University of California Santa Cruz Application Essays

I open my front door and the rich perfume of pine needles fills my nose. I step in, close the door behind me, and smile at the familiar scene. To my left sits the Christmas tree, covered in various decorations, ranging from tiny tin stars…

Open-Ended This question seeks to give students the opportunity to share important aspects of their schooling or their lives – such as their personal circumstances, family experiences and opportunities that were or were not available at their school or college – that may not have…

“The only reason I want to come here is because of you.” I heard Jennifer’s words as I looked down into her dark brown eyes; what she had said sounded almost like a confession. Seven years old, Jennifer came to Fei Xiang Bilingual School for…

Towards the end of second semester, [Name of my high school] takes pride in hosting its annual Pep Week: a week dedicated to showcasing each class’s school spirit and creativity. A great benefit of Pep Week is that it increases school involvement and forms a…

Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity. –Hippocrates I am fortunate to have grown up in a medical family: my grandfather and his brothers are traditional Chinese medical doctors. In fact, since my parents took charge of one…

As a kid, I loved traffic jams, since they meant playing ‘The License Plate Game’ with my dad. The rules are simple: chose a license plate on a car and find a meaning or a pattern in those numbers and letters. For example, if a…

I became interested in physics when I built my first computer, around the age of 13. A friend and I purchased the parts individually and assembled them to create a computer more powerful than anything then available commercially. Like surgeons, we meticulously dropped each piece…

As high school graduation inches closer, I find myself contemplating the word legacy. When I joined Dos Pueblos High School’s journalism team, the class was fading. The stories did not matter to the writers, and therefore, did not matter to the readers, so I made…

Tattooed in my memory are the shrill rings of my alarm clock set to exactly 6:00 AM every day, submerging half my 110 pound body into the sub-zero water, fish half my size splashing muddy water onto my pale face. Most kids enjoy the freedom…

The stage trembled under the rhythmic tapping of wood on wood as glossy ringlets bounced in the summer sun. After an energetic jig, a dozen grinning and giggling girls filed past me in their sparkling dresses. Meanwhile, I anxiously adjusted the straps on my black…