College Admissions Essay: A Career As A College Athlete

I believe that I would be an ideal candidate for guaranteed admission into the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Pharmacy Program because I always look to challenge myself, I have an extremely strong work ethic, and I’m motivated to succeed in everything. As a swimmer, I’ve been trained to push through the pain and accept it. I always try my best in everything, because I’ve learned that hard work is necessary for greatness. Sophomore year swim season, we had a new coach who really worked us to the bone. My teammates and I would cry at least once a week from the pain of the practices. They were harder than what we were used to. One day in particular, I’d had an ear infection and kept feeling sharp pain throughout the school day. At practice, it became worse. My
If there was ever an instance where I had to miss school, such as when I had to compete at IHSA State for swimming, I’d notify my teachers in advance and ask for the lesson that I’d be missing. I’m willing to give up fun activities to achieve my goals. I don’t let things distract me or take away time from working on my goals. When I set a target for myself, I have complete focus on it and will work as hard as I need to in order to reach it. There’ll be setbacks, but I know better than to let them stop me. If I don’t reach my goal the first time, I reflect on what can be improved and work even harder to get to where I want to be. This has happened countless times during my swim career, and I know that there’s always something that can be improved on. I can always be better. With this constant strive for perfection though, comes a lot of stress. I plan to continue swimming in college, and I expect stress to continue being a part of my everyday life. Honestly, having a guaranteed path into the College of Pharmacy would help alleviate some of the stress and therefore, I’d have a clearer focus on both my studies and training to do well in