Princeton University Admission Essays

Choosing Princeton University was an easy decision for me, as it is a prestigious institution that aligns perfectly with my own aspirations and values. I am particularly interested in studying politics at Princeton, as I believe that a deep understanding of political institutions and processes…

I am breathing heavily, not from fatigue but simply the anticipation of exhaustion. My heart beats fast, waiting for the sharp pierce in the air. Finally, the gun fires, and I see fifty pairs of legs begin flying, and soon realize mine is among them….

Poetry makes nothing happen, so W. H. Auden famously said. And there are Sunday afternoons where I wonder why I am teaching it to middle school students. Make no mistake: for all my enthusiasm and bantering in class, I understood from the beginning what sort…

I met Hugo last summer while backpacking in Alaska. He was a small Inuit man who lived north of the Arctic Circle in the Nunamiut village of Anaktuvuk Pass, which is accessible only by foot or plane. We entered the small museum where Hugo worked…

Religion has been a constant source of fascination for me since I was young, and as I grew older, I became increasingly drawn to the complexities of the human experience that religion seeks to explain. My passion for exploring the intersection of religion and humanity…

Infrastructure. Cuban tourism. NSA. Global warming. The words flow out of my mouth, scripted, rehearsed. For the nth time, the eighth year, I recite, “Hello, my name is Katie Liu, and I represent the Open-Minded Mount Olive Affirmative Team. My partner and I support the…

My spacebar popped off of the keyboard for the seventh time that night. I snatched it from the floor and rammed it back in place, knowing that it was a futile effort. Apparently, my laptop was suffering from the tribulations of National Novel Writing Month…

My French teacher, a die-hard fan of existentialism, assigned Camus’ L’etranger last year. I went into the book apprehensively, but came out enthralled. It was not the story linea man condemned for refusing to live by society’s rules–nor the dark existentialist mantra that “life is…

With six layers on, I waddled out the door, feeling and looking like an oompa loompa. My mother had dressed me in layer after layer, and, begrudgingly, I had allowed myself to be smothered with an array of puffy jackets and scarves. The weather abroad…

I only have to close my eyes to see this picture before me: A tall, old man standing in the middle of a semicircle of tired faces, grandiosely waving his endless arms as though he were swimming through the music. At five o’clock Friday afternoon,…