The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Application Essays

I stepped up onto the podium and listened to the rumble of conversations hush almost instantly. The room was full—packed so that everywhere I looked, the eyes of a stranger stared back at me. I glimpsed the flashing red lights of several recording cameras and…

I was finally there. After months of anticipation, the stucco buildings, green lawns, and Spanish moss of the Magic Square came into sight. Excited students and nervous parents (there were so many!) were already in the parking lot, unloading the necessities of dorm life. I…

As an individual fascinated with the universe and the potential questions it poses, I would quickly jump at the opportunity to spend a semester researching theoretical astrophysics. In this capacity, I have long considered academic study as occupying a duality that allows for personal growth…

I never knew when I was speaking Farsi, Chinese, or English. After all, I would flit back and forth from my Taiwanese mother to my Persian father, rapidly translating words between them. Then, I’d settle into bed for my regular Dr. Seuss bedtime story. Having…

I sat down on the bench, apprehensive. I hadn’t touched the ivory keys in almost eight years. Instead, I had actively avoided them, treasuring instead the strings of my violin. In debates I claimed that it was harder to play my instrument, belittling the plunking…

My hometown has been recently dubbed “The most segregated city in America.” This past July, Baton Rouge made headlines after white policeman killed a black man. Two weeks later, an ambush on policemen left three officers dead, with the shooter claiming his “necessary evil” was…

“You’re too stupid to go to college!” my mother screams at me as I help my two sisters with their homework. I have already made dinner for my whole family and cleaned the mess my mom left in the kitchen. She is finally home after…

It started with a question. Every day before the bell rang, I ranted about my broken friendships to the only person who was willing to listen, my “Spanish buddy.” Instead of tuning me out or rolling her eyes, Peyton listened. She gradually fixed my problem….

As a salesman at my local outdoors store, I get paid to convince people to spend what I’ll admit to be absurd amounts of money on outdoor apparel and gear.  The $350 Arc’teryx rain shell is not that much better than the $99 dollar Marmot…

If I had a dollar for every time I heard, “Wait, you aren’t white?” I would probably be a millionaire. Unfortunately, dollars do not shoot at me whenever I hear that question. To clarify, I am half Puerto Rican, half Cuban, and half I-have-blonde-hair-and-am-really-pale. We…