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Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course Number

Date

Admission Essay

"My name is ______ and I am a first-generation immigrant from Brazil. I have to admit

first and foremost that my life has been far less than ordinary. The early loss of my grandfather

coupled with financial hardships that my family had to continually endure during my school

years meant that I never had it easy. My battle all through has been dual-pronged. On the

emotional front, this has involved trying to cope with deep personal losses and serious mental

health issues that even drove me to attempt suicide once, while on the financial front, it saw me

trying to stave off the threat of a dire debt crisis at home by working extra time.

Nonetheless, I learned to cope like most others. This has been responsible for making me

the person I am today - strong and determined always with a positive attitude. Even at the risk of

sounding too boisterous, I feel that my strength and resolve are what define me and would shape

my future. It is not an overstatement by any means.

I have relentlessly persevered even in the face of dire challenges. If anything, my life so

far has been reflective of the general human condition where happiness and sadness have

coexisted in equal measure. I have had my fair share of successes in school and have always

been glad about my participation in humanitarian clubs at school. However, when my focus had

to be on studies and extracurricular activities, I was weighed down by family problems.

Specifically, My mother and grandfather had had to grapple with sickness all through, made

worse by our inability to finance the treatment. In having to set aside time to serve the needs of

my ailing family members, extracurricular activities at school took a backseat for me.
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Nonetheless, I made sure that my studies never suffered and I was able to consistently notch up

scores that catapulted me to the league of top-scorers in class. In this regard, I excelled in math,

finance, and cognitive sciences.

My interest in cognitive sciences was primarily spurred by my grandfather's Alzheimer's.

Imagine how painful it can be to lack the wherewithal to articulate one's love for a loved one

owing to the latter's inability to comprehend the same. The efforts directed then toward striking

cordiality with such a person may very much seem like rowing upstream or driving uphill. My

grandfather's inability to identify me meant that I had to reintroduce myself to him each time I

saw him. Surprisingly, my grandfather has displayed amazing socializing skills during his entire

lifetime. He has had a trustworthy band of mates in whom he has confided uninhibitedly. All that

changed after Alzheimer's struck. His memory started failing him gradually and within a year or

so, his neurosis reached a point where everyday living was becoming a challenge for him. I had

to step in and attend to his needs during these times constantly.

I remember a period when my exams were due and my grandfather was undergoing

another bout of Alzheimer's. Against this backdrop, I showed the tenacity to switch to and fro

between devoting time to study preparation and taking care of my grandpa. Words fail me to

describe how onerous it became for me to strike a balance between these two activities. Luckily

though, things worked out well for both of us. I passed my exams with better-than-expected

grades, while my grandpa also alleviated his misery, albeit only temporarily.

Concerning my daily interactions with my Alzheimer-afflicted grandpa, the challenge of

speaking with him like a "new" person every time we met was bothersome and yet amusing at

the same time. Our dispassioned interactions had closed the doors on erstwhile carefree and

loving ways and yet it carried the same profundity as before. I realized that I was introspecting
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more during such interactions and was uncovering new facets of myself. Effectively, it was an

exercise at maturity for me. And I would forever remain indebted to him for that.

I am well aware that I have miles to go before I achieve even an iota of the goals that I

have envisioned for myself. In this respect, the opportunity to enroll at the <ABC Uni> and carve

out a career that best fits my skills and abilities would possibly be the greatest one that I can

hope for. I am confident that with my grades and all of the experience that I have accrued over

the years, I have what it takes to be counted among the best and the brightest.