Stanford University Admission Essays

The following essay is about grandparents and the influence they had on me and my life. It is the usual hot, sticky day in the streets of Dhaka. You look in any direction, and you see people bustling about with business, family, or other important…

Most kids obtain the same eye color or a few facial features from their parents, yet I’ve acquired substantially more: an unquenchable enthusiasm for technology. My dad, an electrical designer, taught me to investigate the world with curious eyes, continually trying to take in more,…

The Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Global Entrepreneurship was the most eye-opening experience of my life. In the five weeks I was at Governor’s School I learned more about the world than I could ever learn in a high school classroom. With over five hundred applicants,…

A few years ago, USA Today named the star of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Sarah Michelle Gellar, the epitome of the modern feminist. Declaring “with her take-no-prisoners attitude…vampire-slaying Buffy Summers has become… a feminist hero who’s smart, tough and self-reliant,” the beautiful blonde was apotheosized…

I am the complete contradiction of what I was expected to be, and I couldn’t be more proud. As a gay ex-Mormon who left home at sixteen, moved across the world, and began learning Arabic, I’m may well be the most unconventional person from Rigby,…

Hey Buddy! As we walked home from CoHo last night, I was reminded of the unexpected connections that we share for two guys assembled from opposite corners of the globe. I must admit, when I learned that you were from Shanghai I worried we would…

The smell of clear hair gel, shoe polish, and satisfaction trails down the hall quickly on the heels of the prosecutor as he exits the room. He is followed a moment later by the scent of off-brand detergent, weak coffee, and defeat shuffling alongside the…

Brrring! In a flash my hand grabs the phone from its receiver: “Assemblyman Ortiz’s office, how can I help you?” I say, clasping the phone against my shoulder, so both hands can aid me as I struggle to open a drawer that has now become…

“All-analysis-is-contrary-to-its-own-intent-and-the-affirmative’s-presentation-of-the-1ac-has-made-their-advocacy-even-less-convincing.-Every-additional-thousand-page-paper-scientists-publish-to-convince-us-that-climate-change-is-real-is-just-indicative-of-their-own-insecurities,-and-thus-becoming-even-less-persuasive.” This is a real-time transcription of one of my most recent debate speeches—a passionate spew at 350 words-per-minute on a post-modern philosopher. Discussing Jean Baudrillard’s critiques of information sharing is not really what one expects from “policy” debate, but the range of argumentative styles…

This past year has been replete with indelible memories for me; there have been moments that have temporarily frozen my consciousness, and times that have called for deep introspection, all stemming from my father’s unexpected battle with a malignant brain tumor. As the youngest in…