50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

Describing Personal Items and Their Signficance
“I was given three essay choices in my admissions application. Although 
I do not recall the actual text of the question, it basically asked me to name 
and describe a couple of personal items and how they related to my life. I 
ended up choosing this question because I felt that it gave me the most cre-
ative flexibility in trying to get my story across. I also chose it because as I was 
brainstorming all three questions, it was the only question in which most of 
my ideas seemed to flow together seamlessly.”
—Laura V. Mesa, Stanford University