My main considerations were financial aid and whether the university would provide a strong sense of community. This is what led me to choose the National Scholars Program in Clemson University.

I haven't really decided on what I want to major in. However, a few of my top choices reflect smaller class sizes and more personal relationships with the teachers. The nine-student Morality and Ethics class offered at Clemson University has led me to think that I may be interested in majoring in Philosophy.

Mostly, I think that my essays and teacher recommendations made my college applications stand out from others applying.

I'm incredibly excited to repatriate and attend a school where everyone is so blatantly proud of being a Tiger.

What really stood out to me was the diversity of people, ideas, and opportunities at Duke. It was the school that seemed to fulfill everything I was looking for in a university. Other than strong academics and a great pre-med program, they also have an amazing sports program, a beautiful campus, and stellar service opportunities. Duke is a place where I am able to meet an array of talented and unique individuals that are pursuing a diverse range of interests and passions.

As I am going to college a premedical student and hope to tightly pursue a career in medicine, I was naturally looking for strong premed and life science programs. However, at the same time, I was also looking for a university that could offer me a strong liberal arts education. There wasn’t really one program that completely won me over, but the fact that Duke had a great combination of a strong, focused pre-med program and a comprehensive liberal arts education that made it my number one choice.

I am hoping to major in Biology in college and I feel the one class that really helped support and nurture my interest in biology was independent research. This class allows you to choose a topic you are interested in and investigate that topic, something vastly different from the traditional classroom experience. Independent research helped me foster and explore my scientific curiosity and interest in science, doing a great deal to lead me to pursue the path I am now.

Although a strong GPA and high entrance test scores definitely don’t hurt you in the admissions process, the one aspect of my application that I felt helped me stand out the most was my college essays. Admissions officers see applicants as more than just numbers on a page and college essays are really the only place you can truly express yourself and what you are all about. I felt really confident about my essays because I wrote about topics that I was passionate about and truly believed in, something that I feel definitely helped the admissions officer understand me better.

What excites me most about going off to college in the Fall is independence. As a college student, I will have the resources and freedom to truly pursue my interests. I look forward to being more active in my pursuits, participating in research and engaging in meaningful service projects that can greatly benefit others. All in all, what excites me the most about going off the college is the idea that as college students, we have the ability to make an impact on the world around us.

I earned an Air Force ROTC Scholarship at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University this fall where I will study Aerospace Engineering. For a long time (freshman through junior year) I thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer and work on cars, but with the advent of SpaceX and their huge goals for the future, I realized that aerospace engineering was the best way to make an impact on people.

Aerospace Engineering, specifically the Air Force ROTC program (a program that prepares students to be leaders in the U.S Air Force)

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's (ERAU) cross country team is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which is exciting because I have been invited by the coach to join their pre-season training before my classes start in the Fall. I hope to be able to make it onto their team by the end of August.

Until my final year, I was always in doubt over whether I preferred U.K or U.S universities. When I ultimately decided that the U.K was the place for me, I searched for a friendly yet competitive university that could satisfy my curiosity in the engineering field, and that led me straight to Imperial College London.

Imperial College London appealed so greatly to me because it offered my most desired major, Aeronautical Engineering, at a level of focus and quality unmatched by that of other U.K universities, allowing me to graduate with a master’s degree in just four years. I also received offers from University of Manchester, University of Glasgow and University of Southampton for the same major.

Concordia has a fantastic selection of STEM (Science, Technology, English, Mathematics) subjects and activities. Although all of them played some part in fuelling my interest in Aeronautical Engineering, I believe Aerospace Engineering and AP Physics were the key classes that brought me to pursue Aeronautical Engineering. These classes allowed me to explore my love for math and physics and in turn discover my fascination for engineering.

Near perfect to perfect grades are plentiful in strong applications and are therefore not enough to enter competitive universities. Applicants differentiate themselves with high extracurricular achievements, and I believe my accomplishments in chess such as winning the National Chess Championship in 2013 really helped my application stand out from those of my peers.

I am most looking forward to meeting many likeminded ambitious students that share an interest with me in the pursuit of scientific excellence.

I am planning on attending LSE (London School of Economics and Politics). When I was eight, I visited the UK and fell in love with London and decided that I wanted to study there. It also helped that London is a major city and as I would like to study International Relations, it would offer me access to many resources that most other cities are unable to offer. Studying in London is also cheaper than studying in the States. Finally, I will be graduating in three years instead of four and I won't need to take classes that aren't directly related to my major, making it a more streamlined education.

I have already chosen my major as International Relations.

My social sciences teacher, Mr Paulson, definitely inspired me to go into international relations. He has challenged me to think for myself and to understand why other people may hold different opinions.

In the U.K, universities tend to look for interest in specific subjects. In my junior and senior year, I took a total of ten Humanities credits, most of which were relevant to International Relations in some form. Participating in activities like MUN and debate for multiple years in high school also would have helped as it demonstrates that I have a deep interest in extracurricular activities outside of my regular classes.

I'm really excited to live in London! London is the city of my dreams and I'm excited by the opportunities that I'll have in London as well as Europe.

The university's captivating sense of community, Catholic mission, commitment to service, exciting athletic culture, legendary history, incomparable alumni network, and academic seriousness made it a perfect fit for me.

I was particularly interested in what is known as a "Great Books" program, where instead of studying a specific major through textbooks and lectures, students explore a variety of disciplines by engaging with texts that are considered foundational or key to the shaping of today's world. Whether the texts were written by Aristotle, Newton, Shakespeare, or Machiavelli, the goal is to learn from the works of the world's greatest thinkers with hopes of getting closer to answering the fundamental questions of life: What is Truth? Justice? Morality? Human Nature? Our Purpose? Who is God? Notre Dame is one of the few universities that provides such a program.

My favorite high school class has been freshman year Humanities. From the interdisciplinary, reading-based curriculum to the frequent class discussions, the class helped me grow as a student, a critical reader, an effective writer and, most importantly, a deeper thinker. Its emphasis on synthesizing multiple disciplines through the lens of eternal questions was intellectually exciting, and made for an experience that played a major role in my choice of major.

I think my application stood out because I demonstrated that I involved in many aspects of my community - including athletics, music, Student Council - and that I have taken a leadership role in multiple endeavors.

I'm excited to be part of a new, lively community of motivated people from across the world. I've heard that the community feel at Notre Dame is unmatched, so I can't wait!

I am planning on attending Vanderbilt University, but I was also accepted to UCSD ad UC Irvine. Ever since my dad mentioned Vanderbilt University to me in Freshman year it has been my dream school. Their focus on undergraduate studies is amazing and the quality of life at Vanderbilt is excellent. I know that if I attend, I will receive high quality education and be very happy on the Vanderbilt campus.

I have always known that I need to be a doctor. And so, to reach this goal, I chose a lot of the universities I applied to base on the strength of their pre-med programs. Vanderbilt has a very strong pre-med program and that’s one of the reasons why it was one of my top choice schools.

The main thing at Concordia that has helped me is the course rigor. Of course the science courses and research opportunities such as the Independent Research class have all furthered my interest in science and health, but the course rigor at Concordia is giving me a taste of what its like to be a pre-med student. I’m sure that the course load in college will be even tougher, but getting a taste of a tough course load here at Concordia will definitely prepare me for those late nights of studying.

I think my application stood out because of the different mix of academics, athletics, and independent projects I was involved with. I had four honor societies and a diverse range of APs, but also three varsity athletic teams and involvement with a student-run social entrepreneurship project, and so I think the range of activities I was involved in made my application stand out.

I'm excited to enter a new environment and experience a new school! I can't wait for the freedom that college allows students to exercise. I'm ready to schedule my own classes and take the subjects I'm truly interested in. Of course, I'm also exited to meet new people and to enjoy the tastes of the food in Vanderbilt's famous cafeteria.