Stanford University Admission Essays

My next target is the mailman. I wait patiently as he draws near—I am prepared. A few minutes later, he hands me a dollar in exchange for a cup of lemonade. Mission accomplished. I have always been fascinated by the business world. To me, nothing…

The gold embroidered collar of the traditional Chinese blouse tickled my neck. The costume was old, musty, unwashed, and uncomfortable. Are family photos ever enjoyable? Far to my right, through teeth clenched by a top-heavy headdress, my oldest sister Megan mumbled for me to stop…

I used to be “Daddy’s little girl.” Because I dropped into the world in between my genius, future-Nobel-prize-winner sister and my attention-needy baby brother, my mom never had enough time in between attending math competitions on the weekends and juggling baby bottles at four in…

As I sat there, a wave of apprehension rolled over me. I don’t have to do this. Nobody is forcing me to. In fact, there would be a score of people happy to see me give up. I drew a heavy sigh as I crumpled…

I don’t try to deny it. I hate football. Or rather, in stereotypical female fashion, I simply don’t understand it. I never bothered to learn because it just didn’t appeal to me. So when my brother handed me a ticket to the 86th Rose Bowl…

A Lifelong Fascination with History Stanford University, with its reputation for academic excellence, is the perfect institution for pursuing my passion for history. As someone who has always been fascinated by the past, I have chosen to major in History, a field that will allow…

In the early chill of the morning, as I hug the curvature of the mountain on my bike, my mind is open to the experience of riding a bike. The baritone of the whirling wheels, the bass of the humming tires on asphalt, the tenor…

I often think of my home country, Vietnam, as a coin factory. At this factory, day in and day out, coins march in assembly lines out of metal strips in perfect conformity. I am just such a coin, minted in 1993, rimmed, polished, annealed, and…

“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” Harvey Milk I am a martyr. I am passionate. I recognize the fact that I mean so little, but can do so much. I came across this quote in June of…