Subject: Successful Princeton Applicant
Through all of my accomplishments and disappointments, I have always been especially proud of the dedication and fervor I possess for my personal beliefs and values. Unfortunately, it has often been difficult for me to remain outwardly firm and confident in a town where most people think alike and reject exceptions. Whenever I have expressed my position as a pro-life advocate,
peers have badgered, accused, and ridiculed me for simply believing in somet
hing that they scorn. Despite all the pressure, I never waivered from my bel
ief, yet I became frustrated and began to lose the courage to publicly expre
ss my opinion on this controversial topic. To gain some insight and reassura
nce for myself, I attended the New Jersey Right to Life Convention in the sp
ring of 1995. This experience uplifted me and offered great inspiration and
enlightenment. At the convention I received an overwhelming amount of suppor
t and encouragement from wonderful people who advocate the very principles I
believe in. This convention was so inspiring that the next day in school I
was able to relate my experience to one of my biggest opponents on the subje
ct. Also, the abundant information available at the convention enabled me to
defend my position on abortion more effectively. Attending this convention
accomplished two things. It proved my commitment to my belief, in that I took the initiative to strengthen and support my opinion, refusing to give up or lose heart. Unlike many others, I was eager and willing to gain new knowledge so I may successfully promote my belief to others. In addition, this convention invigorated my confidence to stand up for what I believe in and taug
ht me to never lose the courage of my convictions
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Subject: Succesful Cornell Applicant
Tell us about opinion have you had to defend. How has this affected your bel
ief system? I chuckle to myself every time I think about this. I am perceive
d as a mild-mannered, intelligent individual until I mention that I am involved in riflery. It is interesting to watch someone’s expression change. It is as if I instantaneously grew a pair of horns and a sharp set of claws. Believe me this gets worst; I am a member of the NRA. I try to tell these folks
that I belong to the NRA to fire my rifle. "Oh my God! You fire real guns?
with real bullets?!?" they remark with a perplexed look on their face. Besides having horns and claws, I now possess a tail and leathery wings. This is
how it began five years ago. I had played on a soccer team for several years. As I grew older I began having difficultyplaying soccer because of shortness of breath. I was diagnosed as having mild asthma which ended my soccer ca
reer and eliminated my participation in most physical sports. Shortly afterward, during a Boy Scout summer camp, I participated in riflery at their shooting range. This was the first time I had ever touched a firearm. To my amazement, I won the camp’s first place award for marksmanship. I was more than
eager when a friend of mine asked me if I would like to join a shooting club. My parents were wary when I asked to join the rifle club. My mother feared
guns, but my father felt there was no problem with trying this sport. Grate
fully, he gave me the opportunity totry rifle marksmanship, despite secretly
hoping that I would quit. Both of my parents were afraid of what people wou
ld think about their son’s involvement with guns. Like my parents a majority
of people believe that all firearms are dangerous to our society. All they
remember are the hysterical news releases of street violence and injured chi
ldren.I am often asked how many deer I’ve shot. Frankly, I couldnever bring
myself to injure another living creature and neitherwould most of the compet
itors I have met. Yet, I keep finding myself defending the sport from all of
the misconceptions that surround it. Most people have developed a negative
impression of the sport and I have found that these prejudices are difficult
, if not impossible, to rectify. Because of this conflict, I have become an
open minded individual. I express my opinions without reservation, and I hav
e learned to accept opinions and viewpoints contrary to my own. I do not int
end to alter what I enjoy because of the ignorance of friends and acquaintan
ces. If people have a negative view of me simply because of the sport I am a
ctive in, then they must be so superficial that they cannot see the person w
ho I really am. I am no longer apprehensive of being perceived as a gun toti
ng, trigger happy fanatic, even though I still endeavor to educate my friend
s and relatives on the beauty of this sport.
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Subject: East Asian Studies
It’s not often that a kid growing up in small-town New Mexico strikes up a p
assion for Chinese civilization. Nevertheless, my interest in different cult
ures flourished during my childhood and adolescence in New Mexico. The beaut
y and breathtakingly scenic landscape of this state is enriched with the pro
nounced cultural diversity brought about by Pueblo, Hopi and Navajo nations
and a large Hispanicpopulation that represents close to 50% of state. When I
was in kindergarten I attended a bilingual school in Lemitar, a small town
in southern New Mexico. Most of the children at this school were Hispanic. T
his allowed me at a very early age to experience a language and culture diff
erent from mine. My father has always had a keen interest in people from oth
er countries and cultural backgrounds. As a librarian, my father has always
encouraged me to read not only Western Philosophy, but Eastern Philosophy as
well. In addition, he inspired me to see life from a different perspective.
To a large extent, and by most definitions, I have always been a non-traditi
onal and unconventional student. I went to a high school with a curriculum t
hat was as challenging for me as any course I have taken in college. This hi
gh school was unique because we studied everything from the origin of Wester
n Civilization to modern-day Western thought. Another unique feature of this
school was that at the end of our senior year we had to give an oral presen
tation in front of a host of panelists from St. John’s College in Santa Fe,
New Mexico. This experience helped me develop my ability to think critically
and present a cogent thesis. It forced me to grow not only as a student, but more importantly, as an individual.When I graduated from high school I reb
elled against traditional education and decided not to apply to college. Thi
s decision was to the great dismay of my parents, who had entered college im
mediately after high school. With much resistance, I enrolled at Santa Fe Co
mmunity College. This was just to satisfy my parents’ wishes, and I spent on
ly one semester there. Although I wanted to study and continue to learn, I y
earned to reach out to people and find a different mode of study -- one whic
h would allow me to understand myself better so that I could relate better t
o the world around me.With this goal, I decided to attend the New Mexico Aca
demy of Massage and Advanced Healing Arts. The school provided me with a uni
que mind/body balance that has helped me become a more well-rounded person.
I studied subjects that ranged from Anatomy and Physiology to Yoga and Tai C
hi. After graduating, I got a job at the Santa Fe Sport Medicine Institute a
s a Physical Therapy Assistant. I used Massage techniques to help people who
were injured in auto accidents or sporting events. This type of work allowe
d me to directly help people -- the people I massaged told me that the pain
they experienced prior to the massage had subsided. Relieving the pains of t
hese people nurtured in me a sense of purpose. In addition, it increased my
interest in Eastern Philosophy, making me want to learn more about Asia.I be
gan to read many classical Chinese texts to further my knowledge about Chine
se Philosophy. Soon I developed a profound interest in learning how to read
and speak the Chinese language. The opportunities for studying Chinese were
very limited, however. At 22,I had saved up some money and now decided to go
live in Asia to experience a Chinese culture first-hand, and to learn how t
o speak Mandarin Chinese. My desire to go to Asia was spawned by a genuine i
nterest in reconciling differences I found between Eastern and Western cultu
res. Similarly, I wanted to pursue this experience because it would provide
me with a unique opportunity to broaden the perspective I had on the world a
s a whole. This is how I ended living in Taichung, Taiwan and visiting mainl
and China. When I arrived in Taiwan, I remember getting off the airplane and
hearing everyone speaking Chinese. Everything I saw and heard was unfamilia
r to me. Seeing a different world made a huge impact on me; I can still reca
ll how exotic my environment was. In Taiwan, I went through an intensive Chi
nese language immersion program. Slowly I began to feel more comfortable liv
ing there, as I learned to communicate with people in Chinese. I was invited
to teach English at a private school for children, but I told the school th
at I had no teaching experience. The school informed me that if I took a sho
rt teaching training class, I would be ready to teach. And they even offered
to pay me for the training classes. However, I refused to be paid for the t
raining. The school was so impressed by this that after I completed the trai
ning, they appointed me director of the English Language program. I was asto
unded by the generosity and honesty that I received from the people in Taiwa
n.This was a truly remarkable experience. In Taiwan, I lived with a Chinese
family. This allowed me to assimilate my culture with the customs and habits
of this particular Chinese family. We had long conversations about fundamen
tal aspects of Chinese culture and philosophy. The family also brought me to
all the Chinese festivals and celebrations. It was in Taiwan that I realize
d I must return to college in the United States, and earn a degree in East A
sian Studies. After spending a year in Taiwan, I returned to the United Stat
es to complete my degree. My time Taiwan taught me so much about myself, and
it gave me the perspective to see things from both a Western and Eastern po
int of view.Since my return to the United States, my life has seen some exci
ting changes. I got married about a year after I returned from Taiwan. My wi
fe is originally from Venezuela, and she has introduced a new host of cultur
al norms that I am learning about. During my free time I teach my mother-in-
law English. She, of course, insists that I need to attain fluency in both S
panish and Chinese. And that is exactly what I am doing. My wife and I are b
oth students at Rutgers University, and we share our ambitions, hopes and ex
pectation of attending graduate school. Currently I am a senior, majoring in
East Asian Studies with a minor in Political Science.The growing importance
of Asia as a determining factor in global economy and the increasing intera
ction and commerce of the U. S. with China, suggests to me that pursing a ca
reer in law would be pertinent and appealing. My knowledge of Chinese cultur
e and mastery of the Chinese language would be a very strong asset, and it w
ould let me make a significant contribution to the political, commercial and
cultural exchange between the U. S. and Asia.
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Subject: UMass. Amherst Anthropology
As a double major in Anthropology and Psychology at the University of Rhode
Island, I have gained a strong background in both fields. My background is e
specially strong in physical anthropology, my primary field of interest. Phy
sical anthropology consumes my life; I do not study it because I find it som
ewhat interesting but because I am devoted to it; I want to make it my life.
In addition to maintaining a high GPA throughout my college career, and mak
ing the Dean抯 list several times, I have also worked hard as a supervisor a
t Brooks Pharmacy for the past five years. Working my own way through colleg
e not only demonstrates my determination to gaining a high quality education
and the seriousness with which I treat academics, but also attests to my le
adership ability, maturity, and responsibility, both as a supervisor and as
a student at the University of Rhode Island. My primary goal in applying to
your graduate program is to prepare myself for a career in forensic anthrop
ology. Interested in furthering the current body of research and in improvin
g techniques used in the identification of human remains, I am very committe
d to pursuing forensic anthropology and believe your graduate program in ant
hropology will provide me with an excellent foundation in the area of physic
al and forensic anthropology. With a Masters and Ph.D., I will be well prepa
red to lead a very promising career. While I have no doubt the program will
push me to my limits, I am confident that I can face the rigorous challenges
posed by graduate study and thrive under the demanding environment that adv
anced studies entail. From my transcripts, you will see that not only am I a
well-balanced student, I actually thrive in rigorous, upper level courses,
courses akin to graduate-level courses. Armed with the confidence that I can
excel at difficult courses, I believe I can achieve the highest level of su
ccess and satisfaction by taking the most demanding graduate program availab
le. In addition to my ability to excel in the classroom, I have demonstrate
d a proficiency in all aspects of conducting research. Research has become a
fundamental part of my college career, and I hope it will become the primar
y component of my future. As a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island,
I designed a research project entitled "Grooming and Affiliative Behavior in
Three Species of Non-Human Primates" under the guidance of Dr. Su Boatright
-Horowitz in the Psychology Department at URI. My research proposal gained a
pproval from the Institutional Care and Use Committee at URI and at the Roge
r William Park and Zoo where the three species of non-human primates (Gibbon
s, Sakis, and Lemurs) included in my study are kept. In addition to writing
a successful research proposal, I also wrote and received a small funds gran
t from the University of Rhode Island in order to conduct my research. By be
ing intimately involved in every aspect of research, from proposal and grant
writing to data collection and analysis, I have learned what it takes to be
a researcher, but more than that, I have learned how fulfilling and interes
ting research can be.In the spring of 2005,I will be presenting my results a
t a poster presentation at the University of Rhode Island, and am planning t
o eventually publish my findings. Not only has this experience shown me that
I am capable of excelling in conducting research, but it has also allowed m
e to develop a love for the hands on learning that is so crucial to successf
ul research. In my final semester at URI, I will be participating in an ongo
ing research project concerning brain function and attention span under the
direction of Dr. Dominic Valentino, a professor in the psychology department
at URI. This project will undoubtedly further advance my academic skills an
d reinforce my passion for research.Physical anthropology is more than just
my primary area of education; it has also become my hobby and lifestyle. The
questions posed and answered via the study of physical anthropology have fa
scinated me for a very long time and have stimulated me to ask and seek to a
nswer further questions. With my mind set on the very specific goal of prepa
ring myself as excellently as possible for a future in the field of forensic
anthropology, I am fully confident that, with the ability to pursue my educ
ation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I will not only be able to
fulfill my dream, but to contribute substantially to the university as well
.
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Subject: San Jose State - Environmental Studies
Since the release of Rachel Carson抯 Silent Spring in the 1960抯, mankind ha
s expanded its quest to come to grips with the competing virtues of human ec
onomic entropy and of maintaining the integrity and diversity of the natural
environment. As awareness of environmental degradation has increased, so ha
s the realization of the complexity of interconnected webs of relationships
among organisms and the physical and chemical environment. With this awarene
ss, we have also come to realize that environmental problems are not easily
fixed by simply focusing on a single problem with no analysis of other issue
s. This tendency to blindly solve environmental problems without understandi
ng the full complexity of the problem was evident in the Environmental Prote
ction Agency抯 (EPA) recent mandate that Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE)
be a required ingredient in gasoline formulas with the goal of increasing co
mbustion efficiency. A fuel oxygenate, MTBE enhances the octane in gasoline
and decreases carbon monoxide emission by increasing burning efficiencies. I
n its haste to declare MTBE as a required ingredient in gasoline, the EPA fa
iled to consider a basic chemical property of MTBE and its long-term effects
upon the environment. Because MTBE is highly water-soluble, it dissolves in
water, leading to higher concentrations of MTBE in many lakes in the Califo
rnia Sierra Nevada mountains and in many groundwater supplies. Hence, by add
ressing only one component of a system separately, the EPA failed to see the
ramifications of our apparent solution. This myopic approach to environment
al remediation commonly subverts our good intentions to solve environmental
problems and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how inter-related syste
ms work. It is my goal to aid in our understanding of environmental pollutio
n on a global scale by not only researching the fate and transport of contam
inants, but also by analyzing how our current philosophies and policies affe
ct these problems. By applying an interdisciplinary approach to both the spe
cific scientific and technical aspects of a problem and by thoroughly analyz
ing social and cultural factors, I believe I can more effectively in analyze
the true extent of our pollution problem and help to determine an appropria
te response.In preparation for this work, my undergraduate degree in environ
mental studies has provided me with a solid foundation in both the sciences
and state and federal environmental policy. My undergraduate emphasis in haz
ardous materials has given me a broad knowledge of the types of chemical rel
eases common in both developed and undeveloped countries and their chemical
and physical effects upon the environment. Through graduate and post-graduat
e research, I hope to further enhance this knowledge by studying the effects
of chemicals commonly used in industry cycles on specific environmental com
partments such as bay wetlands and partitioning to other compartments such a
s XXXX. In my graduate study, I would also like to expand my undergraduate s
tudy of environmental law by increasing my knowledge of the law to the area
of land use and its relationship to contaminant fate and transport. In addit
ion to my academic background, I believe that my work experience will also p
lay a key role in helping me find success in my gr