Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

For most people, chalk's usefulness is extremely limited. Only used on university blackboards and suburban sidewalks, chalk is a powdery, messy relic of the past. To me, however, it's usefulness—and b

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Activities: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (Response required in about 200 words.)

Since the cards were first dealt four years ago, I have not only become infatuated with the game of poker, but I've finally felt the warmth of genuine, requited best-friendship. For its own sake, poke

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As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in about 350 words)

After watching a Vsauce (YouTube) video on the physics of Earth's complex movement through space, I was left hungry for more—I spent the next few hours Googling basic mechanics. Even by the umpteenth

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At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future?

"How could you be okay with killing babies? Why is a fetus less than a baby just because it's unborn!?" My rhetoric about female autonomy was stopped in its tracks. I was at a loss for words. I'd me

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Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals.

“Okay, so, when the ball hits the court, it doesn’t go as high. When it hits the ground, it loses some of its energy. Y’know how when you play, you get tired? That’s ’cause you’ve lost energy!” “[Name

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What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?

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What brings you joy?

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What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?

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What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit)

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How did you spend your last two summers? (50 word limit)

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What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 word limit)

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Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 word limit)

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Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (50 word limit)

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The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100 to 250 words)

Even by the umpteenth projectile motion problem, I was in awe. Only a few hours in, and physics had rocked my world. I'd always seen these things as random, but now I had a language which told me exac

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Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate — and us — know you better. (100 to 250 words)

Hello :) My name's [Name Redacted], but I've gone by "[Name Redacted]" (my last name) since as long as I can remember. I have a terrible sleep schedule (I love being awake at 3 a.m.), yet I can't slee

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Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why.

When it comes to friendship, I often hear that quality is better than quantity. For most of my life, I've been deprived of even the hope for either. Then, I struck gold. Since the cards were first dea

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List the titles of the required readings from academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school.

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List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school.

Books: Cat's Cradle (Vonnegut); 1984 (Orwell); The Illustrated Man (Bradbury); October Country (Bradbury); Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dick); I, Robot (Asimov); Ender's Game (Card); The Princ

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List the titles of the print or digital publications, websites, journals, podcasts or other content with which you regularly engage.

Print Publications: Physics Today Digital Publications: AP, Vox, The New York Times, Vice, Some More News, The Onion, Scientific American, CNN10 Websites: YouTube (specifically: ContraPoints, Big Joel

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List the movies, albums, shows, museums, lectures, events at your school or other entertainments that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school (in person or online).

Movies: Taxi Driver, Joker, Ex Machina, Arrival, 1917, Dunkirk, Hidden Figures, Just Mercy, Moonlight, Parasite, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Irishman, Inglorious Bastards, John Wick (all of the

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Columbia students take an active role in improving their community, whether in their residence hall, classes or throughout New York City. Their actions, small or large, work to positively impact the lives of others. Share one contribution that you have made to your family, school, friend group or another community that surrounds you. (200 words or fewer)

With staff on short supply, [Place Redacted] Elementary's summer program struggles to manage the energy of 200+ kids. Besides napping, eating, and playing, these kids have nothing to do; this boredom

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Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? (200 words or fewer)

Too many times, high school has simultaneously given me a taste of everything yet failed to quench my deeper curiosity. When I imagine myself at Columbia, I can only help but laugh at such a worry. Re

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For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)

Watching Vsauce (A YouTuber) describe Earth’s movement through space, I was amazed at how the awesomely-complex motion simplified down to just a few equations—I’d spent the next few hours learning mor

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Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about an academic interest (or interests) that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it.

After watching a Vsauce (YouTube) video on the physics of Earth's complex movement through space, I was left hungry for more—I spent the next few hours Googling basic mechanics. Even by the umpteenth

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At Brown, you will learn as much from your peers outside the classroom as in academic spaces. How will you contribute to the Brown community?

For a university which defines itself on its academic and personal freedom, Brown is the place to be for students who don't define themselves with one label. As a physicist-philosopher-musician-activi

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Tell us about a place or community you call home. How has it shaped your perspective? (250 words)

Nearly the entire gym had gathered around a single problem. Nobody understood how to maneuver this crux, and any pleading to the workers was met with a sadistic shrug. I joined the stare-fest, and my

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Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.

After a busy week of tests, chores, and “group” projects, there’s nothing I look forward to more than my-friends-and-I’s weekly poker game. For its own sake, poker is an amazing game. A game of stati

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What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

When I first played three years ago, my brother had to convince my mom that poker would not get me addicted to gambling. He was half-right. While I remain ambivalent to gambling, poker has taken me by

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Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

With my hands caked in chalk, I step up to the first holds of the route. For this climb, I’ve heard that the “beta” (standard, established route) is near perfect. Unfortunately, as a 5' 7" lefty, this

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What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

“Okay, so, when the ball hits the court, it doesn’t go as high. When it hits the ground, it loses some of its energy. Y’know how when you play, you get tired? That’s ’cause you’ve lost energy!” “[Name

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Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

I’d always had a knack for the STEM subjects, but it wasn’t until high school that I ceased investing all my extra time into video games. The first time I heard “physics” outside the context of a Bill

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Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (50-150 words)

After a busy week of tests, chores, and “group” projects, there’s nothing I look forward to more than my-friends-and-I’s weekly poker game. For its own sake, poker is an amazing game. A game of statis

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Your intellectual life may extend beyond the academic requirements of your particular school. Please use the space below to list additional intellectual activities that you have not mentioned or detailed elsewhere in your application. These could include, but are not limited to, supervised or self-directed projects not done as school work, training experiences, online courses not run by your school, or summer academic or research programs not described elsewhere. (150 words)

Out of everything I've done to better understand the universe, nothing has come close to being as rewarding—or as difficult—as my research. While it's no On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, the p

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Additional Essay: Travel, living, or working experiences in your own or other communities

“Okay, so, when the ball hits the court, it doesn’t go as high. When it hits the ground, it loses some of its energy. Y’know how when you play, you get tired? That’s ’cause you’ve lost energy!” “[Name

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How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

What is the end goal of life? Is it money? Status? Power? For me, it's none of the above. I want to spend my next four years in a world where knowledge and learning takes precedence over the search f

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If there’s a limited amount of matter in the universe, how can Olive Garden (along with other restaurants and their concepts of food infinity) offer truly unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks? Explain this using any method of analysis you wish—physics, biology, economics, history, theology… the options, as you can tell, are endless.

When considering the limitlessness of Olive Garden's breadsticks, the obvious answer that anyone worth their weight in salt would give is that an infinitude of any physical process is metaphysically i

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