Example Prep School Application Short Essay Answers

"Please select one of the following quotations and write about how it is relevant or meaningful to you.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb inside his skin and walk around in it." – Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee"

Every person is a being with his own thoughts, ideas, and a unique story. Most of the time, when we look at a person, we evaluate him as we see it with our own eyes, without taking into account the environment he came from, his experiences and feelings; however, man is a being far beyond what we see. First of all, everyone has a story and this story started in the womb. In this way it is impossible for us to know another person’s life in as detailed a way as we know our own.  Most of the time, these evaluations that you make without fully understanding what is in front of us can lead to erroneous results. The ability to evaluate ourselves from the other person's perspective is very limited in many people. In fact, this difficulty, this lack of empathy for our fellow man, is at the root of most of today's conflicts. We can only make sense of a person's behavior, the position he finds in himself, and more, by evaluating him within himself. In this sense, it is very important to avoid cruel criticism and to evaluate people from their own perspectives. Since a person cannot enter the soul of another person and experience his life experience exactly, it is impossible for these assessments to be 100% valid. No matter how developed our ability to empathize is, it is still limited because each person is only the sum of their own experiences and experiences, and it is not possible for an abstainer to fully understand this.

How has your community played a role in shaping you into the person you are today?

The environment in which we were born and live is definitely one of the most important factors affecting our lives and shaping our identities in the future. Specifically looking at the development of my personality, my family, our roots, and the environment I grew up in are all vital factors. First of all, I must state that my brother and I are the first members of our family born in America, whereas my mother and father were both born and spent the majority of their lives in Turkey. All extended members of our family except my mother and father, live far away from us in Turkey. I can say that my childhood was shaped within the crucible of our  community. In this community it is important to note that the population included people and immigrants from many different countries and races around the world, such as people who were Asian, Native American, or African. Everyone was different in the neighborhood, everyone had different values and beliefs that they maintained yet everyone seemed so alike and so similar having connections and relationships with each other. Living in a multicultural neighborhood and being immersed in this community allowed  for me to realize and understand the value of differences between human beings. Essentially, my neighborhood has molded me into the person I am today by instilling values in me such as individuality and the importance of remembering my culture which are both philosophies in which I deeply believe and bestow pride upon.

[XXXXX] Academy is a vibrant and diverse place. Being a part of the [XXXXX] community is an experience that extends well beyond the classroom. How do you see yourself contributing to this community?

I am a child from an immigrant family who grew up in a multicultural environment. In this sense, I think that Milton is a production that complies with student standards and that I can contribute in different ways. First of all, my personal experiences have made me a person who sees the differences of people as wealth and accepts differences as valuable. I learned that other cultures, belief systems, and worldviews are just as valuable and respectable as mine. I don't see school experience as a teaching organization limited to the classroom, I want Milton to be my home away from home. Besides that, I want to see my friends, teachers, and other Milton adults as part of my family throughout my high school life and beyond.

My little brother and I are the first members of my family to be born in America, all of our family except our parents live far away from us in Turkey. Maybe that's why I want to see my friends as my brothers and other Milton adults as my mentors and family.  I will contribute to the diversity of the Milton school, both culturally and from a different perspective. I grew up as a person who attaches great importance to taking initiative and collaboration. It is very important for me to produce solutions to the problems I see and to contribute to the solution. At this point, I never hesitated to put my hand under the stone. In this sense, I think that the Milton school is suitable for my most important characteristics and that I can contribute to the school at a level that can best represent the values of the school.