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[Harvard]

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 Words)

You may wish to include an additional essay if you feel that the college application forms do not provide sufficient opportunity to convey important information about yourself or your accomplishments. You may write on a topic of your choice, or you may choose from one of the following topics:
- Unusual circumstances in your life
- Travel or living experiences in other countries
- What you would want your future college roommate to know about you
- An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you
- How you hope to use your college education
- A list of books you have read during the past twelve months

[Yale]

1.)    What in particular about Yale has influenced your decision to apply? (Please answer in 100 words or less.)

2.)     Please respond in 150 characters (roughly 25 words) or fewer to each of the questions below: 

a. You have been granted a free weekend next month. How will you spend it?

b. What is something about which you have changed your mind in the last three years?

c. What is the best piece of advice you have received while in high school?

d. What do you wish you were better at being or doing?

e. What is a learning experience, in or out of the classroom, that has had a significant impact on you?

3.) If any of your education prior to secondary school has taken place outside of the country where you currently reside, please list the dates of attendance, institution, country and language of instruction.

1E). In this essay, please reflect on something you would like us to know about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application, or on something about which you would like to say more. You may write about anything—from personal experiences or interests to intellectual pursuits. (Please answer in 500 words or less.) Before you begin, we encourage you to go to http://admissions.yale.edu/essay where you will find helpful advice.

[Princeton]

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences that was particularly meaningful to you. (About 150 words)

Please tell us how you have spent the last two summers (or vacations between school years), including any jobs you have held. (About 150 words)

Your favorite book and its author:

Your favorite movie:

Your favorite website:

Two adjectives your friends would use to describe you:

Your favorite recording:

Your favorite keepsake or memento:

Your favorite source of inspiration:

Your favorite word:

Your favorite line from a movie or book and its title:

In addition to the essay you have written for the Common Application, please select one of the following themes and write an essay of about 500 words in response. Please do not repeat, in full or in part, the essay you wrote for the Common Application.

1. Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way.

2. Using the statement below as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. “Princeton in the Nation’s Service” was the title of a speech given by Woodrow Wilson on the 150th anniversary of the University. It became the unofficial Princeton motto and was expanded for the University’s 250th anniversary to “Princeton in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.” - Woodrow Wilson, Princeton Class of 1879, served on the faculty and was Princeton’s president from 1902–1910.

3. Using the quotation below as a starting point, reflect on the role that culture plays in your life. “Culture is what presents us with the kinds of valuable things that can fill a life. And insofar as we can recognize the value in those things and make them part of our lives, our lives are meaningful.” - Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy, chair of the Council of the Humanities and director of the Program in Humanistic Studies, Princeton University.

4. Tell us how you would address the questions raised by the quotation below, or reflect upon an experience you have had that was relevant to these questions. \"How can we unlearn the practices of inequality? In other words, how do we increase our capacities not just to act without racism but to actively promote racial equality?\" - Imani Perry, Professor, Center for African American Studies, and Faculty Associate, Program in Law and Public Affairs, Princeton University.

5. Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay.

[Stanford]

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 word limit.)

Please respond to the following seven inquiries so we can get to know you better. Do not feel compelled to use complete sentences. 

Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or musical artists.

What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy?

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit.)

How did you spend your last two summers? (50 word limit.)

What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, sporting events, etc.) this past year? (50 word limit.)

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 word limit.)

What five words best describe you?

Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. (250 word limit.)

Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate -- and us -- know you better. (250 word limit.)

What matters to you, and why? (250 word limit.)