Princeton supplement (a favorite quotation from an essay or book)

Option 4 - Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a jumping off point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation at the beginning of your essay.


"Equality may perhaps be a right, but no power on Earth can ever turn it into a fact"
-Honore de Balzac excerpt from "The Duchess of Langeais"

"What the hell? Why did my classmate get an A+ on his project while I only got a B?" I had been robbed. Before my new teacher could answer the question, I showed him the base of the paper prism. The name on the base of the prism was the only difference between our projects. My classmate had stolen my project and wrote his name over my own. I have heard of cheaters getting the same grade as the person they cheated off of, but a whole letter grade better? It was the same project. The teacher only started last week, so it is not like he had favorites. I was no able to come up with a logical explanation for this anomaly.
I had been betrayed. Schools have preached to me all my life about the equality of all students despite their background. Yet here I stand in a situation that goes against everything they have ever told me. I would not have been as surprised if this happened to me anywhere else, but this was in school regarding a teacher. Ever since I was little I always saw my school as a second home where I could feel safe. I could let my guard down in school, because everyone was the same. This happened in my second home by a teacher. They are not supposed to see color, race, ethnicity, or background. They are supposed to see each and every student the same way.
I began to question all of the grades I had received in the past couple of years. Were they all altered by the color of my background? These questions still plague me to this day. I believe that incident was caused due to the color of my skin, but I feat that I will never truly know. I do not believe that all my teachers are like him. I do not even believe that any are like him. My faith in my teachers' integrity and my school are still strong. I still feel very comfortable there, but I keep my head on a swivel, reminding myself that no place is perfect and these things can happen.

Good essay!!

What I suggest you start doing is give a little description about your classmate.

I can infer that he is a white, but just make the admission officers feel certain, perhaps.

Nope! You can't say "What the hell?" :) Just start with:

Why did my classmate get an A+ on his project while I only got a B? I thought, feeling that had been robbed. Before my new teacher could answer the question, I showed him the base of the paper prism. The name on the base of the prism was the only difference between our projects. My classmate had stolen my project and written his name over my own. I have heard of cheaters getting the same grade as the person they cheated off of, but a whole letter grade better? It was the same project. The teacher only started last week, so it is not like he had favorites. I was no able to come up with a logical explanation for this anomaly.

I had been betrayed. Schools have preached to me all my life about the equality of all students despite their background. Yet here I stand in a situation that goes against everything they have ever told me. I would not have been as surprised if this happened to me anywhere else, but this was in school and involved a teacher. Ever since I was little I always saw my school as a second home where I could feel safe. I could let my guard down in school, because everyone was the same. This happened in my second home by a teacher. They are not supposed to see color, race, ethnicity, or background. They are supposed to see each and every student the same way.
I began to question all of the grades I had received in the past couple of years. Had they all been altered by the cultural preferences among teachers? These questions still plague me to this day. I believe that incident was caused by the color of my skin, but I feel that I will never truly know. I do not believe that all my teachers are like him. I do not even believe that any are like him. My faith in my teachers' integrity and my school are still strong. I still feel very comfortable there, but I keep my head on a swivel, reminding myself that no place is perfect and these things can happen.


Wow, that is awful!! I agree with the advice, above, suggesting that you specify that you and the other kid have different skin colors.

You know, racism still does exist, but it is also true that teachers give grades differently depending on their own imperfect perceptions. Like, how do they decide who gets an A and who gets a B? It is not just about the quality of the work... it is about all kinds of subtle things that are going on with the teacher. It makes me angry to think that teachers choose some kids to give A's and some to give B's, and it is not always bcause of quality. Hell, even the teacher may not be as smart as you! Do you realize that in a few short years you could be a teacher grading papers? Teachers are just kids who got older. We are all confused...

:)

I really hope that this teacher in your story was not a racist!

Honestly, I would come up with another topic and write a new essay. This essay says nothing about you except that you are non-white. And the whole "What the hell?" at the beginning as well as your rash accusations of racism make you sound crass and paranoid. I'm sure there are probably some fantastic essays written on this subject, however, you seem to have almost no basis for your accusations in this scenario nor did it seem like the experience brought any sort of dramatic change to your life.