Washington University in St. Louis Undergraduate College Application Essays

It was pouring rain as night crept in. Hauling heavy packs and tools, we trekked down the 19-kilometer unmaintained Galene Lakes Route, on our way back from constructing a campsite for BC Parks. Upon reaching a ravine, we ground to a halt - the...

Fascinating! I had no idea, as I took my seat near the front of the hall, how much one lecture could change my thinking. Our media focuses on crime, conflict, and injustice - what demands attention. But Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker...

After visiting concentration camps in Poland, I became deeply intrigued by the human aspects of World War II. Even though it was difficult, even painful, to learn about what happened to my ancestors, the experience was valuable because it nurtured...

It felt like performing dental work on an apprehensive clam without any gloves; the ridges of the Dragon’s bony mouth scraped combatively against my knuckles as it swallowed its treasure. “I cannot imagine the faces of the horrified crowd behind...

Growing up in a Taiwanese household, my whole life revolved around the term “buyaolangfei”, or don’t be wasteful. Everything from empty egg cartons to used sauce jars are all to be used with gratitude and never wasted. In fact, we have a Chinese...

What was the worst mistake in US history? Could it be the Compromise of 1877? Or Vietnam? Or could it even be Columbus stepping foot on the Americas? This question has always intrigued me, and I would like to explore possible answers to this...

Tap-tap-tap. My fingers tactfully hover over my controller as a white ball darts between players on the screen. For me, the afternoon FIFA is a ritual that precedes even my mom’s famous grilled cheeses.

Soccer has long been a keystone in my life....

“Do you have any siblings?”

It’s a simple question, yet for the longest time, it was a question that I dreaded, a question that I felt the need to avoid at all costs. The answer, in essence, is simple. I have two older brothers: one 22, the other...

“We would get chased home because Italians didn't want us in their neighborhood.”

“It causes gentrification and…[section 8] people to move out…prices go up.”

These are 2 of the many testimonies I gathered while conducting research last summer. I...

After building the portable tennis court, I signal one of my eleven-year-old students to come and play. He returns every ball over the net despite having a racket with two broken strings. The uneven concrete does not hinder him from speeding...

From a grade school classmate who mocked me by stretching out the corners of his eyelids (I’m Thai!), to people who thought it was okay to use Asian slurs because they didn’t include me (I’m not Thai!), to a middle school “friend” who texted me a...