50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

A Positive Attitude
“I learned that even though I never participated much in extracurriculars 
or made many friends in high school, I still had grown a lot and (to my sur-
prise) had a relatively positive attitude about life.”
—Mathew Griffin, Brown University
A Numbers Person
“I learned that I do not like the stress of writing a perfect essay. I am more 
of a numbers person. I always think everything I write is not good enough or 
could be better. I stressed myself out. It turned out ok because I got accepted 
to college but I would much rather take a multiple choice test than write an 
essay.”
—Victoria Tomaka, University of Chicago