Amherst и Occidental также требовали несколько дополнительных эссе: "Why Occidental?", "Identify and describe a personal habit - of any nature - that best defines you.", and "Stereotyped beliefs have the power to become self-fulfilling prophesies for behavior."

Dreaming in the Dark
Some of the brightest memories of my childhood are those of times spent in complete darkness. While most of my early recollections have faded away, I still vividly remember almost daily power outages that, for many winters, brought down blackness upon our little apartment. A result of Ukraine’s crippling economy, these regular shutdowns left people no choice but to put their busy lives on pause and spend the next many hours in the confines of their homes, cut out from the rest of the world. Despised by the adults for many inconveniences it brought, to my young, untroubled imagination, the time passed in the dark often seemed almost magical. Cuddled up on the couch near my mother, I would spend these long evenings watching the intricate play of lights cast on the ceiling by passing trolleybuses, while being lulled to sleep by the soothing melody of her voice. “Ma, can we dream a little?” I would often ask resisting the lure of Morpheus, and she would immediately take me on a journey into the cloudland.

My mother has always possessed an extraordinary ability to make life seem like it was full of possibilities. Fighting against the seemingly hopeless penury for all of my conscious life, she has never showed despair or any sign of discontent. Much to the contrary, unable to find a good job after retiring from the Navy, she refused to be content with her miserable pension and wage, constantly coming up with far-fetched schemes to support our small family. Usually MLM-based, her projects always promised incredible rewards and, even though they never delivered, somehow managed to keep us afloat. Yet much more important than whatever little money these enterprises brought was a glimpse of hope that came with each one of them – or, at least, this was what my mother always made me believe, using the hours spent in the room enveloped by darkness to make even the smallest glimpse of light seem like the brightest ray of sunshine.

Even though the days of our couch reveries are now long gone, the habit of dreaming seemingly impossible dreams instilled in me as a child by my mother remains unchanged. Intentionally or not, by showing me how to build castles in the air she also taught me a valuable lesson – to never be afraid of pushing the boundaries of possibilities because the only way to make anything a reality is to dream it up first. No less important, through her own example of hard work, she has never let me forget that pursuing one’s dreams was as important as thinking them up. Having adopted this philosophy years ago, today I continue to build and expand on it, to create a roadmap for my own life: I have yet to find out where my grand ambitions will lead me, but thanks to my mother’s lessons, I know that no matter where I end up, looking back I will at least be able to say, “Wow, this was a picturesque ride!”

No Title (stereotypes)
I was walking to a class one morning when my eyes fell on a large sign that graced the administration building of Sussex County Community College. The night before, by wits of a mysterious jester, it was changed from “Start Here, Go Anywhere!” to “Start Here, Stay Here!” My first reaction when I noticed the alteration was amusement, but just as I was about to burst into giggles, I realized that I was one of those students whose future the author of the new sign was trying to mock. So I quickly swallowed the snigger and slowly continued on my way to the class.

Community colleges still suffer from the age long stereotype. Why else, less than a year after my arrival to the United States, would I feel that attending one made me a second-rate student? I probably got this idea from sudden indifference that appeared in people’s eyes when their question “What school?” was met with my “community college.” As enthusiastic as I was about pursuing my education in the United States, having witnessed the same reaction over and over again, I could not help but wonder whether, in fact, there was nothing special about my time at SCCC.

Fortunately, determined to make the best out of my college experience, I chose to ignore the doubts imposed on me by the attitude of others and to form my own opinion instead. With this decision in mind, I immersed myself into a previously unknown world of the American college life, quickly discovering many incredible opportunities my school had to offer. It was this timely realization that is to thank for the extremely interesting and productive three years I have spent at SCCC. If not for it, the stereotypical belief of others could, in fact, have become a self-fulfilling prophesy, turning me into a disengaged, and ultimately second-rate, student.

Why Oxy?
Researching American colleges and universities, I have discovered a number of excellent liberal arts institutions that could reasonably satisfy my educational objectives – yet only at Occidental College do I see a unique opportunity to obtain a top notch liberal arts education I desire without veering too far away from the chosen career path. Due to its Economics major with an emphasis in Economics for Business and Management, at Occidental I will be able to continue developing my business acumen while expanding my general knowledge and bettering my understanding of the world. Furthermore, due to the college's metropolitan location, I will have access to a much wider array off internships and networking opportunities, which will be essential for jumpstarting my career after graduation. I am confident that Oxy's Economics program, which emphasizes the importance of thinking and strong writing skills, along with many opportunities to apply acquired knowledge in practice, will prepare me well for a successful career in business as well as provide me with all skills necessary for pursuing an MBA degree few years down the road.

Oxy's appeal does not end with academics. The college boasts a unique environment, in which I see ample opportunities that stretch well beyond the classroom. With more than 80 clubs and organizations to choose from as well as hundreds of cultural and social activities that can be pursued in LA area, Occidental could not be a better fit for my explorative spirit. In particular, Oxy's Blyth Fund and Catalist TV will be perfect outlets for both my business and creative inclinations. Extremely appealing is also the college's small student body as, reluctant to get lost among thousands of others or to surrender my education to Teacher Assistants, I prefer to continue my studies in an atmosphere conducive to close interaction between the students and the faculty. Together with strong academic reputation and irresistible attraction of not having to shovel the snow off my driveway until the graduation, these characteristics have secured Occidental the very top spot on my college list.