<p>Hey, hope this should help.</p>
<p>Last year, I applied to UT-Austin with 29 ACT and 3.86 UW GPA / 4.31 W. Out of state.</p>
<p>I got accepted, plus they gave me an out of state tuition exemption, plus a scholarship.</p>
<p>Here was my first essay (which seems to be in line with essay B for this year)</p>
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An issue that seems to be deteriorating our society is the issue of responsibility. People are no longer willing to take responsibility for themselves. There is always someone else to blame, its always someone elses fault. Akon, in his song Sorry, Blame It On Me he takes the blame, only to shift the blame back on someone else. This is a fundamental flaw in our society, and it holds so many people back. It can be hard to be upset over this flaw personally, as these people who arent willing to take responsibility for themselves give us, who are willing to take responsibility, a major advantage in life. This is a common theme throughout our society, seen through the issue of abortion and it is also prevalent in our schools.</p>
<pre><code>Abortion is the ultimate get out of jail for free card. This issue is symbolic of everything wrong with our culture. First, you put down the life that truly cannot fend for itself. Too often we do this, in our society. Ignore those that truly need the help, and then funnel money in the form of welfare to those that often prove to be irresponsible in the first place. Putting free money into the hands of those who for the most part have proven that they cannot responsibly manage money is not the solution. Instead, these people should be taking responsibility for themselves, and trying to change the trajectory of their life through hard work, not government handouts. Abortion encompasses this attitude of not wanting to be responsible for ones own actions and fate. Secondly, you are just perpetuating this lack of responsible further. These women, and men (except in rape cases) should take responsible for the action that they did which resulted in the woman getting pregnant. If this woman didnt want to get pregnant, she could have been responsible, and practiced something called abstinence. It is not right that these people are not facing the consequences of their actions, and a society in which people do not face the consequences of their actions is not right.
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<p>This is also a common problem in our school systems. Someone else is always to blame for the students failures. Its George W. Bushs fault that our students fail and dropout. How dare he instate tests to make sure our schools are teaching the students, such an evil man he is in this regard! These people desperately need a reality check. Have the people who spew off that Bush made education about fact memorization really believe what they are saying? Have they ever looked at these tests? I have been in school for going on eight years under Bush, and in taking these mandated tests, I can say with confidence that these tests are just as fact driven as the ACT. They tested your ability to understand the concepts, not what facts you memorized. These parents and students are just looking for someone to blame, when the person to blame is solely the student. I have spent my entire high school career in what is described as a failing school district, but I have always felt that I received a great education, with a variety of different types of courses offered. The only people who are complaining about how bad our education is are the people who are failing. These are the same people who are doing so abysmal on these mandated tests that get our school labeled as failing. These people all have one thing in common; they arent putting in the hard work, the hours studying, to make sure they are learning. If every individual in our school took responsibility for themselves, acted mature, did their homework, and put in the time studying, then we wouldnt be a failing school, as simple as that.</p>
<p>This problem is paramount in our society. People need to start take responsibility for their actions. The apathetic attitude that many possess in regards to hard work and responsibility are holding our nation, and society back from growing to a level in which all people are regarded as equal. People dont want to be considered equal to someone who is just trying to leech off of others; they want to leave these people behind. Eliminating this apathy towards responsibility would move our society to a grander place.
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<p>Here was my 2nd essay.</p>
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Like many young people, 2008 will be the first time that I vote. February 19th will be my first time, when I cast my ballot in the Wisconsin Presidential Primary. I am going to be able to cast my ballot with the confidence that my candidate is best suited for bringing our country back to where it should be, and where it should have always been. However, I was not always full of the confidence I encompass today in this candidate. Back in November, I tuned into the CNN/Youtube Debate. I did not know a lot about the entire field of candidates at the time. I just knew that on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton was running, John Edwards was at it again, and a man from Illinois called Barack Obama, whose name sounded like it was taken out of Mortal Kombat was also running. On the Republican side, Rudy Guliani was the only candidate who I had heard of, as he was the face of 9/11. I had absolutely no idea who I was going to vote for.</p>
<p>I grew up in a conservative household. Reagan and Bush were always spoken of in high regard, while Bill Clinton was always dragged through the mud. During every election my parents would vote a straight Republican ticket. So when I first started to examine the candidates for this election cycle, I naturally looked at the Republicans first. I was not impressed with the majority of the Republican candidates. They were not in sync with what the party stood for and were all pushing a neoconservative agenda. Ron Paul was the only candidate for the Republicans whose values were deep rooted, who stood up for his ideals, and who stood for what the Republican Party was based upon, fiscal conservatism. Next, I moved on to watch a Democratic debate, and get a look at the Democrats running. Instantly, one man stood apart from the pack. Barack Obama talked of a great game plan for America, just like Ron Paul had on the Republican side. These two men had a plan for America, and they were unwavering on their plans. I battled for a long time over which I should vote for, as both were exemplarily candidates. In the end, I decided to give my vote to, and pledge my support behind Barack Obama.</p>
<pre><code>Barack Obama is the epitome of what an American politician should be. He has worked hard throughout his life to get to where he is today. I believe that hard work is the backbone of America, and when our country gets away from hard work, that is when it falters. Barack is an honest man. We need to be able to trust our leaders, and he is one that I am able to trust. He will say one thing and actually mean it. The things he says are backed up in his policies, and in his past voting record. He is not one of those politicians who will say anything to get elected, and I can respect that. He recognizes that he is fallible. He wants what is best for the greater good; he is willing to admit when he has made a mistake to help move forward. He doesnt want to surround himself with a bunch of yes men, he wants people who are willing to stand up to him, and tell him if they disagree with him, as he doesnt believe that he is always right. Barack has all the qualities of a great leader, and I have great faith in his ability to run our country.
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<p>The first word in the name of our country is United. I label myself politically as a moderate libertarian, and have registered as an independent. So I was moved greatly when Barack Obama, during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, said his inspirational words of: There's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. These words resound my view of America, and the human people as a whole. We have to stop driving wedges between each other, we need to come together, and start a movement for the greater good of the people. We are always going to be different, but we should be celebrating our differences, not trying to disparage each other over these differences. This vision of unity that Barack beholds has greatly inspired me.</p>
<p>Barack Obama has not only inspired me to vote for him, but he has inspired me to get involved politically. Because of him, I am now watching hours of CNN and MSNBC each day, to keep up with our nations politics. Because of him, I am scouring youtube, watching Barrack Obama interviews, or clips from 1988 of Ron Paul on the Morten Downey Jr. Show. He has inspired me deeply. He has inspired me to spread his message, and try to inspire others to vote for him, and get involved in his movement as well. He may have laid down the foundation bricks on my path to my own personal political career. Seeing from where he came from, and the way he has been able to inspire change, makes me believe in myself, and that I can bring change politically in the future. No matter what I do in my life, I hope I am able to carry myself with the same amount of leadership and integrity in which Barack Obama possess. He inspires you in a way where you believe that you can be just like him, making you raise the question to yourself: if he could do it, why cant I?
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<p>Hope those help.</p>