UIUC: In an essay of 300 words or less, tell us something about yourself that isn't covered elsewhere in this application, some interest or experience of yours that you think the University of Illinois should know about as part of the admissions review. 300-word version: U of Illinois&mdas..

MIT: Tell us about the most significant challenge you`ve faced or something important that didn`t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words) 248-word version: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Spotlights used to be mine. Always struggling to attain brilliant resul..

UW: Briefly explain (in 50-100 words), how you decided which activity was the most important to you. 100-word version: Business Administration-oriented – U of Wisconsin Founding Innovative Entrepreneur’s Club was not easy and running it was even harder... U of Michigan: Everyo..

Brown: A distinctive feature of the Brown Curriculum is the opportunity to be the "architect of your education." Why does this academic environment appeal to you? (700 characters) 699-character version: Art History-oriented – Brown I always thought I was going to be a scienti..

Columbia: Please tell us what you find most appealing about Columbia and why. (1500 characters) 1500-character version: Columbia I was completely taken aback by Columbia’s pithy yet vivid description of the university and the City of New York... 1528-character version: Columbia Brow..

Bliss to sorrow, then back to bliss just to revert to sorrow again was my childhood and my youth might have been no different except that this time the cycle had stopped at being back to bliss for now, and I sincerely hope it stays this way...