says to get a few tips on writing your perfect admission essay.

This section contains five examples of good college essays.

1. College Essay Sample One

2. College Essay Sample Two
3. College Essay Sample Three
4. College Essay Sample Four
5. College Essay Sample Five

College Essay Sample One

Prompt: Please submit a one-page, single-spaced essay that explains why you have chosen
State University and your particular major(s), department(s) or program(s).

State University and I possess a common vision. I, like State University, constantly work
to explore the limits of nature by exceeding expectations. Long an amateur scientist, it
was this drive that brought me to the University of Texas for its Student Science
Training Program in 2013. Up to that point science had been my private past time, one I
had yet to explore on anyone else’s terms. My time at UT, however, changed that.
Participating for the first time in a full-length research experiment at that level, I felt more
alive, more engaged, than I ever had before. Learning the complex dynamics between
electromagnetic induction and optics in an attempt to solve one of the holy grails of
physics, gravitational-waves, I could not have been more pleased. Thus vindicated, my
desire to further formalize my love of science brings me to State University. Thanks to
this experience, I know now better than ever that State University is my future, because
through it I seek another, permanent, opportunity to follow my passion for science and
engineering.

In addition to just science, I am drawn to State University for other reasons. I strive to
work with the diverse group of people that State University wholeheartedly
accommodates – and who also share my mindset. They, like me, are there because
State University respects the value of diversity. I know from personal experience that in
order to achieve the trust, honesty, and success that State University values, new
people are needed to create a respectful environment for these values. I feel that my
background as an American Sikh will provide an innovative perspective in the
university’s search for knowledge while helping it to develop a basis for future success.
And that, truly, is the greatest success I can imagine.

This emphasis on diversity can also be found in the variety of specialized departments
found at State University. On top of its growing cultural and ethnic diversity, State
University is becoming a master at creating a niche for every student. However, this
does not isolate students by forcing them to work with only those individuals who follow
their specific discipline. Instead, it is the seamless interaction between facilities that
allows each department, from engineering to programming, to create a real learning
environment that profoundly mimics the real world. Thus, State University is not just the
perfect place for me, it is the only place for me. Indeed, having the intellectual keenness
to absorb every ounce of knowledge presented through my time in the IB program, I
know that I can contribute to State University as it continues to cultivate a scholarly
climate that encourages intellectual curiosity.

At the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at State University, I will be

able to do just that. In a department where education and research are intermixed, I can
continue to follow the path that towards scientific excellence. Long-mesmerized by
hobbies like my work with the FIRST Robotics team, I believe State University would be
the best choice to continue to nurture my love for electrical and computer engineering. I
have only scratched the surface in this ever evolving field but know that the
technological potential is limitless. Likewise, I feel that my time at State University would
make my potential similarly limitless.

This is a picture-perfect response to a university-specific essay prompt. What makes it

particularly effective is not just its cohesive structure and elegant style but also the level
of details the author uses in the response. By directly identifying the specific aspects of
the university that are attractive to the writer, the writer is able to clearly and effectively
show not only his commitment to his studies but – perhaps more importantly – the level
of thought he put into his decision to apply. Review committees know what generic
responses look like so specificity sells.

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College Essay Sample Two

Prompt: What motivates you?

For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of science. Where others see the
engineering, experimentation, and presentation of science as a chore, I only see
excitement. Even as a child I constantly sought it out, first on television with Bill Nye and
The Mythbusters, then later in person in every museum exhibit I could find. Science in
all its forms fascinated me, but science projects in particular were a category all to
themselves. To me, science projects were a special joy that only grew with time. In fact,
it was this continued fascination for hands-on science that brought me years later to the
sauna that is the University of Alabama in mid-June. Participating in the Student
Science Training Program and working in their lab made me feel like a kid in a candy
store. Just the thought of participating in a project at this level of scientific rigor made
me forget that this was supposed to be my summer break and I spent the first day
eagerly examining every piece of equipment.

Even at first, when the whole research group sat there doing rote calculations and
others felt like they were staring down the barrel of defeated purpose, I remained
enthusiastic. Time and time again I reminded myself of that famous phrase "great effort
leads to great rewards," and sure enough, soon my aspirations began to be met. This
shift in attitude also coincided with a shift in location: from the computer desk to the
laser lab. It was finally time to get my hands dirty.
Now things began to get really interesting. During the experimentation phase of the
project, I spent the majority of my waking hours in the lab – and I enjoyed every minute
of it. From debriefing with my coordinator in the morning to checking and rechecking
results well into the afternoon, I was on cloud nine all day, every day. I even loved the
electric feeling of anxiety as I waited for the results. Most of all, though, I loved the
pursuit of science itself. Before I knew it, I was well into the seventh week and had
completed my first long-term research experiment.

In the end, although the days were long and hard, my work that summer filled me with
pride. That pride has confirmed and reinvigorated my love for science. I felt more alive,
more engaged, in that lab than I have anywhere else, and I am committed to returning. I
have always dreamed of science but since that summer, since my experiment, I have
dreamed only of the future. To me, medical science is the future and through it I seek
another, permanent, opportunity to follow my passion. After all, to follow your passion is,
literally, a dream come true.

In addition to its use of clear, demonstrative language, there is one thing that makes this
an effective essay: focus. Indeed, notice that, although the question is broad, the
answer is narrow. This is crucial. It can be easy to wax poetic on a topic and, in the
process, take on too much. Instead, by highlighting one specific aspect of his
personality, the author is able to give the reader a taste of his who he is without
overwhelming him or simply reproducing his résumé. This emphasis gives the reader
the opportunity to learn who the writer is on his terms and makes it a truly compelling
application essay.

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College Essay Sample Three

The winter of my seventh grade year, my alcoholic mother entered a psychiatric unit for
an attempted suicide. Mom survived, but I would never forget visiting her at the ward or
the complete confusion I felt about her attempt to end her life. Today I realize that this
experience greatly influenced my professional ambition as well as my personal identity.
While early on my professional ambitions were aimed towards the mental health field,
later experiences have redirected me towards a career in academia.

I come from a small, economically depressed town in Northern Wisconson. Many

people in this former mining town do not graduate high school and for them college is
an idealistic concept, not a reality. Neither of my parents attended college. Feelings of
being trapped in a stagnant environment permeated my mind, and yet I knew I had to
graduate high school; I had to get out. Although most of my friends and family did not
understand my ambitions, I knew I wanted to make a difference and used their doubt as
motivation to press through. Four days after I graduated high school, I joined the U.S.
Army.

The 4 years I spent in the Army cultivated a deep-seated passion for serving society.
While in the Army, I had the great honor to serve with several men and women who, like
me, fought to make a difference in the world. During my tour of duty, I witnessed several
shipmates suffer from various mental aliments. Driven by a commitment to serve and a
desire to understand the foundations of psychological illness, I decided to return to
school to study psychology.

In order to pay for school and continue being active in the community, I enlisted in the
Texas Army National Guard as a Medic. Due to the increased deployment schedule and
demands placed on all branches of the military after September 11, my attendance in
school has necessarily come second to my commitment to the military. There are
various semesters where, due to this demand, I attended school less than full time.
Despite taking a long time and the difficulty in carving separate time for school with such
occupational requirements, I remained persistent aiming towards attending school as
my schedule would allow. My military commitment ends this July and will no longer
complicate my academic pursuits.

In college, as I became more politically engaged, my interest began to gravitate more

towards political science. The interest in serving and understanding people has never
changed, yet I realized I could make a greater difference doing something for which I
have a deeper passion, political science. Pursuing dual degrees in both Psychology and
Political Science, I was provided an opportunity to complete a thesis in Psychology with
Dr. Sheryl Carol a Professor in Social Psychology at the University of Texas (UT) This
fall I will complete an additional thesis as a McNair Scholar with Dr. Ken Chambers,
Associate Professor in Latin American studies in the UT Political Science Department.

As an undergraduate, I was privileged to gain extensive research experience working in

a research lab with Dr. Carol. During the three years I worked in her lab, I aided in
designing a study, writing an Institutional Review Board (IRB) application, running
participants through both pilot and regular studies, coding data, and analyzing said data,
with these experiences culminating in my honors thesis. This thesis, entitled Self-
Esteem and Need-to-Belong as predictors of implicit stereotypic explanatory bias,
focuses on the relationship between levels (high and low) of self-esteem and an
individual’s need to belong in a group, and how they predict whether an individual will
tend to explain stereotype-inconsistent behavior. Participating in such a large study from
start to finish has validated my interest in academic research as a profession.

This fall I will embark on writing an additional honors thesis in political science. While
the precise topic of my thesis is undecided, I am particularly interested in Mexico and its
development towards a more democratic government. Minoring in Spanish, I have read
various pieces of literature from Mexico and have come to respect Mexico and Latin
American culture and society. I look forward to conducting this research as it will have a
more qualitative tilt than my thesis in psychology, therefore granting an additional
understanding of research methodology.

My present decision to switch from social psychology to political science is further

related to a study abroad course sponsored by the European Union with Dr. Samuel
Mitchell, an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at UT. Professor
Mitchell obtained a grant to take a class of students to Belgium in order to study the EU.
This course revealed a direct correlation between what I had studied in the classroom
with the real world. After spending several weeks studying the EU, its history and
present movement towards integration, the class flew to Brussels where we met with
officials and proceeded to learn firsthand how the EU functioned.

My interest in attending the University of Rochester in particular, relates to my first

semester at OU and the opportunity to take an introductory course in statistics with the
now retired Dr. Larry Miller. Through the combination of a genuine appreciation and
knack for statistics and with his encouragement, I proceeded to take his advanced
statistics class as well as the first graduate level statistics course at OU. I continued my
statistical training by completing the second graduate statistics course on model
comparisons with Dr. Roger Johnson, a Professor in the Psychology Department. The
model com