Please Pick Me!

hey guys and gals, all you english geniuses out there, help a brother out and read my essay and tell me what you think.

I could easily fill a page with details on how beautiful your campus truly is. Or I could just as easily write about the prestige, and success the University of Pennsylvania and its alumni receive and duly deserve. And in earlier drafts I did just that. I wrote compliment after compliment in my attempts to express the reasoning behind my desires. But while all these would be true and none-the-less worthy reasons for my intent to transfer and graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, my reasoning, much like myself, have changed over the course of my college career.

I graduated high school and shortly thereafter, pursued an admittedly lofty and impulsive dream of mine. My girlfriend and I left home and drove across country to California. And to answer the most likely questions, no I did not want to be a rock star, an actor, and at the time, not even a student, at least not a student in the traditional sense of the word. But I was always open to learning, and learn I did.

In those years following high school, I learned a lot about growing up. I experienced the pleasures and headaches of renting my own apartment. I debated differing political views and enjoyed speaking and often befriending those of other cultures. And after my girlfriend and I went our separate ways, I learned what it was like to lose a love I thought would last forever. Yet, what I thought was once a less than preferable turn of events became a catalyst that led me to re-evaluate my life.

Although I was happy with many aspects of my life, I knew that I had much more learning to do. And with the generosity of a loving family, I moved back home in order to pursue a more formal higher education. I was excited, albeit a little afraid – but I was focused and determined to succeed. And even though it had been several years since I last stepped into a classroom, I felt ahead of the curve, and my grades became clear indications of my committed resolve.

I had planned to earn a bachelor’s degree from the very beginning, and hope to continue for an MBA. The University of Pennsylvania has always been on the top of my list, at first, for the many reasons I stated in my introduction. But over the course of my tenure at my current junior college, the University of Pennsylvania has become the fuel that has kept me fervent and awake - unwilling to waver in my endeavors for education and a better life.

I am well aware of how exclusive transfer acceptance is among the top Universities, especially UPENN. While I would love to write that I am the best possible student, I simply can’t – not that my academic record is at fault, nor to any sort of detrimental shortcoming of mine - but such superlatives seldom really mean anything. However, I can tell you that if I were given the opportunity to study at the University of Pennsylvania I would be nothing short of happy, honored, and extremely capable. I know it will be difficult; I have no misconceptions about the academic rigors UPENN presents to their students. Yet, I welcome the challenge with a healthy amount of caution and the courage to move forward when difficulty arises. And academics aside, at the very least I know I could contribute an open mind, a little creativity, and if all else fails – a fairly good sense of humor.