50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

A Confession about Anime
“I chose to write about an unusual interest, my attendance at anime con-
ventions and my love for all things Japanese animation-related. I approached 
it from an entirely humorous perspective, as a confession/testimonial about 
my ‘addiction.’ I have a lot of personality, and I like to write a little more in-
formally in order to showcase that, which is why I picked that topic. Also, our 
prompt included submitting a picture, and I had a photo of me in costume 
that fit just perfectly with the scenario. It really just came to me; I am very 
grateful to my subconscious for working with me on that one.”
—Magali Ferare, Stanford University