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Essay on Student Life: 100, 200 and 300 Words

• Updated on  
• Sep 16, 2023

Student life, a phase that encompasses the essence of youth, is a period of transformation, self-discovery, and boundless opportunities. It’s a time when a student undergoes changes and faces challenges in academics, friendships, and personal growth. In this blog, we’ll explore the multifaceted aspects of student life and provide sample essays in various word counts, giving a glimpse into this remarkable journey.

Also Read: English Essay Topics

Also Read: How to Write an Essay in English

Also Read: Essay on Importance of Education

Sample Essay on Student Life in 100 Words

A student’s life is an exciting ride of learning, self-discovery and experiences. It’s a blend of early-morning classes, late-night study sessions, and the thrill of making lifelong friends. This phase teaches a student to balance academics with extracurricular activities, fostering their growth as individuals. Each day is a new adventure, a chance to learn, explore, and evolve. The memories one creates during these years shape the future, moulding one into the person one aspires to become. It’s a time when a student embraces the joy of acquiring knowledge and savour the taste of independence. With the right balance of study and leisure, it becomes a cherished chapter in a student’s life.

Also Read:  Essay on Life 

Sample Essay on Student Life in 200 Words

Student life is a period of transformation and exploration. It’s a period where one transitions from childhood to adulthood, navigating through the complexities of education and personal growth. In the midst of academic challenges, students often form close bonds with peers. These friendships provide crucial support in times of stress and celebration during moments of success. However, it’s not all smooth, the pressure to excel, manage finances, and make important life decisions can be overwhelming.

The student life is a pivotal period of self-discovery and personal development. It’s not just about textbooks and lectures; it’s a journey of exploration and experimentation. From joining clubs and societies to engaging in community service, these experiences help in uncovering a student’s passions and talents. It’s a time when they build bonds that often last a lifetime, creating a support system that stands the test of time.

Sample Essay on Student Life in 350 Words

Student life, often referred to as the best years of one’s life, it’s a bundle of experiences that shape the future. It’s a time when one embarks on a journey of academic pursuits, self-discovery, and personal growth. These years are marked by hard work studying, social interactions, and a quest for independence.

The classroom becomes a second home. But student life is not just about academics; it’s a holistic experience. Friendship bonds provide the emotional support needed. The pressure to excel academically can be suffocating at times. Balancing coursework, extracurricular activities, and part-time jobs is a delicate juggling act. Financial constraints can add to the stress, making students contemplate their choices and priorities.

Despite these obstacles, student life offers a unique opportunity for self-discovery. It’s a time when young minds explore their passions, talents, and interests. It’s a period when taking risks is encouraged, and opportunities are abundant. Whether through involvement in clubs, sports, or artistic pursuits, it’s during this phase that one lays the foundation for future careers and aspirations.

Beyond academics and friendships, student life encourages us to explore the world. From educational trips to international exchanges, these experiences broaden horizons and expose one to different cultures and ideas. It’s a time when one learns to navigate the complexities of the real world. These experiences broaden one’s mindset, help in building a global outlook and enhance adaptability.

In conclusion, student life is a remarkable chapter in the books of everyone’s lives. It is a rollercoaster of experiences that challenge us, shape us, and ultimately prepare us for the world beyond. It is a time of intellectual growth, enduring friendships, and personal discovery. Despite the trials and tribulations, it is a journey worth embracing, for it is during these years that lays the groundwork for our future endeavours and aspirations,

Also Read:   Essay on Time Management for Students

Student life is a phase that bridges the gap between adolescence and adulthood. It’s a transformative journey filled with academic pursuits, personal growth, enduring friendships, and the resilience to overcome challenges. This period of life is not merely a stepping stone, it’s a phase where one lays the foundation for the future, equipping oneself with knowledge, skills, and experiences that will serve us throughout our lives

Student life is filled with growth, aspirations, self-discovery, and boundless opportunities. The student life helps an individual have an understanding of moral values and build a quality life.

The most important part of a student’s life is the management of Time. A student’s life demands discipline and routine and that will require the skill of management of time.

A student’s life is a golden life because it is a phase where a student embraces the victories, savours the taste of failure and understand the working of the world as a whole.

We hope this blog gives you an idea about how to write and present an essay on student life. For more amazing daily reads that will help you build your IQ and improve your reading and writing skills, study tuned with Leverage Edu . 

Rajshree Lahoty

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Student Life Essay

500 words essay on student life.

Student life is one of the most memorable phases of a person’s life. The phase of student life builds the foundation of our life. In student life, we do not just learn from books. We learn to grow emotionally, physically, philosophically as well as socially. Thus, in this student life essay, we will learn its essence and importance.

The Essence of Student Life Essay

Student life is meant to help us learn discipline and study. Despite that, life is quite enjoyable. The struggle is low in student life. One must get up early in the morning to get ready for school or college.

Similarly, rushing to the bus stop is very exciting during student life. The mothers constantly remind us to hurry up and not be late. It is no less than a mantra for all mothers.

In addition, there are other exciting moments in student life. We sometimes forget to complete our homework and then pretend to find the notebook when the teacher asks for it.

With the examination time around the corner, the fun stops for a while but not long. One of the most exciting things about student life is getting to go on picnics and trips with your friends.

You get to enjoy yourself and have a  lot of fun. Even waiting for the exam result with friends becomes fun. The essence of student life lies in the little things like getting curious about your friend’s marks, getting jealous if they score more, and so on.

The excitement for games period or learning about a new teacher. While student life teaches us discipline, it also gives us a lot of fun. It is a memorable time in everyone’s life.

Importance of Student Life

Student life is a vital part of everyone’s life. The future of the students and the country depends on how we are as students. Thus, getting the right guidance is essential. Student life builds the foundation for our life.

Thus, if your foundation is strong, the building will be a strong one too. However, a weak foundation cannot make a building stand. In other words, student life helps us embrace human qualities.

People don’t realize how lucky and privileged one is to even get a student life. Many children dream of having it but never get one. Thus, if one gets to attain education, one must make the most of it.

Student life won’t always be filled with happiness but it will be worthwhile. It helps us grow in the path of life and acquire qualities such as honesty, patience, perseverance, and more.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Student Life Essay

All in all, student life is no less than perfect. Even though it has many ups and downs, it is all worth it in the end. Our student life determines a lot of things in our lives later on. Therefore, we must strive to be good students not just academically but also in other aspects. It is like a backbone to have a successful life later on.

FAQ of Student Life Essay

Question 1: What is the essence of student life?

Answer 1: Student life’s essence lies in the little things such as getting ready for school early in the morning or running late. It also lies in the positive attitude that we develop due to good discipline.

Question 2: Why is student life important?

Answer 2: We call the student life ‘golden life’ as students learn many essential things. The period of student life brings joy and happiness to our lives and builds a strong foundation. It also determines our successful life.

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College Admissions , College Essays

The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre.

In this article, I'll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 11 different schools. Finally, I'll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 177 full essays and essay excerpts , this article is a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

What Excellent College Essays Have in Common

Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from one other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay.

Visible Signs of Planning

Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. You'll see a similar structure in many of the essays. The author starts with a very detailed story of an event or description of a person or place. After this sense-heavy imagery, the essay expands out to make a broader point about the author, and connects this very memorable experience to the author's present situation, state of mind, newfound understanding, or maturity level.

Knowing how to tell a story. Some of the experiences in these essays are one-of-a-kind. But most deal with the stuff of everyday life. What sets them apart is the way the author approaches the topic: analyzing it for drama and humor, for its moving qualities, for what it says about the author's world, and for how it connects to the author's emotional life.

Stellar Execution

A killer first sentence. You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again: you have to suck the reader in, and the best place to do that is the first sentence. Great first sentences are punchy. They are like cliffhangers, setting up an exciting scene or an unusual situation with an unclear conclusion, in order to make the reader want to know more. Don't take my word for it—check out these 22 first sentences from Stanford applicants and tell me you don't want to read the rest of those essays to find out what happens!

A lively, individual voice. Writing is for readers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after. Your goal? Don't bore your reader. Use interesting descriptions, stay away from clichés, include your own offbeat observations—anything that makes this essay sounds like you and not like anyone else.

Technical correctness. No spelling mistakes, no grammar weirdness, no syntax issues, no punctuation snafus—each of these sample college essays has been formatted and proofread perfectly. If this kind of exactness is not your strong suit, you're in luck! All colleges advise applicants to have their essays looked over several times by parents, teachers, mentors, and anyone else who can spot a comma splice. Your essay must be your own work, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help polishing it.

And if you need more guidance, connect with PrepScholar's expert admissions consultants . These expert writers know exactly what college admissions committees look for in an admissions essay and chan help you craft an essay that boosts your chances of getting into your dream school.

Check out PrepScholar's Essay Editing and Coaching progra m for more details!

Links to Full College Essay Examples

Some colleges publish a selection of their favorite accepted college essays that worked, and I've put together a selection of over 100 of these.

Common App Essay Samples

Please note that some of these college essay examples may be responding to prompts that are no longer in use. The current Common App prompts are as follows:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? 3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? 4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? 5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. 6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Now, let's get to the good stuff: the list of 177 college essay examples responding to current and past Common App essay prompts. 

Connecticut college.

• 12 Common Application essays from the classes of 2022-2025

Hamilton College

• 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2026
• 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2022
• 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2018
• 8 Common Application essays from the class of 2012
• 8 Common Application essays from the class of 2007

Johns Hopkins

These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Coalition Application (which Johns Hopkins used to accept).

• 1 Common Application or Coalition Application essay from the class of 2026
• 6 Common Application or Coalition Application essays from the class of 2025
• 6 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2024
• 6 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2023
• 7 Common Application of Universal Application essays from the class of 2022
• 5 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2021
• 7 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2020

Essay Examples Published by Other Websites

• 2 Common Application essays ( 1st essay , 2nd essay ) from applicants admitted to Columbia

Other Sample College Essays

Here is a collection of essays that are college-specific.

Babson College

• 4 essays (and 1 video response) on "Why Babson" from the class of 2020

Emory University

• 5 essay examples ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) from the class of 2020 along with analysis from Emory admissions staff on why the essays were exceptional
• 5 more recent essay examples ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) along with analysis from Emory admissions staff on what made these essays stand out

University of Georgia

• 1 “strong essay” sample from 2019
• 1 “strong essay” sample from 2018
• 10 Harvard essays from 2023
• 10 Harvard essays from 2022
• 10 Harvard essays from 2021
• 10 Harvard essays from 2020
• 10 Harvard essays from 2019
• 10 Harvard essays from 2018
• 6 essays from admitted MIT students

Smith College

• 6 "best gift" essays from the class of 2018

Books of College Essays

If you're looking for even more sample college essays, consider purchasing a college essay book. The best of these include dozens of essays that worked and feedback from real admissions officers.

College Essays That Made a Difference —This detailed guide from Princeton Review includes not only successful essays, but also interviews with admissions officers and full student profiles.

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson—A must for anyone aspiring to Harvard .

50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays and 50 Successful Stanford Application Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe—For essays from other top schools, check out this venerated series, which is regularly updated with new essays.

Heavenly Essays by Janine W. Robinson—This collection from the popular blogger behind Essay Hell includes a wider range of schools, as well as helpful tips on honing your own essay.

Analyzing Great Common App Essays That Worked

I've picked two essays from the examples collected above to examine in more depth so that you can see exactly what makes a successful college essay work. Full credit for these essays goes to the original authors and the schools that published them.

Example 1: "Breaking Into Cars," by Stephen, Johns Hopkins Class of '19 (Common App Essay, 636 words long)

I had never broken into a car before.

We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up. Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van.

Someone picked a coat hanger out of the dumpster, handed it to me, and took a few steps back.

"Can you do that thing with a coat hanger to unlock it?"

"Why me?" I thought.

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation.

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. "The water's on fire! Clear a hole!" he shouted, tossing me in the lake without warning. While I'm still unconvinced about that particular lesson's practicality, my Dad's overarching message is unequivocally true: much of life is unexpected, and you have to deal with the twists and turns.

Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try. I don't sweat the small stuff, and I definitely don't expect perfect fairness. So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people? Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night.

But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me. I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder. Different things to different people, as the situation demanded. I learned to adapt.

Back then, these techniques were merely reactions undertaken to ensure my survival. But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: "How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?"

The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo. Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me.

Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose. It's family. It's society. And often, it's chaos. You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness. My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence.

What Makes This Essay Tick?

It's very helpful to take writing apart in order to see just how it accomplishes its objectives. Stephen's essay is very effective. Let's find out why!

An Opening Line That Draws You In

In just eight words, we get: scene-setting (he is standing next to a car about to break in), the idea of crossing a boundary (he is maybe about to do an illegal thing for the first time), and a cliffhanger (we are thinking: is he going to get caught? Is he headed for a life of crime? Is he about to be scared straight?).

Great, Detailed Opening Story

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame.

It's the details that really make this small experience come alive. Notice how whenever he can, Stephen uses a more specific, descriptive word in place of a more generic one. The volunteers aren't going to get food or dinner; they're going for "Texas BBQ." The coat hanger comes from "a dumpster." Stephen doesn't just move the coat hanger—he "jiggles" it.

Details also help us visualize the emotions of the people in the scene. The person who hands Stephen the coat hanger isn't just uncomfortable or nervous; he "takes a few steps back"—a description of movement that conveys feelings. Finally, the detail of actual speech makes the scene pop. Instead of writing that the other guy asked him to unlock the van, Stephen has the guy actually say his own words in a way that sounds like a teenager talking.

Turning a Specific Incident Into a Deeper Insight

Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation.

Stephen makes the locked car experience a meaningful illustration of how he has learned to be resourceful and ready for anything, and he also makes this turn from the specific to the broad through an elegant play on the two meanings of the word "click."

Using Concrete Examples When Making Abstract Claims

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally.

"Unpredictability and chaos" are very abstract, not easily visualized concepts. They could also mean any number of things—violence, abandonment, poverty, mental instability. By instantly following up with highly finite and unambiguous illustrations like "family of seven" and "siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing," Stephen grounds the abstraction in something that is easy to picture: a large, noisy family.

Using Small Bits of Humor and Casual Word Choice

My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed.

Obviously, knowing how to clean burning oil is not high on the list of things every 9-year-old needs to know. To emphasize this, Stephen uses sarcasm by bringing up a situation that is clearly over-the-top: "in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed."

The humor also feels relaxed. Part of this is because he introduces it with the colloquial phrase "you know," so it sounds like he is talking to us in person. This approach also diffuses the potential discomfort of the reader with his father's strictness—since he is making jokes about it, clearly he is OK. Notice, though, that this doesn't occur very much in the essay. This helps keep the tone meaningful and serious rather than flippant.

An Ending That Stretches the Insight Into the Future

But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: "How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?"

The ending of the essay reveals that Stephen's life has been one long preparation for the future. He has emerged from chaos and his dad's approach to parenting as a person who can thrive in a world that he can't control.

This connection of past experience to current maturity and self-knowledge is a key element in all successful personal essays. Colleges are very much looking for mature, self-aware applicants. These are the qualities of successful college students, who will be able to navigate the independence college classes require and the responsibility and quasi-adulthood of college life.

What Could This Essay Do Even Better?

Even the best essays aren't perfect, and even the world's greatest writers will tell you that writing is never "finished"—just "due." So what would we tweak in this essay if we could?

Replace some of the clichéd language. Stephen uses handy phrases like "twists and turns" and "don't sweat the small stuff" as a kind of shorthand for explaining his relationship to chaos and unpredictability. But using too many of these ready-made expressions runs the risk of clouding out your own voice and replacing it with something expected and boring.

Use another example from recent life. Stephen's first example (breaking into the van in Laredo) is a great illustration of being resourceful in an unexpected situation. But his essay also emphasizes that he "learned to adapt" by being "different things to different people." It would be great to see how this plays out outside his family, either in the situation in Laredo or another context.

Example 2: By Renner Kwittken, Tufts Class of '23 (Common App Essay, 645 words long)

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver. I saw it in my favorite book, Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go," and for some reason, I was absolutely obsessed with the idea of driving a giant pickle. Much to the discontent of my younger sister, I insisted that my parents read us that book as many nights as possible so we could find goldbug, a small little golden bug, on every page. I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon.

Then I discovered a real goldbug: gold nanoparticles that can reprogram macrophages to assist in killing tumors, produce clear images of them without sacrificing the subject, and heat them to obliteration.

Suddenly the destination of my pickle was clear.

I quickly became enveloped by the world of nanomedicine; I scoured articles about liposomes, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, targeting ligands, and self-assembling nanoparticles, all conquering cancer in some exotic way. Completely absorbed, I set out to find a mentor to dive even deeper into these topics. After several rejections, I was immensely grateful to receive an invitation to work alongside Dr. Sangeeta Ray at Johns Hopkins.

In the lab, Dr. Ray encouraged a great amount of autonomy to design and implement my own procedures. I chose to attack a problem that affects the entire field of nanomedicine: nanoparticles consistently fail to translate from animal studies into clinical trials. Jumping off recent literature, I set out to see if a pre-dose of a common chemotherapeutic could enhance nanoparticle delivery in aggressive prostate cancer, creating three novel constructs based on three different linear polymers, each using fluorescent dye (although no gold, sorry goldbug!). Though using radioactive isotopes like Gallium and Yttrium would have been incredible, as a 17-year-old, I unfortunately wasn't allowed in the same room as these radioactive materials (even though I took a Geiger counter to a pair of shoes and found them to be slightly dangerous).

I hadn't expected my hypothesis to work, as the research project would have ideally been led across two full years. Yet while there are still many optimizations and revisions to be done, I was thrilled to find -- with completely new nanoparticles that may one day mean future trials will use particles with the initials "RK-1" -- thatcyclophosphamide did indeed increase nanoparticle delivery to the tumor in a statistically significant way.

A secondary, unexpected research project was living alone in Baltimore, a new city to me, surrounded by people much older than I. Even with moving frequently between hotels, AirBnB's, and students' apartments, I strangely reveled in the freedom I had to enjoy my surroundings and form new friendships with graduate school students from the lab. We explored The Inner Harbor at night, attended a concert together one weekend, and even got to watch the Orioles lose (to nobody's surprise). Ironically, it's through these new friendships I discovered something unexpected: what I truly love is sharing research. Whether in a presentation or in a casual conversation, making others interested in science is perhaps more exciting to me than the research itself. This solidified a new pursuit to angle my love for writing towards illuminating science in ways people can understand, adding value to a society that can certainly benefit from more scientific literacy.

It seems fitting that my goals are still transforming: in Scarry's book, there is not just one goldbug, there is one on every page. With each new experience, I'm learning that it isn't the goldbug itself, but rather the act of searching for the goldbugs that will encourage, shape, and refine my ever-evolving passions. Regardless of the goldbug I seek -- I know my pickle truck has just begun its journey.

Renner takes a somewhat different approach than Stephen, but their essay is just as detailed and engaging. Let's go through some of the strengths of this essay.

One Clear Governing Metaphor

This essay is ultimately about two things: Renner’s dreams and future career goals, and Renner’s philosophy on goal-setting and achieving one’s dreams.

But instead of listing off all the amazing things they’ve done to pursue their dream of working in nanomedicine, Renner tells a powerful, unique story instead. To set up the narrative, Renner opens the essay by connecting their experiences with goal-setting and dream-chasing all the way back to a memorable childhood experience:

This lighthearted–but relevant!--story about the moment when Renner first developed a passion for a specific career (“finding the goldbug”) provides an anchor point for the rest of the essay. As Renner pivots to describing their current dreams and goals–working in nanomedicine–the metaphor of “finding the goldbug” is reflected in Renner’s experiments, rejections, and new discoveries.

Though Renner tells multiple stories about their quest to “find the goldbug,” or, in other words, pursue their passion, each story is connected by a unifying theme; namely, that as we search and grow over time, our goals will transform…and that’s okay! By the end of the essay, Renner uses the metaphor of “finding the goldbug” to reiterate the relevance of the opening story:

While the earlier parts of the essay convey Renner’s core message by showing, the final, concluding paragraph sums up Renner’s insights by telling. By briefly and clearly stating the relevance of the goldbug metaphor to their own philosophy on goals and dreams, Renner demonstrates their creativity, insight, and eagerness to grow and evolve as the journey continues into college.

An Engaging, Individual Voice

This essay uses many techniques that make Renner sound genuine and make the reader feel like we already know them.

Technique #1: humor. Notice Renner's gentle and relaxed humor that lightly mocks their younger self's grand ambitions (this is different from the more sarcastic kind of humor used by Stephen in the first essay—you could never mistake one writer for the other).

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver.

I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon.

Renner gives a great example of how to use humor to your advantage in college essays. You don’t want to come off as too self-deprecating or sarcastic, but telling a lightheartedly humorous story about your younger self that also showcases how you’ve grown and changed over time can set the right tone for your entire essay.

Technique #2: intentional, eye-catching structure. The second technique is the way Renner uses a unique structure to bolster the tone and themes of their essay . The structure of your essay can have a major impact on how your ideas come across…so it’s important to give it just as much thought as the content of your essay!

For instance, Renner does a great job of using one-line paragraphs to create dramatic emphasis and to make clear transitions from one phase of the story to the next:

Suddenly the destination of my pickle car was clear.

Not only does the one-liner above signal that Renner is moving into a new phase of the narrative (their nanoparticle research experiences), it also tells the reader that this is a big moment in Renner’s story. It’s clear that Renner made a major discovery that changed the course of their goal pursuit and dream-chasing. Through structure, Renner conveys excitement and entices the reader to keep pushing forward to the next part of the story.

Technique #3: playing with syntax. The third technique is to use sentences of varying length, syntax, and structure. Most of the essay's written in standard English and uses grammatically correct sentences. However, at key moments, Renner emphasizes that the reader needs to sit up and pay attention by switching to short, colloquial, differently punctuated, and sometimes fragmented sentences.

Even with moving frequently between hotels, AirBnB's, and students' apartments, I strangely reveled in the freedom I had to enjoy my surroundings and form new friendships with graduate school students from the lab. We explored The Inner Harbor at night, attended a concert together one weekend, and even got to watch the Orioles lose (to nobody's surprise). Ironically, it's through these new friendships I discovered something unexpected: what I truly love is sharing research.

In the examples above, Renner switches adeptly between long, flowing sentences and quippy, telegraphic ones. At the same time, Renner uses these different sentence lengths intentionally. As they describe their experiences in new places, they use longer sentences to immerse the reader in the sights, smells, and sounds of those experiences. And when it’s time to get a big, key idea across, Renner switches to a short, punchy sentence to stop the reader in their tracks.

The varying syntax and sentence lengths pull the reader into the narrative and set up crucial “aha” moments when it’s most important…which is a surefire way to make any college essay stand out.

Renner's essay is very strong, but there are still a few little things that could be improved.

Connecting the research experiences to the theme of “finding the goldbug.”  The essay begins and ends with Renner’s connection to the idea of “finding the goldbug.” And while this metaphor is deftly tied into the essay’s intro and conclusion, it isn’t entirely clear what Renner’s big findings were during the research experiences that are described in the middle of the essay. It would be great to add a sentence or two stating what Renner’s big takeaways (or “goldbugs”) were from these experiences, which add more cohesion to the essay as a whole.

Give more details about discovering the world of nanomedicine. It makes sense that Renner wants to get into the details of their big research experiences as quickly as possible. After all, these are the details that show Renner’s dedication to nanomedicine! But a smoother transition from the opening pickle car/goldbug story to Renner’s “real goldbug” of nanoparticles would help the reader understand why nanoparticles became Renner’s goldbug. Finding out why Renner is so motivated to study nanomedicine–and perhaps what put them on to this field of study–would help readers fully understand why Renner chose this path in the first place.

4 Essential Tips for Writing Your Own Essay

How can you use this discussion to better your own college essay? Here are some suggestions for ways to use this resource effectively.

#1: Get Help From the Experts

Getting your college applications together takes a lot of work and can be pretty intimidatin g. Essays are even more important than ever now that admissions processes are changing and schools are going test-optional and removing diversity standards thanks to new Supreme Court rulings .  If you want certified expert help that really makes a difference, get started with  PrepScholar’s Essay Editing and Coaching program. Our program can help you put together an incredible essay from idea to completion so that your application stands out from the crowd. We've helped students get into the best colleges in the United States, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.  If you're ready to take the next step and boost your odds of getting into your dream school, connect with our experts today .

#2: Read Other Essays to Get Ideas for Your Own

As you go through the essays we've compiled for you above, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can you explain to yourself (or someone else!) why the opening sentence works well?
• Look for the essay's detailed personal anecdote. What senses is the author describing? Can you easily picture the scene in your mind's eye?
• Find the place where this anecdote bridges into a larger insight about the author. How does the essay connect the two? How does the anecdote work as an example of the author's characteristic, trait, or skill?
• Check out the essay's tone. If it's funny, can you find the places where the humor comes from? If it's sad and moving, can you find the imagery and description of feelings that make you moved? If it's serious, can you see how word choice adds to this tone?

Make a note whenever you find an essay or part of an essay that you think was particularly well-written, and think about what you like about it . Is it funny? Does it help you really get to know the writer? Does it show what makes the writer unique? Once you have your list, keep it next to you while writing your essay to remind yourself to try and use those same techniques in your own essay.

#3: Find Your "A-Ha!" Moment

All of these essays rely on connecting with the reader through a heartfelt, highly descriptive scene from the author's life. It can either be very dramatic (did you survive a plane crash?) or it can be completely mundane (did you finally beat your dad at Scrabble?). Either way, it should be personal and revealing about you, your personality, and the way you are now that you are entering the adult world.

Check out essays by authors like John Jeremiah Sullivan , Leslie Jamison , Hanif Abdurraqib , and Esmé Weijun Wang to get more examples of how to craft a compelling personal narrative.

#4: Start Early, Revise Often

Let me level with you: the best writing isn't writing at all. It's rewriting. And in order to have time to rewrite, you have to start way before the application deadline. My advice is to write your first draft at least two months before your applications are due.

Let it sit for a few days untouched. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and think critically about what you've written. What's extra? What's missing? What is in the wrong place? What doesn't make sense? Don't be afraid to take it apart and rearrange sections. Do this several times over, and your essay will be much better for it!

For more editing tips, check out a style guide like Dreyer's English or Eats, Shoots & Leaves .

What's Next?

Still not sure which colleges you want to apply to? Our experts will show you how to make a college list that will help you choose a college that's right for you.

Interested in learning more about college essays? Check out our detailed breakdown of exactly how personal statements work in an application , some suggestions on what to avoid when writing your essay , and our guide to writing about your extracurricular activities .

Working on the rest of your application? Read what admissions officers wish applicants knew before applying .

The recommendations in this post are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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Student Life Essay in English (Short, Long, and Narrative Essay)

Read our Student Life Essay to enhance your writing skills. This student life essay writing will also help you to improve your grades in exams. Student life in school or college helps us to start learning about everything. We have provide essay on student life in 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 500 for class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and so on.

In Student Life, we learn academics, manners, good behaviors, discipline, punctuality, and more. When we get the proper education and guidance, we will become well-mannered adults. Student life prepares us with responsibilities for the world outside. So, let’s go through student life essay writing in English.

Table of Contents

Narrative Essay on Student Life in (400 – 500 words)

The word Vidyarthi is composed of a combination of two words, Vidya + meaning. The literal meaning of which is the seeker of Vidya. The mere desire of a student does not lead to the attainment of Vidya. To achieve this, students need hard work. This time is that aspect of life in which anyone can learn the essence of their life. If a person is entirely successful in life, his student life is behind him.

Importance of Student Life:

Student life has its unique significance. This time is also known as the golden period of student life. This life span starts from the childhood of 5 years and ends in youth. This is the best time for the development of this body and mind. At this age, there is no worry about earning and no diseases of old age.

Whenever a child is in school, first of all, he is given an education which is helpful to him in life. First, respect the elders, do your tasks with your own hands, set your essential goals in life, etc. If a student adopts duty, discipline, and discipline regularly during this time, he can definitely succeed in his life.

The student who has carried himself forward with complete discipline and patience, the same student progresses successfully. Therefore, the importance of student life is self-evident.

Contribution of Parents to Student Life:

The parents’ contribution is most important for all the students to realize their life in the right way. For a child and their parents think the most about their future. Parents are more than God to the children. They are the first friends and first teachers of the children. It is the parents who provide education to the children first.

Parents not only give birth to the child, but they raise them by raising them. Parents teach a child to speak, walk, and all the rites. Someone has rightly said that a father is the only person who wants to make his child bigger than himself.

Characteristics of student life:

Following are the many characteristics of student life.

Perfect things have been said about Vidya and Vidyarthi in Sanskrit Subhashitas

“Kakacheshta Bakodhyanam Swannidra and ch. Poor householder student Panchlakshanam”

That is, there are five characteristics of the student-

1. Must try like a crow. (all-round vision, quick observation ability)

2. There should be attention like a heron.

3. One should sleep like a dog. (get up after a short interruption)

4. Must be short-lived. (less eater)

5. Grihatyaggi (not much attached to his home and parents).

Sukharthi or Tyajet Vidya Vidyarthi or Tyajet Sukham.

Sukharthin: Kuto Vidya Vidyarthin: Kuto Sukham.

i.e., One who seeks happiness should give up learning, and one who seeks knowledge should give up satisfaction because knowledge cannot come to those who seek happiness, and where is a joy to those who seek knowledge?

Acharya padamadtte Padam shishya: sandhya. Padam Sabrahmcharibhyah Padam Chronology C. i.e., the student gets one-fourth of his knowledge from his teacher, one-fourth from his intellect, one-fourth from his classmates, and one-fourth from time (chronologically, from experience).

Today’s students are the future of our country. He should never wish to enjoy happiness in student life.

Thus, we have seen that student life is our most crucial time. When the problem can be solved quickly, the future can be taken in the right direction. Many times it happens that the student life gets distracted. In such a situation, do not get deluded and move towards what feels right.

Short Essay on Student Life in 250 words

Student life is a golden age of a student’s life. This is the most joyous and enjoyable time of human life. This life span starts from the childhood of 5 years and ends in youth. At this time, we are not worried about anything.

In this lifetime, the students’ minds are filled with noble thoughts. And there are many kinds of dreams in his eyes. By working hard at this time, he can fulfill the height he wants to achieve in his life. The taste he develops in student life will influence his behavior toward others in his future career. Therefore the correct and proper use of the term must be done with utmost care.

There is one goal or the other in the life of all the students; without a plan, there is no importance in student life. In a student’s life, his goal is essential in such a way that if you go to the market and come back without doing anything, it is absolutely useless for a person to go to the market in this situation. When a student adopts a goal in his life, leaves all his attachments, and pursues that goal, his student life becomes successful.

That is why it is essential to have some goals in your student life and your entire life. Somewhere some students set their goals but are afraid of the obstacles that come to fulfilling that goal. What will the people of the society say if they are not able to achieve their goal, then they are not able to complete it because of the idea of ​​what will happen?

Student Life Essay in English (100- 150 words)

For a student, his student life is essential. This is when students work hard to make their dreams come true. Student life is a disciplined life. In this, only through working hard and being disciplined does he get prestige and respect worldwide.

The only objective of the student in this life is to acquire complete knowledge. This time is the primary basis of the student’s future. Student life is an independent life.

A student has a wealth of qualities like virtue, guru-bhakti, perseverance, modesty, honesty, patriotism, selflessness, etc. This is a golden age of student life. This lifetime starts from the childhood of 5 years and ends in youth. Student life is like a white paper on which he stamps his hard work and writes down his future objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions on Student Life Essay

What is student life.

Answer: It is a part of life when a student spends his academic period, i.e., the time spent during school, collages, and university education. Student life is also called the golden life because, during this period, students spend most of their time reading and learning.

What is important in student life?

Answer: Student life is most important for any student because in this time we gain our knowledge. It is the phase when we begin to understand people; we realize the importance of friends in our life. For students, student life is full of joy and happiness. During this time, we are free from any worries and tension in our life.

What qualities should a good student have?

Answer: A good student has self-discipline, honesty, diligence, confidence, friendliness, a good follower, responsible, self-reliant, and teachable qualities.

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Essay on Student Life

Student life is a unique and transformative phase in one’s journey towards adulthood. It is a time filled with academic pursuits, personal development, and the formation of lasting memories. For students aiming to participate in essay writing competitions, understanding the multifaceted aspects of student life is essential. This essay explores the challenges, opportunities, and growth that characterize this period.

Student Life

Student life encompasses the years spent in educational institutions, typically from primary school to university. It is a time of immense growth and learning, both academically and personally. These years lay the foundation for future success and shape an individual’s character. While the journey may be challenging, it is also filled with valuable opportunities.

Academic Challenges

One of the primary aspects of student life is academic pursuits. Students face a multitude of challenges in their academic journey, including:

• Academic Pressure : The need to excel in studies and achieve good grades can create immense pressure. Students often find themselves juggling multiple subjects and assignments simultaneously.
• Time Management : Balancing academics with extracurricular activities, personal life, and social commitments requires effective time management skills. Many students struggle to find the right balance.
• Peer Competition : The competitive nature of education can sometimes lead to unhealthy peer competition, which may hinder learning and collaboration.
• Examinations and Tests : Frequent examinations and tests can be stressful. Students must prepare adequately to perform well.

Opportunities for Growth

Despite the challenges, student life offers numerous opportunities for growth:

• Learning and Knowledge : Educational institutions are environments designed for learning and acquiring knowledge. Students have access to a wealth of information and resources to broaden their horizons.
• Skill Development : Besides academic knowledge, students can develop a wide range of skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.
• Exploration and Discovery : Student life is a time for exploration and discovering one’s interests and passions. It allows students to experiment with various subjects and activities to find their true calling.
• Personal Relationships : Building friendships and relationships with peers and mentors can be one of the most rewarding aspects of student life. These connections often last a lifetime.

Personal Development

Student life is not just about academics; it is also a period of personal development and self-discovery. Here are some key aspects of personal growth during this phase:

• Independence : As students transition from school to college or university, they gain a sense of independence. They learn to make decisions and take responsibility for their actions.
• Self-Discipline : The demands of academic life require self-discipline and time management. Students learn to set goals, plan their work, and stay organized.
• Resilience : Facing academic challenges, setbacks, and failures can build resilience and the ability to bounce back from adversity.
• Cultural and Social Exposure : Educational institutions often bring together students from diverse backgrounds. This exposure fosters cultural awareness and social skills.
• Leadership and Initiative : Involvement in clubs, societies, and extracurricular activities provides opportunities to take on leadership roles and demonstrate initiative.

Balancing Act

Balancing academic commitments with personal life, extracurricular activities, and social interactions is a key challenge in student life. Successful time management and setting priorities become crucial skills. It’s important for students to strike a balance that allows for both academic achievement and personal well-being.

Extracurricular Activities

Participating in extracurricular activities is an integral part of student life. These activities go beyond the classroom and offer a chance to pursue hobbies, interests, and passions. They include sports, arts, music, debate clubs, volunteer work, and more. Engaging in extracurricular activities enhances the overall student experience by providing:

• Personal Fulfillment : Pursuing one’s interests and passions outside of academics can be personally fulfilling and provide a sense of accomplishment.
• Skill Diversification : Extracurricular activities help students develop a diverse set of skills that can be valuable in various aspects of life.
• Networking : Participating in clubs and societies allows students to meet like-minded individuals, form friendships, and expand their social network.
• Leadership Opportunities : Many extracurricular activities offer leadership roles, allowing students to develop leadership and teamwork skills.
• Stress Relief : Engaging in activities that one is passionate about can serve as a form of stress relief and mental relaxation.

Challenges in Extracurricular Involvement

While extracurricular activities offer numerous benefits, they can also pose challenges:

• Time Management : Balancing academics and extracurricular activities can be challenging. Students must learn to allocate their time effectively.
• Academic Performance : Overcommitting to extracurriculars may sometimes affect academic performance if not managed wisely.
• Burnout : The pressure to excel in both academics and extracurriculars can lead to burnout if students do not prioritize self-care.

Student life is a crucial phase in an individual’s journey, marked by academic challenges, personal growth, and a myriad of opportunities. It shapes character, hones skills, and lays the foundation for a successful future. Embracing the challenges and seizing the opportunities presented during this period is essential for a fulfilling and enriching student life. Aspiring essayists have a wealth of experiences to draw upon when reflecting on the complexities and rewards of student life.

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Describe Your Life As A Student (Essay Sample)

People say that student life is the most memorable part of their lives but as a teenage college student, I don’t agree with it. As a teenager who wants to live life to the fullest, I am just overburdened with never-ending assignments, responsibilities, and expectations. As much as I want to explore the world, I can’t find enough time to go out and relax a bit. The thoughts of good and bad grades always preoccupy my mind and I can’t get them out of my head. The only positive I can think of right now is my loving and caring friends who help me no matter what. In this essay, I will describe a student’s life by discussing my own life to give you an insight into the pros and cons of student life.

Table of Contents

Descriptive Essay About A Student Life – 700 Word Long Essay

As lucrative as it looks from afar, being a college student is not an easy task. It’s challenging, draining, tiring, overwhelming, and difficult all at the same time. Many people say that college days are the most memorable days of your life but being a college student I see no fun around me. The constant load of studies, never-ending writing assignments, and struggle to compete to get good grades is no fun to me at all. Student life is no joke, as being a good student and getting better education is not easy at all. In this essay, I will describe how it feels like to be a student in this modern world from my perspective.

Being a student is all about studies, school life requires hard work and discipline, but it can also be fun. Being a devoted student, I have developed a routine of getting up early in the morning, going to school following all the school rules, and coming home in the evening. My class usually begins at 10.30 am in the morning, since I live far from school so I take a bus to reach school. My friends and I like to sit in the front seat. On our way to school every morning we talk about different topics of interest until the time we arrive at school.

The classes begin with prayers followed by the national anthem on Mondays and Fridays. During class hours, the school remains quiet as we listen to teachers with attention before the first recess that goes for an hour. During recess, we engage in different activities to energize our spirit. In the afternoon, the lessons continue for four periods before the lessons end at 4.30 pm. Throughout the day, it’s a mad rush from one section to the other. We just keep on moving from the art room to music class and back to the general class.

I love weekends more than weekdays because I have enough free time to engage in some fun activities like going out with my friends or attending any social event. School is also not very dull and boring because we also have a variety of games, library periods, and recess time, which give us a break to take a breather and relax. Some teachers make school very exciting. For example, the fake British accent of our English teacher made us laugh every day. Being a young person I like to spend time with my younger brother during break time.

A student’s life is full of challenges. As a student, I think that I am overburdened by loads of homework and a lot of assignments. Forgetting about doing homework, getting bad grades, and failing to complete all other writing assignments put a lot of pressure on me as a student. According to research papers, excessive homework is directly associated with high stress and physical health problems in children and teens. I think the average homework that is given to us should be minimized and students must be given some time to relax. One more thing that I don’t like about student life is that there is no focus on being practical. As a student, I always learn more for seeing, touching, and experiencing things but we are only burdened by book knowledge. 

The most enjoyable times happen the least in schools and colleges. I am talking about field trips, cultural programs, and local sports competitions. All these activities get us away from dull school life that consists only of book knowledge. All in all school life is about hard work, discipline, interaction, and fun.  The fun part of school tends to be more enjoyable, especially after working hard the whole year. Parents should sometimes allow students to make their own decisions, it’s an important factor in their growth and can improve decision-making skills. Physically disabled students should also be given an equal chance to get a proper education. All things considered parents should realize that a child is not only born to study and he/she also has the right to happiness in life.

I don’t know where I will be after ten years but I don’t think that I can let go of all my college friends who have been together with me for all these years. I will also miss my teachers, our science lab, and the playground. All these memories when I think of them, I can almost say that I will miss my college days very much.

Short Story About Student Life – 200 Word Short Essay

We all have different stories from our student life and each one is more interesting, hilarious, and exciting than the other. These stories remind us of the beautiful memories we had in school and college life and everyone just wishes to go back in time to relive them. I am also going to relive a short story about my student life with all of you. I hope it also brings back loads of good memories of when you were still studying in school or college.

I remember our farewell party while we were in college. We all were very happy and excited to move on to the 12th standard me and all my fellow students passed the final exams. It was the month of July and the temperature was very high. In my country, the temperature can reach as high as 40 degrees on some days. While enjoying our day at the farewell party we were all getting drained by the scorching heat from the sun. Suddenly my friend came up with the idea to play a prank on one of our fellow students.

We went out of the campus and bought a bucket and some ice. We filled the bucket with water and put in all the ice inside the bucket. We planned to pour this icy cold water on any fellow student who entered first in the classroom. I stood with the water behind the door and my friend kept watch on who was going to enter. He stepped out of the classroom and saw three of our class fellows coming toward the classroom from the right side, I quickly hid behind the door, and as soon as they entered I poured all the cold water. After pouring all the water I saw that they were not the students but our class counselor. My heart just sank and I started breathing heavily. Our class counselor was coming from the left and even my friend did not look at her. She looked at me very angrily and I just ran away at that time. After 2-3 hours I went to her, explained everything and said sorry for my mistake and she was kind enough to forgive me. This is the story about my student life that I will never forget about all my life.

Do you like these sample essays about My Life As A Student? Reach out to Essay Basics to get a professionally written plagiarism-free and unique custom essay on any topic in less than 3 hours.

FAQ About Essay On Student Life

How to write an essay about your life as a student.

To write an essay about your life as a student, start it by stating if you like or dislike it; after that present an argument in the body about why you dislike the student life and where improvements can be made.

As A Student How Do You Describe Your Lifestyle?

I am a very active student with an active lifestyle. I usually have no time to play, rest, or relax because I am always busy with studies, tuition, and everything else.

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University Life Essay In English

University Life Essay In English is written here. In student life no doubt the University life is the most memorable and charming time. At university life, the students are able to be a responsible and sensible person. This is the main stage of your personal grooming as compared to school and college life. There is also a freedom of action for a student from families comparatively school and college. This is because, after the successful completion of university life mostly students know that they will further go to the professional life so, the sensible university life leads to the best professional life for them. University life is the main foundation of building a professional attitude. (Also check My First Day at University Essay )

Entering into a university, the new atmosphere and environment feel your pleasure to live freely. The freedom of environment and less restricted area teaches you how to bring a control and maintenance. This is one of the best learning of your life. There is a huge number of opportunities in order to exhibit your skills and talent in front of others. In this stage, you are really appreciated and motivated under the instructions of the professional and experienced trainer, professors and instructors.

University life is the longest time period of student life are compared to school and college period so the university friends and long lasting and called the ever true friends. Because university life makes you mature and sensible in making decision whereas you didn’t have any serious knowledge regarding the true friends and doesn’t know about the weak and strong points of a friend.

The most painful thing of the university is obviously the burden of studies. There is huge competition in university life to beat one another with respect to skills and knowledge. In university life, there is no concept of books students have to maintain their assignments and projects with the help of internet rather than from teacher’s lectures. This may lead someone to frustrations and tiredness due to wakening late at night in order to prepare assignments and projects.

At university life, you learn the team working, mutual understanding power and leadership qualities. Team working makes you build challenging guts to beat the future challenges. No doubt university life builds strong qualities in your personality in positive ways. In university life, students are very conscious of their time and responsibilities and spent their time in productive activities as compared to school and college life.

University life is rightly said that the amazing and memorable time of every student’s life. There is a huge number of opportunities to groom your personality in a positive way. This life also makes you able to judge between good or bad people for yourselves as a friend. I am still missing my university life and those moments with friend and teachers who make me an intellectual, sensible person and those learning point of life which are never forgettable ever. Those students who didn’t pass through the university life surely miss the most charming time of their student life. So check University Life Essay In English from this page.

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Student Life Essay For Students and Children in 1000 Words

In this article, you will read ‘Student Life Essay’ for students and children in 1000 words. This includes discipline, memories, friends, 10 lines and more about student life.

Lets start this student life essay…

Table of Contents

Student Life Essay (1000 Words)

Amongst the most exciting and memorable parts of a person’s life is their student life. It is that wonderful and lovable time of an individual’s life that is filled with joy and laughter and is free from all the anxieties of the adult world.

We see in student life during this stage, a student’s mind is full of ideas, and their hearts are full of dreams. It is during this time that a person gets himself prepared for his future.

The Student Life

Student life is not only the happiest but also the most crucial part of a person’s life. No doubt, there are no worldly tensions and responsibilities to worry about at this age, but it is very important for the student itself. 

Students are usually busy with their school life, homework, studies, classes, learning new things, and their day-to-day struggles. Students spend a major part of the day in school , and studies and knowledge are not the only things they learn. 

Hard work, discipline, developing good manners, and having a good character are some of the things that are a part of the overall development of a student. 

However, school is not as dull and boring as it seems to be because they enjoy sports, play games , go to the library , have practical classes, and even spend time in the park. A lot of other activities are also done by the students.

Discipline in Student Life

Student life is the time that sows the seeds of human life. The foremost task of a student is to work hard, study, and acquire knowledge. 

Dedication to school, studies, and hard work for exams is what student life suggests and should encourage. To achieve everything smoothly, a student needs to be disciplined . 

Discipline is something that is not in the syllabus, but the teachings and guidance of the teachers and parents help a student to be a disciplined person. Discipline motivates a student to develop in life and achieve his or her goals . 

It makes a student hard-working and keeps him motivated, honest, and encouraged throughout the entire time period. It helps to develop a good character and maintain proper social behavior.

Discipline helps a student to attract the right things in life and gain success in each and every field.

Enjoy moments in Student Life

Student life is filled with not only education and knowledge, but also plenty of memorable moments that a student really enjoys. Students get to live on their own, and they also get to experience most things as adults for the first time. 

Riding a bike, playing musical instruments, and going on an adventure usually happen during the adolescent stage, and it is much more enjoyable for the students. 

Playing with friends during the drill period, enjoying playful activities in school, and taking part in local level competitions are some of the activities that make a person happy. 

It develops a feeling of satisfaction and success. Spending quality time with friends , eating together, studying together, joking, and having fun are some of the real joys of a student’s life. Picnics and study trips are also some of the enjoyable moments that you experience.

My Few School Student Life Memories

Not only a particular person, but each and every school student has some favourite school life memories of their own. Here are some of the memorable and enjoyable student life moments that show how student life is very special to me.

• Every day after school hours, my friends and I go eat ice cream in the summer season . We preferred to have some hot food together during the winter and rainy seasons .
• Every Saturday, we go to play video games at the nearby gaming center. It is a memorable time there that I have enjoyed a lot with my friends.
• Sundays are holidays, but still, I complete my pending homework and study for a few hours at home. In the evening, we go to play football, and we enjoy it a lot. During the drill period also, we play football on the school grounds.
• The best part about school is that my friend and I study together and help each other understand difficult topics. It is not only enjoyable but also makes education easier.

Friends in Student Life

There are many people that we come across in our daily lives when we are in school. All my classmates are my good friends, and they are good friends to everyone else as well. 

Our seniors and juniors are also quite friendly with us. Our seniors help us with our studies and also guide us during the exams. 

Besides, we help our juniors in the same manner. While there are a lot of friends and classmates in school, my close and favourite friends are Tony, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Peter. They stay with me most of the time in school, and we do almost everything together. 

We study together and make sure that all of us have understood a topic properly, so in this way, we prepare ourselves for the exam. We even visit each other’s homes occasionally to have some fun. 

10 Lines on Student Life

• Student life is amongst the most beautiful and memorable journeys in an individual’s lifetime.
• Throughout the world, student life begins at an early age when people are 3 to 5 years old.
• In my life, it began when I was 4 years old, and I started kindergarten at my school.
• I enjoy my student life, as I get to learn new things on various topics and subjects each day.
• I study with my friends regularly, and we make sure that each of us has understood the concepts properly and can achieve good marks in the examinations.
• Every day after school, I prefer to go to a nearby store and eat some ice cream.
• During our drill period, I play football with my friends, and whenever we get some free time, we gather at the local ground and play football together.
• One of the most interesting parts of school life is the activities and competitions that we take part in.
• School life gives us a lot of opportunities to learn new things, and we not only educate ourselves but also develop a sense of character and good behaviour in our childhood.
• Apart from all the activities and enjoyable moments that we spend with our friends, the major part of our student life is to focus on our studies and plan for a better career .

This ‘Student life’ essay has helped us to know that this is the best time for an individual, as real-life in the outer world starts as a student. 

No one can forget their student life, as it is full of knowledge, experience, enjoyable moments, and fun. Therefore, we should use student life properly and develop into better people.

1 thought on “Student Life Essay For Students and Children in 1000 Words”

Very nice article on students life thankyou for giving me this artical

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Student Life Essay

If there is anything that we would miss later, it would be our good old student life. One cannot deny that student life was one of the most glorious periods. Usually, student life is filled with studies, homework and exams. But even then, it is to this phase that we long to return to. Ever wondered why? We get lots of knowledge and information about different things in the world as well as grow physically, emotionally and socially.

Each of us remembers our student life differently. This student life essay in English will be useful for your kids to understand the importance of student life. It will help them to identify what they like the most about the school through this essay on student life.

Experience of Student Life

I recall the day when I wore my uniform and took my new bag and bottle to my first day at school. A few days earlier, there was great excitement in the family as we bought books and a lunchbox to carry to my school. All these things were new to me, and unaware of what the life of a student would be like, I, too, joined the excitement of my parents.

After I began going to school for a few days, I realised that student life is packed with many fun activities and learning, which I enjoyed thoroughly. It was during my student life that I made many friends in class. I was always happy to share my snacks with them, and I got to taste various types of delicacies and savouries as they gave a portion of their food to me. Besides, we played hide and seek during the intervals, coloured the books and learned the alphabet together.

I also liked going for one-day picnics and tours, and this part of student life was where I got to have maximum joy. While my student life was packed with endless activities and games, there were also stages of learning where I was able to grow as a person. I understood important virtues like discipline, punctuality, hard work and integrity as I studied and tried to score good marks. It is our student life that shapes our dreams where we can plan and secure our future.

I have often heard my parents saying that they miss their student life, and I guess it is because it is the only time when we can be innocent and carefree and take life as it is. I know that I wouldn’t get this student life, nor will I be able to go back to being a student once I become independent and start living my life.

Moral of the Essay

Student life is a crucial aspect as it determines how we would grow up as individuals. This essay on student life will help you understand its many benefits. We must also consider ourselves lucky for acquiring education as many do not know what education or student life is. So, recount the incidents of your student life through this student life essay in English.

You can find more essays similar to the student life essay on BYJU’S website. Also, explore other kid-friendly learning resources on our website.

What do you mean by student life?

If you are a student who either goes to a school or college, then the daily activities you indulge in as a student constitutes your student life. You will be spending time with your teachers and friends by learning and playing.

Is student life important?

We cannot overlook the importance of student life as it is a period of new learning. We begin to understand many things, and if we have a balanced student life, then we will be able to achieve success in life.

Is it difficult to lead a student life?

Student life is a pleasant experience where we gather knowledge and make friends. But it is also a phase where we face reality and experience difficult situations. Nevertheless, student life makes you braver, responsible and emotionally well-receptive.

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University Life Essay Example

University life is the most memorable and pleasant time. This is the greatest phase for personal grooming and also the longest time period as compared to school or college life, which we always remember in our entire life and can never forget.

I am the blessed one who got the chance to enjoy my university life because not everyone is lucky enough to have experienced it due to various reasons. I still remember the first day of my university, which is full of freedom. There was no fear of teachers because they behaved in a friendly manner. The essential part of the academic period, which is about our friend's circle. It would not be wrong to say the university friends are long-lasting and called true friends ever. I also had a friend group at the university with whom I made my university life simply amazing. It also exposed me to some new experiences and things that I was not familiar with earlier. Good and bad people are everywhere. Similarly, there was some group of students on my campus who would disturb and tease other students, my group of friends used to call them Monsters. The good thing was that I developed a sense of duty and studied hard, realized self-importance, good manners, and dream of becoming a successful person after studies, and focused on my future goals.

Another most fascinating part of the university was tours, different sports, and many more activities that made my time outstanding with sweet memories. I also took bundles of photographs with my friend's circle, teachers, and distinguished guests in those amusing events.

School life is entirely different because we are always dependent on our parents and teachers, they are our guardians, but university life teaches us to be independent, makes us stronger. It also makes us serious about our careers, which can impact our future all by ourselves, but in school life, our parents did it all for us.

I still remember the first and the last day of university, the group of friends, unexpected holidays, annual dinners, and especially that time which I spent in the cafeteria. It was considered the hub of our friend's group, where I enjoyed, ate, and had lots of fun with my friends.

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — High School — Contrasting High School Life vs University Life

Contrasting High School Life Vs University Life

• Categories: High School University

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Words: 619 |

Published: Sep 1, 2023

Words: 619 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Structured routines vs. autonomous decision-making, academic demands and intellectual exploration, personal growth and social exploration, embracing responsibility and independence, conclusion: a journey of transformation.

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• / University Life and Campus: Expectations vs Reality

University Life and Campus: Expectations vs Reality

Allaa Ashraf

25 June, 2023

6 mins read

University Life

Entering university is an exciting milestone in one's life, filled with anticipation, new experiences, and personal growth. As you prepare to embark on this journey, you often develop certain expectations about the university and campus life. However, things may not always be as you’d imagined them. University isn’t always fun and games; sometimes you have to write essays and present to people . Worry not, though, not every student has the same university experience, that’s for sure. So, just before you get too carried away, we will help you get back to earth!  

In this article, we will explore the expectations and realities of university life and campus life, providing a detailed perspective to help future university students better understand what to anticipate.

1. Independence and Freedom

Expectation : Free at last! The idea of campus life is the ultimate dream for people who have been waiting to move out. University is often seen as a gateway to newfound independence, freedom from parental supervision, and the ability to make decisions without constant guidance. You think you will only go home on holidays—Christmas, Thanksgiving, and maybe just a couple of days during the summer. 

Reality : With freedom comes responsibility. Students discover that managing their time, prioritising tasks, and staying organised are crucial for success. Balancing coursework, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, and personal commitments can be overwhelming. The reality is that university life demands self-discipline and effective time management skills to navigate through the various responsibilities and opportunities available. 

Also, here is the deal: you’re going to miss home more than you think. You will find yourself missing the fresh, hot homemade meals, the daily talks with your parents, and even your siblings and their fights.

2. Seamless Transition and Instant Success

Expectation : Some students expect a seamless transition from high school to university, assuming that their previous successes will effortlessly translate into immediate triumphs in higher education.

Reality : The reality is that the university experience often presents new challenges and demands a growth mindset. Just because you are studying something you love doesn’t mean you will get your degree easily. There’s so much more to getting a degree than just studying what you love. 

Adapting to higher academic rigour, developing critical thinking skills, and adjusting to new teaching styles can be initially daunting. It's important to remember that personal growth and success are often the results of perseverance, resilience, and a willingness to learn from both successes and setbacks.

You will be excited about what you’re learning at university, but you might also find yourself overwhelmed with the workload. Sometimes you will focus so much time and energy on a specific subject, especially during the first semester or the first year. This can be draining and cause you to lose your passion.

3. Financial Freedom and Stability

Expectation : Many students imagine newfound financial freedom in university, with disposable income for leisure activities and personal expenses.

Reality : Now, hold on a minute! Don’t spend that money now! The reality is that university often comes with financial responsibilities. Tuition fees, accommodation costs, textbooks, and daily expenses can quickly add up. Students may need to balance part-time jobs or seek scholarships and financial aid to cover their expenses. Learning effective budgeting skills and practising financial responsibility become essential aspects of university life.

4. Hassle-Free Accommodation Life

Expectation : You won’t have any responsibilities regarding your accommodation life except paying the rent on a monthly basis, and if you choose private accommodation, it’ll all be fun and games.

Reality : As a student, you can choose between a PBSA and on-campus accommodation. Both require a different budget and a different lifestyle. Lower your expectations ; regardless of what you choose, life in a private student accommodation won’t be all fun and parties. 

Your room will need cleaning, you will have laundry, and you will have to organise a schedule for using the shared area with your flatmate. Sounds like a lot, right? We know that’s why we are telling you to think thoroughly about your choice of accommodation.

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5. easy peasy, lemon squeezy studying and assignments.

Expectation : As we all know, you always promise yourself that this year will be different and that you’ll study hard and not waste a minute. You promise yourself that you will keep up with all the workload you have and that you’ll never leave any assignment to the last minute. We’ve all been there.

Reality : It is not impossible, but remember to give yourself room for mistakes. If, after the first week, your assignments start to pile up, it is ok. You can simply manage your time better in order not to feel overwhelmed. In addition, you can think about studying and doing assignments as an exam prep strategy to motivate you.

6. Being in the Pink of Health

Expectation : You go to university telling yourself that you’re going to eat healthily and cook for yourself. Maybe you can pull this off for the first week of your university life, or even the first month.

Reality : You find yourself so swamped with assignments and projects that you might occasionally eat junk food for a meal or two. Don’t be harsh on yourself, and maybe exercise afterwards. That’s how you stay healthy .

7. A Continuous Social Extravaganza

Expectation: Many students envision university as a constant whirlwind of parties, social gatherings, and non-stop excitement. They imagine themselves surrounded by friends, attending events, and forming lifelong connections.

Reality: We’re sorry to break it to you; we really are. While universities provide ample opportunities for socialising, the reality is that balancing social life and academics can be challenging. Students quickly realise that attending lectures, studying, completing assignments, and preparing for exams require significant time and effort. It becomes essential to strike a healthy balance between socialising and academics to make the most of the university experience.

8. Vibrant Campus Life

Expectation : Campus life is often portrayed as a vibrant community teeming with clubs, organisations, sports teams, and cultural events. Students expect a wide array of options to get involved and find their niche.

Reality : While universities offer a diverse range of extracurricular activities, the reality is that finding your niche might take time and exploration. Joining clubs, attending events, and actively engaging with the campus community can help students discover their interests and build lasting connections. It's important to remember that the university experience is not solely confined to the campus, as many students find fulfilment through off-campus activities and local communities.

9. Time for Personal Exploration and Self-Discovery

Expectation : University is often seen as a transformative period for self-discovery, where students have the time and freedom to explore their identities, values, and interests.

Reality : While university provides opportunities for personal exploration, the reality is that self-discovery is an ongoing process that extends beyond the university years. Students may find themselves questioning their beliefs, values, and goals and may encounter diverse perspectives that challenge their preconceived notions. Embracing these experiences as opportunities for growth and self-reflection can lead to a deeper understanding of oneself.

10. Always Feeling Motivated and Inspired

Expectation : Students often anticipate a constant state of motivation and inspiration, assuming that their passion for their chosen field of study will propel them effortlessly through their academic journey.

Reality : The reality is that motivation can fluctuate, and students may face periods of academic pressure, stress, or burnout. Challenging coursework, multiple deadlines, and high expectations can sometimes dampen enthusiasm. Developing resilience, seeking support from peers or academic advisors, and practising self-care strategies can help students navigate these challenges and rediscover their motivation.

And there you have it, folks! University life and campus life bring with them a mix of expectations and realities. While some expectations align with reality, others may require adjustments and a shift in perspective. 

Recognising that university life is a unique journey that varies for each individual can help students navigate the challenges and maximise the opportunities available. Embracing the realities of university life, including the need for balance, responsibility, and personal growth, can lead to a fulfilling and transformative experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. will university life be exactly like what i've seen in movies and tv shows.

While movies and TV shows often portray an exaggerated version of university life, it's important to remember that reality may differ. University life is a unique experience for each individual, and while there may be some elements of excitement and social events, it also involves academic responsibilities and personal growth.

2. How can I balance my social life with academics?

Balancing social life and academics requires effective time management and prioritisation. It's important to set realistic goals, create a study schedule, and allocate time for social activities. Additionally, engaging in extracurricular activities and joining clubs can help combine socialising with personal development.

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3. what should i do if i'm struggling academically.

If you're facing academic challenges, don't hesitate to seek help. Most universities offer support services such as tutoring, study groups, or academic advisors who can assist you in improving your academic performance. It's important to communicate with your professors, ask questions, and utilise available resources to overcome any difficulties.

4. How can I make the most of my university experience beyond classes?

Getting involved in campus activities is a great way to enhance your university experience. Join clubs or organisations that align with your interests, participate in community service initiatives, attend campus events, and explore opportunities for internships or research projects. Engaging in these activities will allow you to build a network, develop new skills, and make lifelong memories.

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Essay on Student Life

Learn how to write an essay on student life in English language in 300 words. Know more about student life essay for students of class 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Now you can also write an essay on student life for students in 300 words.

Student life is considered as the golden part of life as it is the phase of life when one enjoys the most. This is because student life is free from worldly ties and worries. During this stage of life, a person is least bothered about what’s happening in the world and he’s only concerned about his happiness and joy. Also, student life is the shaping period of life wherein a student’s ethics and morals are developed according to his surroundings and teachings. A child’s future is highly dependent on how he’s raised during his student life as it determines his character and strengths.

During this stage of life, a student is supposed to acquire as much knowledge as he can so as to become more aware of the outer world. Punctuality and discipline must be inculcated during student life as these are the two traits that make a person wise and successful in life.

Student life forms the basis of a student’s career as it is a formative period of life. If a student has the ability to shine in his school days, he will be able to become successful in his long term career as well. Well, student life is not all about reading and learning, it also involves the overall development of a person such as he must be active in sports and curricular activities so as to be mentally and physically smart.

Therefore, student life plays a significant role in one’s life as it shapes our future and also helps us understand the ups and downs of life. It also develops the competitive spirit among students and helps the students grow and nurture with great vigour and strength. Students are the future of a country and they must be raised in the right environment in order to make them responsible citizens of the nation.

My School Essay

School Life Essay

The War at Stanford

I didn’t know that college would be a factory of unreason.

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ne of the section leaders for my computer-science class, Hamza El Boudali, believes that President Joe Biden should be killed. “I’m not calling for a civilian to do it, but I think a military should,” the 23-year-old Stanford University student told a small group of protesters last month. “I’d be happy if Biden was dead.” He thinks that Stanford is complicit in what he calls the genocide of Palestinians, and that Biden is not only complicit but responsible for it. “I’m not calling for a vigilante to do it,” he later clarified, “but I’m saying he is guilty of mass murder and should be treated in the same way that a terrorist with darker skin would be (and we all know terrorists with dark skin are typically bombed and drone striked by American planes).” El Boudali has also said that he believes that Hamas’s October 7 attack was a justifiable act of resistance, and that he would actually prefer Hamas rule America in place of its current government (though he clarified later that he “doesn’t mean Hamas is perfect”). When you ask him what his cause is, he answers: “Peace.”

I switched to a different computer-science section.

Israel is 7,500 miles away from Stanford’s campus, where I am a sophomore. But the Hamas invasion and the Israeli counterinvasion have fractured my university, a place typically less focused on geopolitics than on venture-capital funding for the latest dorm-based tech start-up. Few students would call for Biden’s head—I think—but many of the same young people who say they want peace in Gaza don’t seem to realize that they are in fact advocating for violence. Extremism has swept through classrooms and dorms, and it is becoming normal for students to be harassed and intimidated for their faith, heritage, or appearance—they have been called perpetrators of genocide for wearing kippahs, and accused of supporting terrorism for wearing keffiyehs. The extremism and anti-Semitism at Ivy League universities on the East Coast have attracted so much media and congressional attention that two Ivy presidents have lost their jobs. But few people seem to have noticed the culture war that has taken over our California campus.

For four months, two rival groups of protesters, separated by a narrow bike path, faced off on Stanford’s palm-covered grounds. The “Sit-In to Stop Genocide” encampment was erected by students in mid-October, even before Israeli troops had crossed into Gaza, to demand that the university divest from Israel and condemn its behavior. Posters were hung equating Hamas with Ukraine and Nelson Mandela. Across from the sit-in, a rival group of pro-Israel students eventually set up the “Blue and White Tent” to provide, as one activist put it, a “safe space” to “be a proud Jew on campus.” Soon it became the center of its own cluster of tents, with photos of Hamas’s victims sitting opposite the rubble-ridden images of Gaza and a long (and incomplete) list of the names of slain Palestinians displayed by the students at the sit-in.

Some days the dueling encampments would host only a few people each, but on a sunny weekday afternoon, there could be dozens. Most of the time, the groups tolerated each other. But not always. Students on both sides were reportedly spit on and yelled at, and had their belongings destroyed. (The perpetrators in many cases seemed to be adults who weren’t affiliated with Stanford, a security guard told me.) The university put in place round-the-clock security, but when something actually happened, no one quite knew what to do.

Conor Friedersdorf: How October 7 changed America’s free speech culture

Stanford has a policy barring overnight camping, but for months didn’t enforce it, “out of a desire to support the peaceful expression of free speech in the ways that students choose to exercise that expression”—and, the administration told alumni, because the university feared that confronting the students would only make the conflict worse. When the school finally said the tents had to go last month, enormous protests against the university administration, and against Israel, followed.

“We don’t want no two states! We want all of ’48!” students chanted, a slogan advocating that Israel be dismantled and replaced by a single Arab nation. Palestinian flags flew alongside bright “Welcome!” banners left over from new-student orientation. A young woman gave a speech that seemed to capture the sense of urgency and power that so many students here feel. “We are Stanford University!” she shouted. “We control things!”

“W e’ve had protests in the past,” Richard Saller, the university’s interim president, told me in November—about the environment, and apartheid, and Vietnam. But they didn’t pit “students against each other” the way that this conflict has.

I’ve spoken with Saller, a scholar of Roman history, a few times over the past six months in my capacity as a student journalist. We first met in September, a few weeks into his tenure. His predecessor, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, had resigned as president after my reporting for The Stanford Daily exposed misconduct in his academic research. (Tessier-Lavigne had failed to retract papers with faked data over the course of 20 years. In his resignation statement , he denied allegations of fraud and misconduct; a Stanford investigation determined that he had not personally manipulated data or ordered any manipulation but that he had repeatedly “failed to decisively and forthrightly correct mistakes” from his lab.)

In that first conversation, Saller told me that everyone was “eager to move on” from the Tessier-Lavigne scandal. He was cheerful and upbeat. He knew he wasn’t staying in the job long; he hadn’t even bothered to move into the recently vacated presidential manor. In any case, campus, at that time, was serene. Then, a week later, came October 7.

The attack was as clear a litmus test as one could imagine for the Middle East conflict. Hamas insurgents raided homes and a music festival with the goal of slaughtering as many civilians as possible. Some victims were raped and mutilated, several independent investigations found. Hundreds of hostages were taken into Gaza and many have been tortured.

This, of course, was bad. Saying this was bad does not negate or marginalize the abuses and suffering Palestinians have experienced in Gaza and elsewhere. Everyone, of every ideology, should be able to say that this was bad. But much of this campus failed that simple test.

Two days after the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Stanford released milquetoast statements marking the “moment of intense emotion” and declaring “deep concern” over “the crisis in Israel and Palestine.” The official statements did not use the words Hamas or violence .

The absence of a clear institutional response led some teachers to take matters into their own hands. During a mandatory freshman seminar on October 10, a lecturer named Ameer Loggins tossed out his lesson plan to tell students that the actions of the Palestinian “military force” had been justified, that Israelis were colonizers, and that the Holocaust had been overemphasized, according to interviews I conducted with students in the class. Loggins then asked the Jewish students to identify themselves. He instructed one of them to “stand up, face the window, and he kind of kicked away his chair,” a witness told me. Loggins described this as an effort to demonstrate Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. (Loggins did not reply to a request for comment; a spokesperson for Stanford said that there were “different recollections of the details regarding what happened” in the class.)

“We’re only in our third week of college, and we’re afraid to be here,” three students in the class wrote in an email that night to administrators. “This isn’t what Stanford was supposed to be.” The class Loggins taught is called COLLEGE, short for “Civic, Liberal, and Global Education,” and it is billed as an effort to develop “the skills that empower and enable us to live together.”

Loggins was suspended from teaching duties and an investigation was opened; this angered pro-Palestine activists, who organized a petition that garnered more than 1,700 signatures contesting the suspension. A pamphlet from the petitioners argued that Loggins’s behavior had not been out of bounds.

The day after the class, Stanford put out a statement written by Saller and Jenny Martinez, the university provost, more forcefully condemning the Hamas attack. Immediately, this new statement generated backlash.

Pro-Palestine activists complained about it during an event held the same day, the first of several “teach-ins” about the conflict. Students gathered in one of Stanford’s dorms to “bear witness to the struggles of decolonization.” The grievances and pain shared by Palestinian students were real. They told of discrimination and violence, of frightened family members subjected to harsh conditions. But the most raucous reaction from the crowd was in response to a young woman who said, “You ask us, do we condemn Hamas? Fuck you!” She added that she was “so proud of my resistance.”

David Palumbo-Liu, a professor of comparative literature with a focus on postcolonial studies, also spoke at the teach-in, explaining to the crowd that “European settlers” had come to “replace” Palestine’s “native population.”

Palumbo-Liu is known as an intelligent and supportive professor, and is popular among students, who call him by his initials, DPL. I wanted to ask him about his involvement in the teach-in, so we met one day in a café a few hundred feet away from the tents. I asked if he could elaborate on what he’d said at the event about Palestine’s native population. He was happy to expand: This was “one of those discussions that could go on forever. Like, who is actually native? At what point does nativism lapse, right? Well, you haven’t been native for X number of years, so …” In the end, he said, “you have two people who both feel they have a claim to the land,” and “they have to live together. Both sides have to cede something.”

The struggle at Stanford, he told me, “is to find a way in which open discussions can be had that allow people to disagree.” It’s true that Stanford has utterly failed in its efforts to encourage productive dialogue. But I still found it hard to reconcile DPL’s words with his public statements on Israel, which he’d recently said on Facebook should be “the most hated nation in the world.” He also wrote: “When Zionists say they don’t feel ‘safe’ on campus, I’ve come to see that as they no longer feel immune to criticism of Israel.” He continued: “Well as the saying goes, get used to it.”

Z ionists, and indeed Jewish students of all political beliefs, have been given good reason to fear for their safety. They’ve been followed, harassed, and called derogatory racial epithets. At least one was told he was a “dirty Jew.” At least twice, mezuzahs have been ripped from students’ doors, and swastikas have been drawn in dorms. Arab and Muslim students also face alarming threats. The computer-science section leader, El Boudali, a pro-Palestine activist, told me he felt “safe personally,” but knew others who did not: “Some people have reported feeling like they’re followed, especially women who wear the hijab.”

In a remarkably short period of time, aggression and abuse have become commonplace, an accepted part of campus activism. In January, Jewish students organized an event dedicated to ameliorating anti-Semitism. It marked one of Saller’s first public appearances in the new year. Its topic seemed uncontroversial, and I thought it would generate little backlash.

Protests began before the panel discussion even started, with activists lining the stairs leading to the auditorium. During the event they drowned out the panelists, one of whom was Israel’s special envoy for combatting anti-Semitism, by demanding a cease-fire. After participants began cycling out into the dark, things got ugly.

Activists, their faces covered by keffiyehs or medical masks, confronted attendees. “Go back to Brooklyn!” a young woman shouted at Jewish students. One protester, who emerged as the leader of the group, said that she and her compatriots would “take all of your places and ensure Israel falls.” She told attendees to get “off our fucking campus” and launched into conspiracy theories about Jews being involved in “child trafficking.” As a rabbi tried to leave the event, protesters pursued him, chanting, “There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!”

At one point, some members of the group turned on a few Stanford employees, including another rabbi, an imam, and a chaplain, telling them, “We know your names and we know where you work.” The ringleader added: “And we’ll soon find out where you live.” The religious leaders formed a protective barrier in front of the Jewish students. The rabbi and the imam appeared to be crying.

S aller avoided the protest by leaving through another door. Early that morning, his private residence had been vandalized. Protesters frequently tell him he “can’t hide” and shout him down. “We charge you with genocide!” they chant, demanding that Stanford divest from Israel. (When asked whether Stanford actually invested in Israel, a spokesperson replied that, beyond small exposures from passive funds that track indexes such as the S&P 500, the university’s endowment “has no direct holdings in Israeli companies, or direct holdings in defense contractors.”)

When the university finally said the protest tents had to be removed, students responded by accusing Saller of suppressing their right to free speech. This is probably the last charge he expected to face. Saller once served as provost at the University of Chicago, which is known for holding itself to a position of strict institutional neutrality so that its students can freely explore ideas for themselves. Saller has a lifelong belief in First Amendment rights. But that conviction in impartial college governance does not align with Stanford’s behavior in recent years. Despite the fact that many students seemed largely uninterested in the headlines before this year, Stanford’s administrative leadership has often taken positions on political issues and events, such as the Paris climate conference and the murder of George Floyd. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Stanford’s Hoover Tower was lit up in blue and yellow, and the school released a statement in solidarity.

Thomas Chatterton Williams: Let the activists have their loathsome rallies

When we first met, a week before October 7, I asked Saller about this. Did Stanford have a moral duty to denounce the war in Ukraine, for example, or the ethnic cleansing of Uyghur Muslims in China? “On international political issues, no,” he said. “That’s not a responsibility for the university as a whole, as an institution.”

But when Saller tried to apply his convictions on neutrality for the first time as president, dozens of faculty members condemned the response, many pro-Israel alumni were outraged, donors had private discussions about pulling funding, and an Israeli university sent an open letter to Saller and Martinez saying, “Stanford’s administration has failed us.” The initial statement had tried to make clear that the school’s policy was not Israel-specific: It noted that the university would not take a position on the turmoil in Nagorno-Karabakh (where Armenians are undergoing ethnic cleansing) either. But the message didn’t get through.

Saller had to beat an awkward retreat or risk the exact sort of public humiliation that he, as caretaker president, had presumably been hired to avoid. He came up with a compromise that landed somewhere in the middle: an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’s “intolerable atrocities” paired with a statement making clear that Stanford would commit to institutional neutrality going forward.

“The events in Israel and Gaza this week have affected and engaged large numbers of students on our campus in ways that many other events have not,” the statement read. “This is why we feel compelled to both address the impact of these events on our campus and to explain why our general policy of not issuing statements about news events not directly connected to campus has limited the breadth of our comments thus far, and why you should not expect frequent commentary from us in the future.”

I asked Saller why he had changed tack on Israel and not on Nagorno-Karabakh. “We don’t feel as if we should be making statements on every war crime and atrocity,” he told me. This felt like a statement in and of itself.

In making such decisions, Saller works closely with Martinez, Stanford’s provost. I happened to interview her, too, a few days before October 7, not long after she’d been appointed. When I asked about her hopes for the job, she said that a “priority is ensuring an environment in which free speech and academic freedom are preserved.”

We talked about the so-called Leonard Law—a provision unique to California that requires private universities to be governed by the same First Amendment protections as public ones. This restricts what Stanford can do in terms of penalizing speech, putting it in a stricter bind than Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, or any of the other elite private institutions that have more latitude to set the standards for their campus (whether or not they have done so).

So I was surprised when, in December, the university announced that abstract calls for genocide “clearly violate Stanford’s Fundamental Standard, the code of conduct for all students at the university.” The statement was a response to the outrage following the congressional testimony of three university presidents—outrage that eventually led to the resignation of two of them, Harvard’s Claudine Gay and Penn’s Liz Magill. Gay and Magill, who had both previously held positions at Stanford, did not commit to punishing calls for the genocide of Jews.

Experts told me that Stanford’s policy is impossible to enforce—and Saller himself acknowledged as much in our March interview.

“Liz Magill is a good friend,” Saller told me, adding, “Having watched what happened at Harvard and Penn, it seemed prudent” to publicly state that Stanford rejected calls for genocide. But saying that those calls violate the code of conduct “is not the same thing as to say that we could actually punish it.”

Stanford’s leaders seem to be trying their best while adapting to the situation in real time. But the muddled messaging has created a policy of neutrality that does not feel neutral at all.

When we met back in November, I tried to get Saller to open up about his experience running an institution in turmoil. What’s it like to know that so many students seem to believe that he—a mild-mannered 71-year-old classicist who swing-dances with his anthropologist wife—is a warmonger? Saller was more candid than I expected—perhaps more candid than any prominent university president has been yet. We sat in the same conference room as we had in September. The weather hadn’t really changed. Yet I felt like I was sitting in front of a different person. He was hunched over and looked exhausted, and his voice broke when he talked about the loss of life in Gaza and Israel and “the fact that we’re caught up in it.” A capable administrator with decades of experience, Saller seemed almost at a loss. “It’s been a kind of roller coaster, to be honest.”

He said he hadn’t anticipated the deluge of the emails “blaming me for lack of moral courage.” Anything the university says seems bound to be wrong: “If I say that our position is that we grieve over the loss of innocent lives, that in itself will draw some hostile reactions.”

“I find that really difficult to navigate,” he said with a sigh.

By March, it seemed that his views had solidified. He said he knew he was “a target,” but he was not going to be pushed into issuing any more statements. The continuing crisis seems to have granted him new insight. “I am certain that whatever I say will not have any material effect on the war in Gaza.” It’s hard to argue with that.

P eople tend to blame the campus wars on two villains: dithering administrators and radical student activists. But colleges have always had dithering administrators and radical student activists. To my mind, it’s the average students who have changed.

Elite universities attract a certain kind of student: the overachieving striver who has won all the right accolades for all the right activities. Is it such a surprise that the kids who are trained in the constant pursuit of perfect scores think they have to look at the world like a series of multiple-choice questions, with clearly right or wrong answers? Or that they think they can gamify a political cause in the same way they ace a standardized test?

Everyone knows that the only reliable way to get into a school like Stanford is to be really good at looking really good. Now that they’re here, students know that one easy way to keep looking good is to side with the majority of protesters, and condemn Israel.

It’s not that there isn’t real anger and anxiety over what is happening in Gaza—there is, and justifiably so. I know that among the protesters are many people who are deeply connected to this issue. But they are not the majority. What really activates the crowds now seems less a principled devotion to Palestine or to pacifism than a desire for collective action, to fit in by embracing the fashionable cause of the moment—as if a centuries-old conflict in which both sides have stolen and killed could ever be a simple matter of right and wrong. In their haste to exhibit moral righteousness, many of the least informed protesters end up being the loudest and most uncompromising.

Today’s students grew up in the Trump era, in which violent rhetoric has become a normal part of political discourse and activism is as easy as reposting an infographic. Many young people have come to feel that being angry is enough to foment change. Furious at the world’s injustices and desperate for a simple way to express that fury, they don’t seem interested in any form of engagement more nuanced than backing a pure protagonist and denouncing an evil enemy. They don’t, always, seem that concerned with the truth.

At the protest last month to prevent the removal of the sit-in, an activist in a pink Women’s March “pussy hat” shouted that no rape was committed by Hamas on October 7. “There hasn’t been proof of these rape accusations,” a student told me in a separate conversation, criticizing the Blue and White Tent for spreading what he considered to be misinformation about sexual violence. (In March, a United Nations report found “reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence,” including “rape and gang rape,” occurred in multiple locations on October 7, as well as “clear and convincing information” on the “rape and sexualized torture” of hostages.) “The level of propaganda” surrounding Hamas, he told me, “is just unbelievable.”

The real story at Stanford is not about the malicious actors who endorse sexual assault and murder as forms of resistance, but about those who passively enable them because they believe their side can do no wrong. You don’t have to understand what you’re arguing for in order to argue for it. You don’t have to be able to name the river or the sea under discussion to chant “From the river to the sea.” This kind of obliviousness explains how one of my friends, a gay activist, can justify Hamas’s actions, even though it would have the two of us—an outspoken queer person and a Jewish reporter—killed in a heartbeat. A similar mentality can exist on the other side: I have heard students insist on the absolute righteousness of Israel yet seem uninterested in learning anything about what life is like in Gaza.

I’m familiar with the pull of achievement culture—after all, I’m a product of the same system. I fell in love with Stanford as a 7-year-old, lying on the floor of an East Coast library and picturing all the cool technology those West Coast geniuses were dreaming up. I cried when I was accepted; I spent the next few months scrolling through the course catalog, giddy with anticipation. I wanted to learn everything.

I learned more than I expected. Within my first week here, someone asked me: “Why are all Jews so rich?” In 2016, when Stanford’s undergraduate senate had debated a resolution against anti-Semitism, one of its members argued that the idea of “Jews controlling the media, economy, government, and other societal institutions” represented “a very valid discussion.” (He apologized, and the resolution passed.) In my dorm last year, a student discussed being Jewish and awoke the next day to swastikas and a portrait of Hitler affixed to his door.

David Frum: There is no right to bully and harass

I grew up secularly, with no strong affiliation to Jewish culture. When I found out as a teenager that some of my ancestors had hidden their identity from their children and that dozens of my relatives had died in the Holocaust (something no living member of my family had known), I felt the barest tremor of identity. After I saw so many people I know cheering after October 7, I felt something stronger stir. I know others have experienced something similar. Even a professor texted me to say that she felt Jewish in a way she never had before.

But my frustration with the conflict on campus has little to do with my own identity. Across the many conversations and hours of formal interviews I conducted for this article, I’ve encountered a persistent anti-intellectual streak. I’ve watched many of my classmates treat death so cavalierly that they can protest as a pregame to a party. Indeed, two parties at Stanford were reported to the university this fall for allegedly making people say “Fuck Israel” or “Free Palestine” to get in the door. A spokesperson for the university said it was “unable to confirm the facts of what occurred,” but that it had “met with students involved in both parties to make clear that Stanford’s nondiscrimination policy applies to parties.” As a friend emailed me not long ago: “A place that was supposed to be a sanctuary from such unreason has become a factory for it.”

Readers may be tempted to discount the conduct displayed at Stanford. After all, the thinking goes, these are privileged kids doing what they always do: embracing faux-radicalism in college before taking jobs in fintech or consulting. These students, some might say, aren’t representative of America.

And yet they are representative of something: of the conduct many of the most accomplished students in my generation have accepted as tolerable, and what that means for the future of our country. I admire activism. We need people willing to protest what they see as wrong and take on entrenched systems of repression. But we also need to read, learn, discuss, accept the existence of nuance, embrace diversity of thought, and hold our own allies to high standards. More than ever, we need universities to teach young people how to do all of this.

F or so long , Stanford’s physical standoff seemed intractable. Then, in early February, a storm swept in, and the natural world dictated its own conclusion.

Heavy rains flooded campus. For hours, the students battled to save their tents. The sit-in activists used sandbags and anything else they could find to hold back the water—at one point, David Palumbo-Liu, the professor, told me he stood in the lashing downpour to anchor one of the sit-in’s tents with his own body. When the storm hit, many of the Jewish activists had been attending a discussion on anti-Semitism. They raced back and struggled to salvage the Blue and White Tent, but it was too late—the wind had ripped it out of the ground.

The next day, the weary Jewish protesters returned to discover that their space had been taken.

A new collection of tents had been set up by El Boudali, the pro-Palestine activist, and a dozen friends. He said they were there to protest Islamophobia and to teach about Islam and jihad, and that they were a separate entity from the Sit-In to Stop Genocide, though I observed students cycling between the tents. Palestinian flags now flew from the bookstore to the quad.

Administrators told me they’d quickly informed El Boudali and his allies that the space had been reserved by the Jewish advocates, and offered to help move them to a different location. But the protesters told me they had no intention of going. (El Boudali later said that they did not take over the entire space, and would have been “happy to exist side by side, but they wanted to kick us off entirely from that lawn.”)

When it was clear that the area where they’d set up their tents would not be ceded back to the pro-Israel group willingly, Stanford changed course and decided to clear everyone out in one fell swoop. On February 8, school officials ordered all students to vacate the plaza overnight. The university was finally going to enforce its rule prohibiting people from sleeping outside on campus and requiring the removal of belongings from the plaza between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The order cited the danger posed by the storm as a justification for changing course and, probably hoping to avoid allegations of bias, described the decision as “viewpoint-neutral.”

That didn’t work.

About a week of protests, led by the sit-in organizers, followed. Chants were chanted. More demands for a “river to the sea” solution to the Israel problem were made. A friend boasted to me about her willingness to be arrested. Stanford sent a handful of staff members, who stood near balloons left over from an event earlier in the day. They were there, one of them told me, to “make students feel supported and safe.”

In the end, Saller and Martinez agreed to talk with the leaders of the sit-in about their demands to divest the university and condemn Israel, under the proviso that the activists comply with Stanford’s anti-camping guidelines “regardless of the outcome of discussions.” Eight days after they were first instructed to leave, 120 days after setting up camp, the sit-in protesters slept in their own beds. In defiance of the university’s instructions, they left behind their tents. But sometime in the very early hours of the morning, law-enforcement officers confiscated the structures. The area was cordoned off without any violence and the plaza filled once more with electric skateboards and farmers’ markets.

The conflict continues in its own way. Saller was just shouted down by protesters chanting “No peace on stolen land” at a Family Weekend event, and protesters later displayed an effigy of him covered in blood. Students still feel tense; Saller still seems worried. He told me that the university is planning to change all manner of things—residential-assistant training, new-student orientation, even the acceptance letters that students receive—in hopes of fostering a culture of greater tolerance. But no campus edict or panel discussion can address a problem that is so much bigger than our university.

At one rally last fall, a speaker expressed disillusionment about the power of “peaceful resistance” on college campuses. “What is there left to do but to take up arms?” The crowd cheered as he said Israel must be destroyed. But what would happen to its citizens? I’d prefer to believe that most protesters chanting “Palestine is Arab” and shouting that we must “smash the Zionist settler state” don’t actually think Jews should be killed en masse. But can one truly be so ignorant as to advocate widespread violence in the name of peace?

When the world is rendered in black-and-white—portrayed as a simple fight between colonizer and colonized—the answer is yes. Solutions, by this logic, are absolute: Israel or Palestine, nothing in between. Either you support liberation of the oppressed or you support genocide. Either Stanford is all good or all bad; all in favor of free speech or all authoritarian; all anti-Semitic or all Islamophobic.

At January’s anti-anti-Semitism event, I watched an exchange between a Jewish attendee and a protester from a few feet away. “Are you pro-Palestine?” the protester asked.

“Yes,” the attendee responded, and he went on to describe his disgust with the human-rights abuses Palestinians have faced for years.

“But are you a Zionist?”

“Then we are enemies.”

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Yale college admits 2,146 applicants from record applicant pool.

Yale’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions has completed its review of first-year applications and offered admission to 2,146 of the 57,465 students who applied to be part of Yale College’s Class of 2028. The newly admitted applicants will be joined by an additional 53 students who were admitted during the 2022-23 admissions cycle but opted to postpone their matriculation for one year.

The cohort of admitted students includes 709 applicants who were notified of their admission in December though the Early Action program and 72 more who were admitted through the QuestBridge National College Match program. Since 2007, Yale has admitted more than 2,000 applicants affiliated with QuestBridge , a nonprofit organization that connects high-achieving students from lower-income backgrounds with selective colleges and universities.

Students admitted to the Class of 2028 represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia, two U.S. territories, and 62 countries. They will graduate from more than 1,500 secondary schools, and their intended majors include 83 of Yale’s undergraduate academic programs. A detailed profile of the incoming class will be available when students arrive on campus in August.

This year’s pool of first-year applicants was the largest in the college’s history — 10% larger than the previous year, said Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid. Since 2020, the first-year applicant pool has grown by 66%, a shift Quinlan attributed to Yale adopting a test-optional policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February, the admissions office announced a new policy that reinstates a testing requirement while expanding the list of qualifying exams. The new policy will go into effect for the upcoming admissions cycle.

“ The diverse range of strengths, ambitions, and lived experiences we saw in this year’s applicant pool was inspiring,” said Quinlan. “We gauge the success of our outreach efforts by these qualities, and not by the total number of applications. But it is heartening to see that Yale College continues to attract exceptionally promising students from all backgrounds.” 

In September, Quinlan and Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis wrote to the Yale College community to outline the college’s response to the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race and admissions; they shared another message in February with updates on nearly a dozen new initiatives. “Despite the changed legal landscape,” the deans wrote on Feb. 8, “our community’s values remain as firm as ever, and our shared goal of building and supporting a community whose excellence is strengthened by its diversity remains unchanged.”

Yale College’s extraordinary investment in need-based financial aid is a pillar of these efforts to promote diversity, said Kari DiFonzo, director of undergraduate financial aid. For all admitted students, Yale College meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, and financial aid offers are based entirely on a family’s demonstrated financial need.

Yale College does not expect parents earning less than $75,000 annually — with typical assets — to make any contribution toward the cost of their child’s education, DiFonzo said. The financial aid offers for these families, which are known as “zero parent share” offers, cover the full cost of all billed expenses — tuition, housing, the meal plan, and hospitalization insurance — as well as travel to and from New Haven.

DiFonzo explained that financial aid offers for admitted students will not be delayed due to processing challenges associated with the Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA).

“ Yale uses its own methodology to assess a family’s financial need, using a process that is more comprehensive and more sensitive to distinctive financial challenges than what the FAFSA provides alone,” said DiFonzo. “Thankfully, financial aid officers can understand a family’s demonstrated financial need using information from other documents. Most admitted students who applied for aid will receive their financial aid offer at the same time they receive their admissions decision.”

All newly admitted students will be invited to visit campus in April 2024 for Bulldog Days, a three-day immersive experience of life at Yale, or Bulldog Saturday, a one-day program offering campus tours, panels, academic forums, and activities with student groups. The admissions office will also host virtual events and sponsor online communities to help admitted students connect with each other and with other members of the Yale community prior to Bulldog Days.

Quinlan credited last year’s  record-setting Bulldog Days program , which welcomed more than 1,400 students and 800 parents and family members, for  an historically high “yield rate” on students admitted to the Class of 2027.

“ Every spring, countless Yale students, faculty, staff, and alumni provide a warm welcome to our newest Yalies” said Mark Dunn, admissions office’s senior associate director for outreach and recruitment. “I believe the college’s greatest asset is its people, and my top priority each April is connecting admitted students with the people who make Yale so special.”

Dunn expressed gratitude to the student volunteers who will open their residential college suites to visiting admitted students and host special events, the faculty who will participate in the academic fair and lead master classes, and the staff who will help more than 1,200 admitted students get a taste of life at Yale during Bulldog Days and Bulldog Saturday. 

The admissions office makes a special effort to provide travel funding to students from lower-income families to enable them to visit campus before finalizing their college decision. Last year more than 500 admitted students received grants to travel to campus for Bulldog Days. 

Newly admitted students will have until May 1 to reply to their offer of admission.

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Class Destroyed

By Chantal Da Silva, Yasmine Salam, Matthew Mulligan and Bianca Britton

Built over decades, Gaza’s universities embodied the ambitions of young Palestinians.

In weeks, the Israeli military destroyed them.

April 4, 2024

Gaza’s universities are revered, embodying Palestinians’ dreams and ambitions, their values and traditions.

They have also represented a way for Palestinians to exercise some control over lives stifled by conflict, a 17-year blockade, political stagnation and misrule, and an economy on its knees.

“We don't have oil, we don't have petroleum, we don't have gold. The only capital we have is a human capital,” Akram Habeeb, an English literature professor said. “So we believe in education.”

This is the Islamic University of Gaza, or IUG, the Strip’s oldest degree-awarding institution.

It opened in 1978, its earliest classes held in tents .

It grew into a sprawling and modern campus with dozens of buildings across Gaza, with doctors, engineers, celebrated poets and politicians — including Hamas leaders — among its graduates.

This is IUG now.

The Israeli military destroyed the university’s main buildings in air strikes on Oct. 11.

It hailed the assault, saying the buildings and surrounding areas were used by Hamas “above and below ground” for training and to develop weapons. University administrators and students deny these charges.

This was Israa University.

Its towering main building and archway entrance was a love letter to Islamic architecture.

Gaza’s youngest university was set to mark its 10th anniversary this year — and planned to open to the public a museum highlighting Palestinian history and culture.

In moments, Israa was destroyed.

Video of the Israel Defense Forces' demolition of Israa’s main building appeared online on Jan. 17. The IDF initially said that the building had been “used by Hamas for military activity” and that there were concerns the group might use it to attack Israeli forces.

Later, the IDF said there had been “flaws in the operational process, including in the decision to destroy the entire building,” noting that the commander who ordered the demolition was formally censured and that an investigation was ongoing. The IDF did not respond to a subsequent request for further information.

Israa and IUG were not alone — universities across Gaza have been leveled.

According to an NBC News analysis of more than 60 videos and photos, and interviews with university administrators, professors, students and experts, at least five of Gaza’s seven major universities have been destroyed or partially damaged since Israel launched its offensive following Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, which killed some 1,200 and saw 240 taken hostage. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ensuing war, including prominent professors, university leaders, and students.

‘Our future is dead’

Abdallah Abujaser, a 21-year-old clinical psychology student at Israa, first saw the video of his school reduced to rubble on social media.

It was like watching his future disappear.

A photograph on Abujaser's Instagram account on Oct. 4 shows him on campus, beaming.

“The first picture in the fourth year,” he wrote alongside a dove and olive branch emoji.

Days later the war shattered his plans of becoming a qualified psychologist.

Abujaser was drawn to Israa because of its beautiful campus and its clinical psychology program — and he loved playing on the school’s competitive volleyball team.

He also believed in Israa’s mission — a modern university providing a higher education for those who might not be able to afford it.

Weekly hangouts with his three best friends are now WhatsApp calls, where the four men ask, “Are you OK? … Are you still alive?”

Nights are now spent in a bleak room with his mother and three sisters in Rafah, along with more than 1 million other displaced Palestinians.

The constant buzzing drones and thudding explosions remind him that the city, once deemed a safe zone by the Israeli military, could be stormed at any moment. He said he tries to remain optimistic, but until Gaza’s universities are rebuilt “our future is dead.”

Aya Salama, a 21-year-old English language and translation student, was set to graduate this spring from Al-Azhar University. Here she’s pictured, wearing a pink headscarf, with her classmates and professor during a phonetics class in May 2022.

Salama, left, and her friends are struggling to cope with their academic plans hanging in the balance. “As a student, this year was supposed to be the most beautiful year for us,” she said. 

“We were dreaming of the graduation party, what we were going to wear, what activities we were going to do.”

Salama fondly recalled the “breakfast parties” she would have with her friends on Al-Azhar’s lawn before classes. It was a ritual of sorts for them.

This is Salama’s home after it was demolished in an airstrike on Al Maghazi camp in northern Gaza on New Year’s Eve.

“The Israeli army has killed all our plans, all our passions,” she said, referring to her disrupted college life, adding that she has “literally cried many nights” over the news that her campus had also been destroyed.

The IDF said armed terrorists and a missile launching position were spotted near Al-Azhar, adding “enemy infrastructure” was disguised in its buildings. It also published photos of a tunnel shaft and explosive charges, rocket parts, launchers, explosive activation systems and weapons technology it says were found.

"The findings indicate that Hamas used the university building in order to execute attacks against our forces," the IDF said.

University administrators did not respond to requests for comment on the IDF allegations.

‘You’re fighting the existence of the Palestinians’

Around half of Gaza’s population is under the age of 18, and unemployment rates – before the war at about 45% – are among the highest in the world .

Higher education is seen as a way to combat a sense of powerlessness.

With a 17-year blockade imposed by Israel and reinforced by Egypt, traveling in or out of Gaza is difficult, if not impossible. Higher education opens doors to overseas opportunities, although students are often denied travel permits, which must be obtained from Israeli or Egyptian border authorities.

The war halted the studies of at least 88,000 students enrolled in universities and vocational-focused colleges, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Higher Education.

“When you destroy those kinds of institutions, you're not fighting Hamas, you're fighting the existence of the Palestinians. You’re fighting their capability to have memory and to have records and to be educated,” said Rashid Khalidi, a historian at Columbia University and author of several books on the region.

‘Everything is leveled to the ground’

When professor Akram Habeeb joined the IUG faculty in 1992, an American literature degree wasn’t offered anywhere in Gaza.

“I was very keen on teaching American lit and making our students understand the American values and the American beliefs – to show that American people are different from the government,” said Habeeb, who got his Ph.D. at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

He cultivated his department over three decades, teaching Emily Dickinson and Thomas Paine, among others.

His favorite assignment was asking students to analyze the literary style and political arguments in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and then draft a Palestinian one.

The irony is not lost on him that his life’s work – four decades of lecture recordings and syllabuses — was destroyed by an Israeli military that is partially funded and armed by the U.S.

“Everything is leveled to the ground,” Habeeb said of the university buildings, including his office, that he saw while fleeing Gaza City in mid-October.

“My research, my books, my personal things,” the professor said. “I won’t retrieve them.”

Habeeb, who never stopped teaching even though he is officially retired, is anxious to get back to work.

“I'm waiting for the moment the war is over.”

IUG began as a university focusing on Arabic literature and Islamic theology. It grew into a research facility teaching disciplines from medicine to marketing with 18,000 students.

Like at Israa, women outnumbered men at IUG, with women represented equally to men in STEM fields.

Among IUG’s graduates are Hamas leaders like Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh. But so are award-winning poets like Mosab Abu Toha, journalists like Wael Al Dahdouh and opposition politicians like Mohammed Dahlan.

The IDF has highlighted IUG’s alleged militant ties, and told NBC News that the university and the area around it “were used by Hamas for various military activities, above and below ground.” This included the production of weapons and training of Hamas military intelligence personnel, its spokesman said.

IUG administrators maintain the school is run independently from the enclave’s government and rejected accusations the university was used as a training camp.

“Our graduates have many different political affiliations,” Habeeb said, adding that the university can’t control the beliefs of those who enroll.

Qasem Waleed, an IUG physics graduate and English literature student, has rescued university library books from being sold as kindling for cooking fires.

“I will return them once the universities get back to work again,” he said from the refugee camp that is now his home.

But Khalidi, the Columbia professor, warned not everything can be restored.

“You can rebuild some of these things,” he said. “But the records — and the people — are irreplaceable.”

Development

Nigel Chiwaya and Jiachuan Wu

Photo Editor

Max Butterworth

Photo Director

Art Director

Chelsea Stahl

Contributors

Alfred Arian and Khalid Razak

VISUAL CREDIT INDEX

1. Al-Azhar University, 2017, Chris McGrath/Getty Images. 2. Islamic University of Gaza, 1993, Rula Halawani/Sygma via Getty Images. 3. Al-Azhar University, 2020, Yasser Qudih/Picture Alliance/Photoshot via SIPA USA. 4. Al-Aqsa University, 2024, AFP via Getty Images. 5. Al-Aqsa University, 2024, AFP via Getty Images. 6. Islamic University in Gaza, 2024, AFP via Getty Images. 7. Islamic University of Gaza via Israel Defense Forces. 8-9. Islamic University of Gaza via Facebook. 10. Unknown Gaza University, 1993 Esaias Baitel/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images. 11. Islamic University of Gaza via Facebook. 12. Islamic University of Gaza via Telegram. 13. Israa University via Facebook. 14. Satellite Images via Planet Labs PBC. 15. Israa University via Israel Defense Forces. 16. Map by NBC News. 17. Video by NBC News. 18-19. Courtesy of Abdallah Abujaser. 20-23. Courtesy of Aya Salama. 24. Islamic University of Gaza, 2011, Lynsey Addario/Getty Images Reportage. 25. Al-Azhar University, 2013, Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images. 26. Al-Aqsa University, 2006, Khalil Hamra/AP. 27. Unknown Gaza University, Unknown Year, Agostino Pacciani/Anzenberger via Redux. 28-31. Courtesy of Akram Habeeb. 32. University of Palestine, 2023, Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via AP. 33. Al-Quds University, Ramez Habboub, Abaca Press/Alamy. 34. Israa University via Facebook.