet in person, but who would have a significant effect on my life. My sixth-grade music teacher did the introduction, as he played various clips of songs by…

My eyes were burning from the tear gas and I was having trouble breathing under my white bandana, but I was determined to keep going; I was not going to let them stop me—stop us from peacefully marching for our freedom. I was part of…