50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

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advi cE on  toPics 
Fro M ivy lEaGuE 
stud Ents
A Risky Approach That Worked
“My Stanford admissions essay topic asked me to write about an experi-
ence when I had to take a risk. I wrote about my very first time in a long time 
eating peanuts even though I was very allergic. For a long time, my allergy 
to peanuts controlled my life as I had to live in perpetual fear of it whenever 
I went out to eat. I wrote about how I finally took a stand against it one day 
during a big family dinner since I did not want to make a big fuss and ruin the 
mood. So I didn’t care if the Kung Pao Chicken had peanuts. We ordered it, 
and I ate it anyways. Apparently, I was still quite allergic to peanuts, but I’m 
glad I did it just to see if all that avoidance was warranted.”
“Thinking back about my essay, I realize I took a risk on how I wrote that es-
say. I personified peanuts as a real living enemy that I despised. I started off my 
essay with the line: “I looked at the peanut and the peanut looked back at me.” 
It was a little quirky, and I tried to inject as much humor as I could into it.”
—Dan Tran, Stanford University

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50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays