FRESHMAN APPLICATION ESSAY PROMPTS FOR FALL 2008 ADMISSION

Because we cannot meet all of our applicants personally, please help us get to know you better through the following essays. Feel free to be as serious or as humorous as you would like; feel free also to write about something other than yourself if you feel that, by doing so, you’ll help us gain a better understanding of who you are and how you think.

Please bear in mind that your essays are very important and will be evaluated not only for admission, but also for possible selection for the Honors Program and merit-based scholarships. Your essays provide a valuable opportunity for you to demonstrate qualities such as intellectual curiosity and the ability to think creatively, both of which are important criteria for consideration for these programs.

If you apply on paper, write the essays on separate sheets of paper and enclose them with your application. Please include your complete name and date of birth at the top of each sheet. If you apply online, be sure to submit these essays with your online application.

Essays
Please respond to two of the prompts below. One of your essays should be short (about 250 words) and one essay should be longer (about 500 words).

1. If you could solve one of history’s greatest mysteries, what would it be and why?
2. Tell us about a friendship you have forged with someone from a different race, class, religion, or background. How did this friendship develop? What has it taught you?
3. Carolina encourages undergraduates to participate in research in any field — including the arts, humanities, social sciences, communications, and sciences. If you could spend one semester researching a specific topic that interests you, in the hope of making at least a small contribution to our understanding of that topic, what would you choose to research and why?
4. If you were to choose or create a quote or saying that defined you, what would it be and why?
5. Some scientific advances are so counterintuitive that they completely change the way we think about the world. Examples are the ideas of Isaac Newton or Charles Darwin or Marie Curie. Which scientific discovery made during your lifetime has most significantly affected the world around you?
6. Carolina students may take advantage of 30,000 internships worldwide. If you were to describe your dream internship, what would it be and why?
7. Tell us about a time when you had to sacrifice something in order to help a friend or family member.
8. If you have written an essay for another school’s application that you really like, feel free to use it as your longer essay for us. Please be sure to tell us (a) what essay you are answering and (b) why you think this essay represents you well (your explanation will not be included in the essay word count).

Optional Additional Statement – (please limit your answer to approximately 250 words)

Is there anything else you would like to share with us regarding your background or interests that you didn't have the opportunity to share elsewhere? Have you overcome exceptional difficulties or challenges? Have you participated in any programs or activities to help you prepare for college, such as Governor's School, Project Uplift, Gear-Up, AVID, Upward Bound, LEAD, or Summer Ventures?

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