Writing: College Application Essays #6 (Brown)

(Note: Some responses here for essays were copied from my responses to other schools, like the extracurricular prompts. They are not included.)

Prompt: Why Brown?

Unlike other colleges, Brown offers students a sense of freedom, exploration, and participation in their education. Through the Open Curriculum, interdisciplinary study is the focus, while a broad education, one with a basis in language or number, is the foundation.

I believe that education should push students to study what they’re interested in– not what would be easy or provide a good grade. Your classes should make your uncomfortable and question commonly accepted beliefs. You shouldn’t be forced to stay on a single track; you should be offered multiple to discover what you’re truly passionate about.

In high school, I’ve tried to stay true to these beliefs, taking both unusual and challenging classes to foster my intellectual curiosity. This year, for example, I’m taking African American literature, the first and only class on people of color. At Brown, I hope to continue doing what I love: learning new things.

Prompt: Tell us where you have lived - and for how long - since you were born; whether you’ve always lived in the same place, or perhaps in a variety of places.

I’ve lived here my entire life. It’s a quaint neighborhood, lined with similar brown and blue condos. At the entrance is a lantern perched upon a red brick tower. Its light marks a transition between suburbia and a century-old town.

Years ago, there were only four kids, and we grew up together. But, as time passed, we drifted apart, found new friends and eventually moved out.    

Now, a new generation enters. These kids do the same things, playing and laughing together. Watching them, I think of the others– what we’ll do, where we’ll go.  

And still, the lantern glows.   

Prompt: We all exist within communities or groups of various sizes, origins, and purposes; pick one and tell us why it is important to you, and how it has shaped you.

My school’s student body is sixty percent Caucasian, twenty percent Asian, and ten percent Hispanic, followed by African Americans and others. Compared to other Bay Area schools, my school is diverse in terms of race. However, it lacks in economic diversity.

Students can afford expensive preparatory programs, and as a result, academics become ultra-competitive. Students are judged solely by their GPA or test scores.

Here, I am an outsider. To me, my school symbolizes the classism in education throughout America. But, still, I have benefited from it; in overcoming this challenge, I’ve learned that passion for education is key to success.