University of San Francisco Undergraduate College Application Essays

After being selected as a delegate to the Freedoms Foundation Leadership Conference at Valley Forge, I agonized over whether it would be worth missing a week of school and work. However, the trip exceeded my highest expectations. My opinions,...

I begged my mother to let me wash it off in the car. It was Ash Wednesday and, as a third grader new to public school, the cross of ashes on my forehead burned. My mother told me to be proud that I was Catholic and to remember how lucky I was...

We have a saying here in The Valley: The world will take us where we want to be. In essence, this little bit of wisdom accurately embodies the world I come from, what it has taught me, and the many ways in which it has shaped my dreams,...

After years of constant nagging, I finally gave in to my family's relentless pressure to try cooked pig intestines, or chitlins. Their smell, both sickening and overbearing, has made me steer clear from them every year. But, honoring a strong...

Countless books, documentaries, and museums recount the story of the Jewish Holocaust. Comparatively few people, however, have heard of the modern holocaust that took place in Indonesia twelve years ago in my hometown of Jakarta.

One particular...

Most people are surprised to find out that I am dyslexic. Of course, most people don’t know. It’s not that I am ashamed of it, just that I don’t like to tell people about my problems. It is hard to hide, however, when a teacher asks me to read...

There is a special bond that forms between a dog and its owner. Sandy and I were no exception. That was why I wasn't really surprised when my mom told me the news. In a way, I already knew.

My family got Sandy when I was six, so she was a part of...

Imagine coming from a neighborhood in which the only thing that is promised is death. I lost one of my closest friends a few months ago to gun violence. Witnessing this horror changed my perspective: I want to have a successful life. Killings and...

The most important part of my life began nearly a hundred years ago, in a city I have never visited, with a woman I have never met.

Picture 1920s New York City: the prime era of renewal, jazz, and the beginning of the 20th century feminist...

"Call off the priest. We have a live birth." Moments before I took my first breath, doctors were sure that I wouldn't make it out of the ICU alive. I was born three months premature and weighed two pounds, eleven ounces. Doctors officially...

The little orange lights blink against the dark blue background, resembling the twinkling of stars at dusk. As the black rings of rubber rapidly revolving around the orbits of metal hubcaps come to a halt, a screech of protest is heard. The driver...

To most people, a costume is a few layers of carefully constructed material that conveys a character or historical period. To me it is a vessel of teleportation that permits me to explore the personalities of flirts, cowards, evil geniuses, and...

Dairy products crushed my dreams. My pediatrician delivered the terrible news: she said that my constant stomach aches had been caused by a dairy allergy that had, until recently, lain dormant. This development would be a tough pill for any...

As an outspoken Asian girl with an unusually large number of freckles and the tone of a strong alto, I am generally very noticeable. I had always felt very comfortable with the people around me considering that I had been with the same group of...

I feel the sweat drip down my neck and soak into the fabric of my bedazzled gown. I clench my fists and inhale deeply, closing my eyes to see the reassuring grin of my choreographer in my mind. Here I stay, tucked securely behind the stage curtain...

My grandma thought I was going to die. By studying abroad in France, away from her care, I learned that I must be the one to make the most out of an experience, even if it’s not what I expected it to be. Coming from Hawai’i from a single parent...

Click.

“Alright, perfect.” I announce, looking down at my camera to peruse through the pictures I had just captured. The model in front of me wore a meticulously curated outfit of my choosing: a muted rainbow of varied sportswear, accompanied by...

A major problem we face today is our failure to chronicle the specifics of a given period, region, or ethnic group. Authentic history is derived not merely from authority figures, but from individuals. The contemporary historical narrative—the...

The sky was the baby blue of my new tricycle with streaks of mandarin orange peels highlighting the end of another innocent day. He stood beside my 5 year old self, with clothes smelling of Chinese take-out and the sweat of yesterday’s hot sun....