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College Admission Essays: A Short-Answer to an Oddball Question Essay Example

by Geraldine Woods
Source: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Topics: College Admissions Tests and Essays, Writing the College Essay, College Essay Examples

Below is an example of a college application short answer essay to an oddball question.

Hanging towards the back of the closet, on a hanger my great-grandmother knitted a cover for, is the apron I wore all those times I made chocolate chip pancakes with my dad. Every Sunday morning, the apron went over my pajamas and I ran down the stairs to greet my dad, who was already stirring the batter and heating the stove. My “job” was to place the chocolate chips gently onto the cooking pancakes. No matter how they looked, my dad always smiled and ate every last bite. As I peer at this apron which, surprisingly, looks quite small, I know I will pass it down to my child and, hopefully, recreate the tender moments I shared with my dad.

As I step back from the closet I stumble over my favorite pair of sweatpants. They are gray, stretched out, and clearly ragged. I realize I’ve had these same sweatpants for the past four years, but I don’t ever want to part with them because they represent the best times I’ve had with my friends @md in bed talking on the phone at all hours of the night or making grilled cheese at sleepovers. I plan to bring my sweatpants with me when I go to college to take comfort in my old memories and to embrace new ones.

On the door of the closet hanging next to my childhood mirror, I see the suit I wore for my Bat-Mitzvah; gray pinstriped with a thin maroon line. When I wore the suit at the age of thirteen, I felt a sense of maturity and an eagerness to have more responsibility. As I now view the suit, with perhaps a long-sleeved black silk shirt replacing the original pink cotton one, I can see myself seven years from now, wearing this suit as a lawyer.

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