Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Describe a significant moment that has impacted your life. (Major)
It's hard to envision how different my life was eight years ago. I have become a completely different person than who I used to be. I can't begin to imagine how different my life would be if my parents wouldn't have made that decision when I was in 3rd grade. Moving to the United States from La Paz, Mexico, was a dramatic experience that has impacted my life in innumerable ways. The individual who I have evolved into is a result of this experience and its everlasting effects. I had spent nine years of my childhood in Mexico only to be torn away from my family, friends, and home to live in a distant place that I knew nothing of. The air, the land, the people, and everything else in this new land were different! I felt as if I had crossed into a different dimension, or accidentally lost myself in a fictional, far-off world created by my overactive imagination, because everything that I had regarded as reality was altered. In La Paz, my reality consisted of living in a cramped one-room house that was surrounded by other poverty-stricken homes, with bumpy dirt roads that were homes for stray, disease-carrying dogs and playgrounds for children, and a backyard that overlooked a vast desert area that had been changed into a trash dump, filled with tires, beds, and other junk. This image of my abandoned home differed greatly from my first impression of the United States, which included clean paved streets, attractive homes, and countless green luscious trees. When I first arrived in Fort Dodge, Iowa, I had no idea what was in store for my future. All I knew was that life from this point on would be different, and that I would encounter many hardships if I planned to succeed. My first task was to learn the new language, which I found to be quite a challenge, but I was able to overcome it. In about six months I was speaking English fluently, yet there were still a plethora of words, which I did not know. I can still remember my first day of 4th grade class at Cooper Elementary. My teacher, Mrs. Hanson had instructed the class to write a story in five minutes about a spider, in order for us to practice our creative writing skills. I became frustrated when I observed everyone else in the classroom quickly writing on their paper, while I stared down at my blank piece of paper. Unable to comprehend her directions, I asked for further assistance, yet it only resulted in more frustration. After scribbling down a couple of words my frustration took over, and I felt like I would never be able to understand. All I wanted to do was to go back to my home in Mexico. That was the first and only time that I cried in class. At that moment all of the frustration, anger, sadness, and alienation that I had been feeling culminated into a mental and emotional breakdown. I had the choice to give up, yet somewhere deep inside of me I knew that quitting would only worsen the situation. Even though I was ready to turn back, I managed to continue, and persevere. I wasnt conscious of it back then, but that decision has had a dramatic impact on my life, because if I had given up, I wouldn't be where I am today. One of the most difficult obstacles that I had to overcome was settling into the new culture and making friends. I remember how stressful school was because I was often misunderstood or not understood. Some of the kids were kind to me, but others found it amusing to make fun of me. I thought that I would never be able to fit in with all the other kids, but as time slowly elapsed I began to blend in more and more until people began to forget my background. By the time I moved to Escondido, California, in 7th grade, people were astonished to find out that I was born in Mexico, and that I had lived there for nine years. Yet even though I had transformed myself into a 'normal' American kid, I still had trouble making friends because a part of me still felt like I was 'different.' This feeling did not disappear until my freshmen year of high school, although sometimes I still feel insecure or unable to convey my thoughts in English. I can think of the right Spanish words, but I'm unable to translate them in order for them to express the same meaning. When I look back at my accomplishments I feel proud because I see how far I have come. Eight years ago, I was thrown into a new world where I didn't understand the language, the people, and the culture, but I was able to conquer all of these problems. This experience has molded me into a more confident person, who isn't afraid to take risks. I'm now a senior at Orange Glen High School, who is involved in sports and clubs, has a GPA of 4.55, and many friends! Once again I'm faced with the decision to continue or quit, and once again I will persevere, and be the first from my family to undertake the challenge of college. I will make my mom proud, because she also left her life-long home, family, and friends behind when she decided to move to the United States in order for me to have the opportunities that she never had.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Topic of your choice/Free topic (Major Essay)
'You are here because you are special. And we trust this will be the best two years of your life,' these are the words from the people of Li Po Chun United World College (LPCUWC). To a certain extent, I agree with the first statement because there are many of us being admitted to world-class universities to pursue their further studies every year but it would be unwise to jump to conclusion straight away on the second statement. One year ago, I was very fortunate to win a scholarship to attend one very unique school i.e. LPCUWC where representatives from 64 countries converge and meet. Though I was elected one of the ten 'Students of the Year' in Hong Kong by South China Morning Post, I see my inadequacy through collaborating with people of different cultures. As to improve myself, I grasp every opportunity to assimilate with students with varying cultural backgrounds and hence, I joined the cultural exchange programme and visited India and China where my fellow students and I gave English tutorial lessons to the village kids and helped them build a playground. After attending an English teaching training programme organized by the British Council, I gave free tutorial lessons to the underprivileged primary and secondary school kids in Hong Kong. This has been a very gratifying experience. My academic interest comprises mainly genetics and bioinformatics. Coincidentally I have learnt various facts of life from both Huxley's fiction 'Brave New World' and television science programmes like 'Brave New Man' by BBC; they prompted me that there are virtually no limits to biology. I take pleasure in reading beyond the IB syllabus. To further enrich my knowledge in biotechnology, I applied and was selected to join the Young Scholar Programme for Biology of the 21st Century organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) during summer vacation this year and had much hands-on laboratorial experience in gene cloning and polymerase chain reaction. Recalling what Professor Sun, Chairman of Biology of CUHK said, 'Computer science is yesterday's future while biology promises the future of tomorrow in the 21st century'. This has afforded me the opportunity to explore deeper into my field of study in university and consolidate the pursuit of my future career. Being awarded the best individual presenter and best presenting group in the aforementioned programme further enhanced my confidence in taking a biology-related subject as my target. My quest for knowledge is as fervent as for happiness. I am always eager to find out more on a particular subject of interest. Last year, I was inspired by the Oscar-winning movie 'A Beautiful Mind' and that was how I ended up doing an extended research on game theory, in particular, the Newcomb's Problem. The study has given me a new perspective in life and decision making which I found extremely interesting. I also enjoy being an active member of my college community. Previously, I have participated in many cultural evening performances as well as being the Audio Visual Team and Filming and Editing Team leader. During leisure time, I enjoy kayaking and jam sessions with my friends. Dormitory life in LPCUWC has certainly given me a lot of enjoyment and chance to learn from different cultures but still I am convinced that this will not be the best two years of my life as this is only a preparatory stage to university life. Moreover, I will only feel true satisfaction when I can contribute to mankind by utilising what I will have gained from university life.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Please describe which of your activities (extracurricular and personal activities or work experience) has been most meaningful and why. (Minor Essay)
Working closely with UNICEF last year was an invaluable and unforgettable experience. Through the UNICEF Young Leaders Program, I deeply connected with the UNICEF family. As one of twenty young leaders for UNICEF in Hong Kong, I feel exceptionally proud and satisfied working for the children of the world by promoting awareness and raising funds for UNICEF. In April last year, I represented Hong Kong while attending a conference for the Young Parliament in Geneva, Switzerland, where we had a great time sharing the opinion of youth towards our government and the world. I also had the honor to visit and appreciate the operations of various UN organizations such as UNICEF, ILO, WHO, UNHCR and UNAIDS. I was fortunate enough to have met Mr Steven Woodhouse, the regional director of UNICEF in Europe. We exchanged our views on world affairs, especially children's issues. Being able to appreciate the work of United Nations had a great impact on my perspective of being an internationally responsible citizen and further consolidated my desire to work for UNICEF in a period of my lifetime.
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Essay Question:
Major Essay - Personal Statement
Throughout my secondary school career, I have really dedicated much of my time to furthering my knowledge of science and conducting research. I have been involved in several different research endeavors over the last few years and have won numerous distinctions. Over the last three years, through my extensive involvement in environmental preservation, I came to realize that there are many severe problems that urban lakes are facing in our modern era. I chose to examine the effects of eutrophication (the process by which a body of water becomes rich in phosphate compounds and becomes shallow with marked deficiencies in dissolved oxygen) in local bodies of water in the Los Angeles Area, namely Madrona Marsh (City of Torrance) and Harbor Lake Machado (Harbor City), and found that phosphate pollution was extremely severe in these areas. After extensive research, I found that phosphate binders, common substances used to treat medical patients with phosphate retention, could be used in this situation, and I devised a filtration system to remove phosphate and ammonia through ion-exchange and accelerated denitrification. I was extremely excited to find that these filters were extremely successful, and currently, the City of Torrance is in the process of funding construction of these filters at Madrona Marsh. For this research, I was awarded best of category and first place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Environmental Science in May 2002. In addition, I have won third place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in 2001, as well as first place at the California State Science Fair and Los Angeles County Science Fair. I am in the process of patenting this filtration system and am submitting my paper for publication to several national journals. I am also participating in the Intel Science Talent Search and the Siemens Westinghouse Science Competition, in which I currently hold semi-finalist status, with this work. I hope that this research will eventually lead to the betterment of lake ecosystems throughout the world. In addition to this research, I have also worked under Dr. Vito M. Campese, M.D., chief of the Division of Nephrology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, for the past three years conducting research on neurogenic hypertension. I have worked extensively in this lab utilizing several techniques, including nephrectomy, femoral artery catheterization, DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription, and western blotting. This research has produced two papers for publication, entitled 'Renal Injury Caused by Intrarenal Injection of Phenol Increases Afferent and Efferent Renal Sympathetic Nerve Activity' (American Journal of Hypertension 2002; 15(8):717-724) and 'Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Stimulate Central and Peripheral Sympathetic Nervous System Activity' (In Approval Stages), in both of which I am a co-author. I have spent over 1000 hours during the past three years conducting research at the University of Southern California, and this type of research particularly interests me. My ultimate dream is to pursue an academic research career. Research has truly been a rewarding experience in my life. I have worked more than 2000 hours during my years as a secondary school student, and I know that my future will be in scientific research and investigation. Through my counselors, previous university alumni from my school, and my own research, I have found that this would be a perfect fit for me in every way. The extensive research conducted there, specifically in natural sciences, and the caliber of the professors with whom I would be working would truly allow me to grow and mature as a scientist, which is my ultimate lifetime goal. I think that my intellectual curiosity, dedication towards research, and extensive experience will contribute greatly to the university community.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Major Essay - Describe the most important activity in high school?
My Efforts in Preserving the Environment Of all the activities in which I have been involved, I have been most passionate and committed to environmental preservation and restoration. I have dedicated much of my time outside my rigorous academic schedule to environmental service and have served and continue to serve on the executive boards of several organizations that are committed to this very goal. Since seventh grade, I have spent many hours doing conservation work and I realized the only way to further this goal is to be active politically and by drawing commitment from other people. With this in mind, in ninth grade, I founded the Environmental Sciences Club at my school and became its president. In my three years at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, I have encouraged more than 200 students to commit more than 3000 hours in conservation efforts to make my school one of the most active groups in the area. That year, I was invited by the president of our local chapter of the National Audubon Society to speak at the national conference in Asilomar, California, about the significance of youth in environmental service and I was conferred the Audubon Youth Environmental Service (YES!) Award for my work. I subsequently received an invitation to join the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Board of Directors as a student representative. In tenth grade, I spearheaded an effort to create the Audubon YES! Council to help coordinate youth environmental activities throughout the South Bay. This council, of which I am currently vice president, now comprises representatives from over twenty high schools acting diligently to increase awareness and promote student involvement. In recognition of my efforts, I was awarded the first Audubon YES! Council award by the Palos Verdes South Bay Audubon Society in 2002, and I was made a student YES! Council representative of their board of directors. In 2000, I created a school-wide recycling program for cans, bottles, and aluminum. After many frustrated attempts, I was finally able to get approval for the program and locate private sources willing to donate all necessary equipment to the school. Since its inception, the Environmental Sciences Club has very successfully headed this program. Concurrently, I conducted in-depth research to reduce water pollution, and served as a consultant to the Friends of Madrona Marsh Board of Directors and the Harbor Park Advisory Council on water quality issues. In recognition of these various efforts, I was conferred the 2002 Palos Verdes South Bay Audubon Society Youth Conservation Award, given annually to the student who best exemplifies conservation efforts in the local and regional communities. I also received the 2002 Palos Verdes Peninsula Coordinating Council and County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Teen Service Awards. During secondary school, I have dedicated over 1400 hours to these efforts, and this impacted my life in many positive ways. I have learned the value of community work where results can only be achieved with the collaboration of many people, organizations, and elected representatives working together in conjunction towards a cleaner, healthier, and balanced world. The protection of our environment is an unending task. It is hard, unpredictable work but vital to our survival and to the quality of our lives on this planet. I am very proud to be a part of it, but at the same time humbled by the immensity of the task ahead of us.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Major Essay - describe a unique experience in high school.
It is a sad fact that many species on this planet are endangered or have become extinct due to human activities, especially in recent decades. I have always had a strong desire to be part of efforts to stem or reverse this trend. Due to my many environmental efforts and research that I conducted to reduce water pollution, I was afforded the unique opportunity to visit the Amazon Rainforest in August 2002 to study two species of endangered turtles in the Araguaia National Park (Ilha do Bananal), Brazil. Because of my first place finish in the environmental sciences division at the Los Angeles County Science Fair in 2002, I was also awarded a Helen and Peter Bing Earthwatch Fellowship for the expedition, which included a full share of cost payment and a travel stipend. This project was co-sponsored by the Earthwatch Institute, the Tocantins State University, and Instituto Ecolsgica of Brazil. I had the pleasure of working with a diverse international team of volunteers and researchers for two weeks in a remote region of the Amazon. Our goal was to locate and preserve hundreds of turtle nests from predation by transferring the eggs to safer locations. We also used granulometrics and thermographs to show the correlation between temperature, humidity, and grain sizes to incubation period and sex determination. The two species of turtles involved were the Tracaja (Podocnemis unifilis) and the Amazonian (Podocnemis expansa); these are endangered for many reasons: illegal poaching, deforestation, water pollution, and climate change. The work that was done in the two weeks of the project will hopefully save thousands of turtles and help in the long run to increase the turtle populations back to self-sustaining levels. Overall, the project was extremely successful, and hopefully will make a difference in the protection of these extremely important and beautiful animals. The epitome of the trip was by far the day sighting of a female Tracaja laying eggs. Such a sight is so rare in these early night-laying turtles that the principal investigator, Dr. Adriana Malvasio, had only seen it twice in the many years that she has worked with the animals. Even more amazing, the second group had also found a turtle on another beach. It was almost as though fate had determined for us to find these turtles that morning commemorating our two weeks of work in helping these turtles. A coincidence or an act of fate - something we will never know; but it certainly brought to a grand finale the trip of a lifetime. This was truly an exciting experience, and I hope that I will someday get the opportunity to visit the Amazon once again. I would have to say that the Amazon Turtles expedition was definitely one of the best experiences of my life thus far, if not the best -- it is certainly something that will stay with me for rest of my life. The friendly people, the unique surroundings, and the invaluable environmental work really came together to make this a truly memorable trip.
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Essay Question:
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
I grew up in Latvia. The stage of fairy tales. Where Sleeping Beauty lay and Snow White hid from the wicked witch. This enchanted setting sheltered me from the turmoil of my birthplace. Barely safe from the grip of communist Russia, Latvia was as uninviting as a Siberian winter. Before birth, I had two strikes against me: my family's belief in Judaism and my Russian nationality. Latvians saw both of these cultures not only as alien but also pernicious; they treated the two with outward hostility, leaving me family to feel the hate. Antipathy became part of our daily lives. A Latvian woman even chased my ten-year-old brother off a public bus after discovering that he went to a Jewish school. With many such incidents, my mother knew that living in Latvia was no longer a viable option. She began the arduous process of acquiring refugee status for my family. Our physical passage to America was simple. We took a train to Moscow and after a short stopover at JFK, flew to Los Angeles. However, the emotional repercussions of this short trip were far more lasting. The inability of my seven-year-old mind to comprehend the possibilities of the American dream sank me into a depression. I saw only the negative: I had left behind my father, grandparents, friends, home and way of life. I entered a world where I was a deaf-mute. Understanding nothing and unable to communicate, a sense of impending doom haunted my life. I am going to fail, I thought. This is not my land. Arriving home after a long day of school, I would sit down in front of the TV, mute the volume and watch the jubilant mid-day Duck Tales cartoon run before me as I sobbed my pain. Soon after moving to the US, I morphed from a loving, carefree child into something that could only be described as a dry husk. I went through the day mechanically: woke up at 6am, chewed and swallowed my scrambled eggs, rode the bus to school, sat in class straining to catch a word here or there, came home dizzy with exhaustion, cried, and went off to bed only to repeat the same empty routine the next day. But I was born a fighter. This was a 'sink or swim' situation and I would not flounder. After months of struggling with the language, my thinking suddenly transferred from Russian to English. It was as though someone had flicked on an internal switch. Armed with self-expression, I released my unspoken emotions. As I look back on the experience of my immigration, I thank my mother for her wisdom in bringing us to America. I remember the experience of feeling caged by an inability to communicate. This is why I educate myself: never again do I want to be limited by a lack of knowledge. Like Sleeping Beauty, I awoke from my slumber, but not to a handsome prince, rather I awoke to a renewed zeal for education and life.
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Essay Question:
MAJOR ESSAY. Supplementary essay
My name is my umbilical cord to my father. In Russia a middle name or otchestvo combines a father's first name with a feminine or masculine ending. Donna Gregorievna Ivry: Donna daughter of Gregory, next generation of the Ivry family. Not only does this connect me to a long line of Ivrys, it also provides a daily reminder of my father. For most this would be an honor, but for me, it bears pain and regret. My parents divorced when I was five years old and have not spoken since. When my mom decided to move to America, my dad refused. In Russia, both parents have to consent to a child moving away. My mom would not leave without my brother and me. And so, the battle began. My mom waived alimony and begged for my dad to allow the move. After several tear-filled phone calls and screaming matches, my dad relented. We moved to the US on May 12, 1992, but my dad stayed behind. I am not angry with him for what he did to my mom, causing migraines and gray hairs, but for the years he ignored me. He never called or wrote a letter, and the seven year old in me can never forgive the abandonment, the horrible self-doubt. Did I do something wrong? Does my dad not love me anymore? These feelings are now a dull ache, but every Father's Day the pain sharpens into a deep throb. My father tried a reunion, but the endless stories of childhood memories were not enough. Two years and the bond between father and daughter was irreparably broken. In order to sever the remaining connection between my father and me, I changed my middle to Emily, the last string of attachment officially cut away. I changed my middle name because I am hurt and seeing it reminds me of what I do not have: a father. I lack a real emotional tie with the man whose biological features I share. The most painful part is knowing that I might never get back that relationship. Forgiveness takes time and my wounds have not yet begun to heal. This is why, if given the opportunity, I would opt to spend my 10 dollars on two Starbucks coffees and a chance to reconnect and forgive the name who is my father in name only.
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Essay Question:
Valued extracurricular activity
BEST BUDDIES IS AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION WHOSE CHAPTER ON MY SCHOOL CAMPUS PROVIDES ONE-ON-ONE FRIENDSHIPS BETWEEN DISABLED STUDENTS AND THEIR NON-DISABLED PEERS. SINCE JOINING BEST BUDDIES SEVEN YEARS AGO, I HAVE BEEN ON THE BOARD OF MY SCHOOLS CHAPTER. EVEN THOUGH THE TITLES OF MY POSITION CHANGED FROM TREASURER TO HISTORIAN TO SECRETARY TO VICE-PRESIDENT, MY COMMITMENT HAS REMAINED UNFLAGGING. I HAVE DEDICATED COUNTLESS HOURS MAKING SURE THAT OUR MONTHLY ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS A TRIP TO THE LA BREA TAR PITS (LOCAL NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM) AND VALENTINES DAY DANCE, GO ACCORDING TO PLAN. FOR THE PAST TWO END-OF-THE-YEAR BANQUETS, I HAVE CREATED A POWERPOINT SLIDE SHOW WITH OVER 100 SLIDES AND MUSIC CAPTURING THE ALL THE YEARS MOMENTS. AS THE TEARS RAN DOWN THE FACES OF STUDENTS AND PARENTS ALIKE, A FEELING OF PRIDE SWEPT THROUGH ME. MY HARD WORK MADE THE BANQUET ALL THE MORE SPECIAL. I HAVE SEEN WHAT A DIFFERENCE I HAVE MADE WHEN PARENTS TELL ME HOW THEY HAVE SEEN THEIR CHILD GROW FROM AN INTROVERTED FRESHMAN TO A LOQUACIOUS SENIOR. I HAVE SEEN HOW DISABLED STUDENTS SMILE WHEN THEY FIND THAT THEY NOW HAVE FRIENDS. I HAVE SEEN HOW THIS ORGANIZATION WORKS MIRACLES AND I HAVE SEEN HOW ONE PERSON CAN CHANGE THE WORLD ONE SMILE AT A TIME.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
A major essay on a topic of my choice
My Two Worlds 'Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.' Robert Frost I have often wondered what makes a person an artist. I believe that people, who deal with any type of art, have an intrinsic feeling towards the beautiful. However, this appreciation of the beautiful can be honed and transformed in what we call a 'sense of aesthetics'. A study of the history of art, its present trends and future horizons, as well as the ability to travel and explore, to learn both from the achievements and failures of our civilization, are all crucial elements in the development of this sense. I believe that at present I am exposed to such experiences, which will shape my imagination and perception. My experiences in childhood, as well as the transforming exposure to a new country over the last several months have had a great impact on me. I come from a small but unique country - Bulgaria. Situated at the tail of Europe, it has linked the East and West for millennia. Bulgarias key location is the reason for its extremely rich 13-century history and heritage. It has been home to many civilizations: Thracian, Slav, Roman, Byzantine, Proto-Bulgarian and Ottoman. Thus, Bulgarian customs and traditions have evolved into a unique blend stemming from various customs. Through its wisdom, the Bulgarian folklore has enriched my personality and has expanded my knowledge greatly. Ever since I was a kid, I have been enchanted by the preserved traditional houses, numerous old monasteries, stone sculptures made centuries ago, and the golden treasures of the ancient Thracians, now on exhibit at the National Museum. Of all the treasures my country has to offer, I have always been captivated by the traditional Bulgarian architecture. Every house has its own charm and characteristic appearance but adorned with common elements, such as the wide eaves of stone-tilted roofs, spacious rooms, elaborately carved wooden ceilings, bright window seats, and darkened walls of the fireplace. Many facades, with heavy stone rustication on the lower level, are blue, orange-brown or intricately decorated with paintings. Each building is more than just a structure - it is a home offering warmth and gathering the emotions of its inhabitants, a home to the spiritual strivings of the Bulgarian. These houses are not simply a monument to an architectural phenomenon - from them emanates the rich and proud history of an entire nation. Now, entire towns, recognized as international treasures, are under the protection of UNESCO. As much as the exceptional heritage of my country has intrigued me, I am also deeply drawn to the breadth and creativity in modern architecture. This creativity is evidenced to the greatest extent in the metropolitan marvels of the world. One of the most memorable moments in my life was my arrival in the US - I was at the gateway to a new experience. Visits to New York City and Montreal left indelible impressions. I would never forget the sight of the Seagram Building, standing proudly and pointing towards the sky. It struck me as a vision, something I have never seen before. I felt simultaneously deep admiration and amazement before this monumental structure, made entirely from modern materials, such as glass, bronze, and steel. This effect was enhanced by the surrounding skyscrapers such as the Lever Building, all variations of the new religion of architecture - transparency, fluidity, and openness of spaces which are achieved through the 'glass membrane' of the facades. In addition to my real-life experiences in the last several months, my History of Architecture course taught me how to study and analyze the works of some of the most influential architects, such as Wright, Gropius, Sullivan, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe. Exploring the way each one of them combines abstract art with classical form and a tendency towards pure geometry, as well as the images of new machines, was an experience in itself. I further benefited form the research and in-depth analysis of Renzo Piano's career and his private museums. I spent hours studying the way he incorporates entirely glass roofs in his museums in order to create a natural atmosphere for the art works on display by allowing softer sun light to enter the plain but elegant galleries. I would never tire of exploring how architects treat space, materials, and the surrounding environment. I am grateful for having the unique opportunity of experiencing both the classical tradition of my country and the new and modern I see here in the United States. The combination of these two worlds, traditional and innovative, has and will continue to shape my sense of aesthetics, so that I can fulfill my dream of being an architect. I hope the influence of these two worlds on my imagination will allow me one day to transform every empty space into a 'new microcosm' which with its harmony would enhance the energy of its inhabitants.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
A major essay on a topic "Why do you decided to transfer to Harvard/Cornell?Why is transferring important to you and how can you contribute to our university?"
Last year I graduated from high school and came to the United States of America in order to pursue my educational interests. I chose to come here since I believe that in order to create art a person should feel free and travel offers such freedom. In addition to the pure physical experience, I wanted to immerse myself into new traditions, new people, new lifestyles, and new places. Since I came to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, I have had the great opportunity to do exactly that. My first trip was to New York City. I would never forget such striking views as the Rockefeller Center, rising monumentally up in the sky as if to pierce heaven; Grand Central Station with its ceiling decorated according to astrology; the majestic Gothic Cathedral St. Thomas; and Central Park, a little haven from the daily routine. In addition to the numerous treasures which New York offers, rural villages and towns in the vicinity of my college impressed me with their simple beauty. The low stone or brick houses with their carefully arranged gardens create a cozy and romantic atmosphere. Over the past year, I have been increasingly involved in the study of art in general and architecture in particular. When I read about the history of art and architecture program at Harvard, I realized that it was exactly what I was looking for - a focused art and architecture curriculum that will give me the chance to pursue my interests in depth and will give me the foundation to later pursue a master's degree in architecture. Moreover, given the long history and great reputation of the program (in contrast to the recently originated architecture minor at Lafayette), I am certain I will find a strong faculty with vast experience. I also look forward to studying with a highly competitive group of students, so that we can challenge each other, so we can share the same goals and work hard towards achieving them. In my first semester of undergraduate study, I enrolled in courses that have given me a broad foundation in engineering, history of architecture, art, and calculus. I have studied design problems in engineering - the way to approach and solve them in the most efficient way. In addition, I have explored the development of architecture from the early Renaissance to Postmodernism as well as the properties of the different types of materials and their application in engineering and architectural structures. I have already registered for more advanced courses in architecture and engineering for the spring semester, including Architectural Design and Theory as well as a Sculpture course that examines spatial organization and architecture. Thus, both the artistic (design, drawing) and technical (engineering, AutoCAD, math) aspects of my courses will give me a broad base for my further education in the field of architecture. I would be able to use both parts of my brain - logic and imagination, which is extremely valuable in the modern world. I believe that my personal qualities would also make me fit well at Harvard. I am very ambitious and enjoy challenges. According to my understanding of quality education, the greater competition is a key element in an academic environment since it provides challenges and they lead to development and progress of ones skills and personality. That is why not only am I not afraid from challenges, but most of the time I create them through the high goals I set for myself. I am always fully committed to the things I am working on. I am engaged with my work, hobbies, and interests not only through reason but also emotionally. I am a very open minded person, who easily socializes and creates new contacts. I believe that both my nature to explore and develop my personality and my openness to the novel will match Harvard's diverse community I am confident that Harvard is the university that will give me the knowledge I need in order to fulfill my goals and dreams and to develop myself as a person. I am also sure that if given the chance, I will make a meaningful contribution to Harvard's community.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Describe a defining experience from your life.(Major essay, personal statement)
We were flying for nine hours over the invariable blue infinity of the Atlantic Ocean. I already had the impression that we left Sofia Airport a week ago, when, all of a sudden, I saw the brown shape of land under us. I couldn't remove my face from the narrow window, as the big Jumbo 747 passed over Newfoundland and approached the north coast of the U.S.A. That was my first sight of the New World, the event I've been dreaming of since I was eight. At that time I read my first novel written by an American author - The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper. Since then I had the most cherished fantasies of seeing this glorious land where different cultures and civilizations met and clashed for existence. And the moment I first beheld America, I found out that even then, at sixteen, those fantasies from my early childhood were still alive deep inside my heart. Half an hour later, the yellow beaches of Long Island emerged under us and I saw the endless multitude of houses called Suburbia. If I have to be honest, I was a little disillusioned. This picture appeared so ordinary and predictable. I expected a forest of skyscrapers covering all visible land, or at least the Statue of Liberty. But unfortunately, I didn't see anything of the kind. The plane landed at J.F.K. Airport. I was so excited and impatient to see my parents, that I almost forgot my bag on the luggage shelf. I hadn't seen them for nearly three years. They came to the land of unlimited opportunity to begin a new life, away from the rotten society of communism in Bulgaria. My father graduated first in his class from the Polytechnic Institute in Prague and was an engineer on the top of the line in my country. But he wasn't recognized in his field and was submitted to all kinds of outrages because of the fact that he didnt join the communist party in Bulgaria. He came to America at the age of forty and began from the very bottom. For three years he worked as a helper for some construction company in Brooklyn, carrying garbage and mixing concrete. He worked often 16 to 18 hours a day for a minimum salary of $4 an hour. But he endured everything with the only hope to bring his children to America and to provide them with the opportunity of a valuable education and better life than his own. And then, when I stepped on American land, I realized that his dream had come true and his efforts were worth it. But when I first saw my parents in that crowded waiting room at the airport, I felt very strange and uneasy. My mind was put between the memory of them and the actual reality, and the big difference confused me. They had changed so much, that I had a hard time accepting them as the same people I knew three years ago. My father had grown fatter and the number of white hairs on his head had greatly increased. A large percentage of my mom's hair had whitened, too; however, she was prettier, and as it seemed to me, younger. When I got to them, I put the luggage on the floor and hugged them both. Yes, it was different, much different from the last hug between parents and their child. This was a hug between adults, glad to see each other again, after a long time. At least, that's how it felt for me, and I knew that it couldn't go back. Nobody said anything, although there were so many things to say. My father took one of the suitcases, I took the other, and we headed to the parking lot in front of the airport. We got to a purple Oldsmobile station wagon: our car. I had almost forgotten the word 'our'. It just had lost the meaning of something that one shares with people close and dear to him, with his family. During the three years spent in the French boarding school in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, I got used to take care of myself and to depend on my own decisions and judgments. I excelled in school and everything I did, thanks to my own efforts and hard work, and my own enthusiasm to be the best. Then I decided to prove to the world my will and learned four languages in three year. During those hardest years of my life, however, while I was undergoing the complex change from a child to an adult and needed the most the spiritual and moral support of my parents, they were missing and I was left to cope with the biggest cataclysm in my life alone. It is true that my grandparents tried hard to play the invaluable role of parents but the vital influence of my real ones was irreplaceable. On the way home I was looking through the window at the beautiful views outside. It was April and the first signs of spring were embellishing everything. But I was indifferent to the splendor of nature. I was too busy making a summary of my short life and thinking how the enormous change, which I was undergoing, was going to change the course of my future. How would I live with my parents again? What would happen to my education? How would I integrate in this society completely new to me? Would I see my friends and my country again? All these questions were flooding my brain and made me feel dizzy. Suddenly, I felt exhausted of all the dilemmas that confronted me and I wanted to forget everything. Besides the confusion in mind, the jetlag from the ten-hour flight contributed to my complete exhaustion. My eyes closed by themselves and in a moment I fell asleep without even realizing it.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
What personal experience determined your life choices to the greatest extent. (major essay)
My interest in medicine began with the personal and national tragedy of the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in the spring of 1986. My little brother Damian was born on Christmas day, 1980, when I was four years old. I still remember how happy I was when the doctor opened the door of the waiting room in the Sofia General Hospital and announced that it was a boy. No one could have predicted what would happen five years later, on a beautiful Saturday morning in the spring of 1986. My family had just arrived at our summerhouse in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria for the weekend. As I played outside, my mother struggled to put Damian to sleep. She was worried because the boy had been crying all day long and seemed to be suffering from some kind of allergic reaction. Soon after we got back home that evening, Damian experienced violent seizures and lapsed into a coma. My parents, hysterical, rushed him to the hospital and brought me along. We stayed there late into the night, watching through the windows of the emergency room as doctors tried frantically to save his life. I was terrified, confused, and unable to understand what was causing so much pain to my family. I had lost strength even for prayers. Unlike many other young Bulgarian children at that time, my brother lived, but only to embark on a long and agonizing struggle for survival. Damian's immune system had been severely damaged from the Chernobyl radiation. He would need to take various medications on a regular basis for the rest of his life. My parents were trying to do everything in their power to ensure the best possible life for him and in the summer of 1990 my family left for the United States. I stayed behind since I had just been accepted to the prestigious French Language Boarding School. The thought of Damian, however, never left me. I set a new goal for myself - to become a medical scientist and find a cure that could help my brother and other people with immunodeficiency diseases. In the meantime, I cared for my grandparents and strove to excel at school. I decided to test the strength of my will and for the next two and a half years I learned French, English, Spanish, and Russian at the level of proficiency. I also participated in science and math Olympiads and volunteered at a homeless shelter and the Bulgarian Red Cross. I became independent, taking care of myself and relying on my own judgment. By the end of my third year I ranked in the top 1% of my class. Then, in the spring of 1993, I received a visa for the United States and finally rejoined my family in New York. The happiness of the reunion, however, was eclipsed by the worsening condition of my brother. He had undergone treatments at some of the leading hospitals in the U.S., with little effect. Damian was extremely depressed and had no motivation. His deterioration threatened to affect his academic career and compromise his future as well as his health. I decided that the best way to help my brother was to inspire him by being a positive role model. This thought gave me tremendous strength. Despite the challenges of a foreign language and new educational environment, I worked hard and excelled academically. I also tutored and volunteered in the homes of elderly people afflicted by stroke. In the summer of 1994 I was accepted on a full scholarship to a science program at Columbia University. It focused on Genetics and Molecular Biology and presented a great opportunity to do research. After I completed the program, I continued working with a Biochemistry professor on a project involving bacterial conjugation for which I wrote an original thesis report. The project was awarded the semifinalist title in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. The results were gratifying. Damian was moved by my personal example and continuous support. Despite his condition, he became enthusiastic about academic and extracurricular activities. His schoolwork improved substantially and in the spring of his freshman year in high school he joined the soccer team. He regained his confidence and made new friends. At Harvard I concentrated in Biochemical Sciences and took some of the most challenging courses offered. An example is the Introduction to Molecular Immunology I took in my third year. Despite the challenging nature of this medical school-format course, I was fascinated with the subject and intrigued by the experiments in the field. The material was relevant to my brother's struggle with immunodeficiency disease and I saw parallels between his condition and AIDS. For that reason, I decided to join a lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute where I had the opportunity to do research in the field of HIV vaccine development and write my senior thesis, which was awarded a summa cum laude. In conclusion, the most valuable asset I can bring to the medical profession is my deep-felt commitment to helping people with serious disease. I will never forget the effects of the Chernobyl disaster, which cost the lives and health of thousands of innocent people, one of which was my brother. As a witness affected personally by that horror, I vowed never to give up my dream of helping people worldwide. I believe the best way to fulfill this promise is through the study and practice of medicine.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Common Application: Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, or risk that you have taken and its impact on you.
A princess at the age of five' I reigned over my imaginary kingdom in the library's children's area every Saturday morning. The cushy seat was my royal throne and the endless shelves of books were my domain. As ruler of a magical land, I had the power to explore Africa, to fly with Babar, or to cross the Boston streets with ducklings at the slight flip of a page. Rows of adventure laid at my disposal. I loved the children's area, the tollbooth to my Wonderland. As I grew older, I still visited the library and knew the librarians by name. However, I spent more time researching in the nonfiction section than daydreaming in the children's area. Sports, music and academics had replaced my adventures into fantasyland. My reign as princess existed only in memories. One Saturday morning, while I returned a reference book, the head-librarian Jennifer voiced her troubles to me. With furrowed brows, she told me apprehensively that the story lady had just phoned in sick. Yet she loath to cancel story hour the sight of eager kids already seated at the children's corner. Sensing her dilemma, I volunteered to be the storyteller for the day. Entering the children's area was like meeting an old friend, but being the storyteller - the center of thirty pairs of eyes' made my stomach churn. With clammy hands, I gingerly picked up a copy of The Three Little Pigs and began to read in a shaky voice. 'Speak slowly. Enunciate. Don't rush,' I inculcated. 'The children count on you to bring the story to life. Don't screw up!' I reminded myself. 'This is just like reading to your brother at night. Confidence. Control. Think of this as giving a concert. Be passionate! Wait - read slower - you can do it. Don't be shy to be a fool. Have fun!' With these encouraging thoughts, I became the raconteur, painting pictures with my voice and hands. When the wolf in the story 'huffed and puffed', I stretched my neck, inflated my cheeks and blew obnoxiously. When the wolf finished devouring a pig, I leaned back, rubbed my stomach and licked my lips slowly. The children and parents laughed, mimicking me by sticking out their tongues and oinking like pigs. Together, we all became the wolf and the three pigs. At the conclusion of the last page, I felt breathless but elated; invigorated by the children's cheers, I opened another tale. Story time has brought me back to the children's section; it has reminded of my imaginative past and returned me to my carefree youth. Every weekend, I reenter magical dragon guarded castles and fairy kingdoms to embark on arduous quest. However this time, I am more than the starry-eyed child who flips though pictures books looking for adventure' I am now 'The story lady', the 'li-berry-ann', the friendly face who safeguards the crowns for the future princes and princesses.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Major: Write a personal essay that will help us to know you better. Ex. Families, intellectual and extracurricular interest, ethnicity or culture, school and community events to which you have strong reactions, people who have influenced you, significant experience, personal aspirations, or topics that spring entirely from your imaginations. You should feel confident that in writing about what matters to you, you are bound to convey a strong sense of who you are. (500)
I hug the dryer fresh warm blanket closer around me. Outside the ominous sky threatens to pit fat raindrops against my curtain-drawn windows, but I am safe from the blustering gale. I am in my room, my sanctuary where I can think. Drawing a pillow closer to my chest, I curl up on my bed to reread a worn copy of The Glass Menagerie. Laura lived in her imaginary world - what type of world do I live in? Am I like her? I suppose that I am similar to Laura Wingfield that I reflect upon the past. I can vividly recall my kindergarten self planting leaves and counting stars; playground games seemed only like yesterday: swinging on swings, jumping on seesaws and climbing on monkey bars. However, I have moved on. My past does not define me; it only shaped me. No, though I remember my childhood, I am not Laura - I do not live in memories. As a young girl, I was shy and afraid to express my views like Laura. But after I began playing the violin, I grew outspoken and self-assured - my violin pushed me to overcome my introverted nature. My instrument's four resonate strings and warm sound box believed in me by freeing my emotions and allowing me to sing. From each recital and concert, I gained a bit of confidence - until I finally locked my fluttering butterflies in cocoons within my stomach. My violin is my springboard to the world. It gives me the courage to lead story time and the confidence to serve as Academic League Captain. Without my violin, I would probably be the silent Laura, hiding in the classroom corner rather than leading the class discussions. Laura isolated herself in her glass menagerie and never connected with others. I also have an eclectic trinket collection, but I realize that crystal ornaments are only objects. No matter how sparking or clear they are, they lack the warmth, the trust and the understanding found in human-to-human relationships. I build these bonds between hearts. As a Peer Advocate, I connect with cancer patients, pregnant teens, and failing athletes by listening to their personal experiences and supporting them on their path to success. Through counseling, tutoring and encouraging, I have learned how to empathize and identify with others. My world extends beyond inanimate objects into the emotional realm. And unlike Laura, I dream of the future. I embrace change, I question life, and I wonder about tomorrow. Will I do well on my statistics test? Will become a Yalie and study under Dr. Richard Edelson? Will I make a difference? Find success? Find happiness? These questions linger in my mind as my eyelids begin to feel heavy. The play falls from my fingertips as my head drops into the pillow. The sound of pattering rain fades as I slowly drift off to sleep...
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Minor: How have you taken advantage of the educational opportunities you have had to prepare for college?
It was six o'clock. I stood at the main gate clutching my backpack tightly in both hands while watching my dad drive away to his night shift job. His last reassurances echoed in my ears as I turned to walk towards class. I tried unsuccessfully to control my jumpy steps as shivers of excitement and fear ran down my spine. It was my first day of school again; it was my first time as a college student. That night marked the advent of my college experience. The year before, I had completed my middle school's highest math level, and I now had the choice to either skip math for a year or enroll in a community college class. At first, I did not know that to do. I loved math but I felt apprehensive of being a junior high student in a college course. After long deliberations, I decided to take the challenge. I enrolled, and I excelled in the college Intermediate Algebra class. Ever since taking that first math class, I have continued to challenge myself with other courses such as chemistry, French and statistics. College is now familiar territory; college classes are where I can study subjects in depth and satisfy my craving for knowledge.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Name an item that is special to you and explain why it is.
'Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.' Forrest Gump Here he comes again, stomping down the stairs with big thumps. Even as I sit here on the other side of the house, I can feel the ground shake as he approaches. His face soon appears above my soles as his bare feet slide on top of me. The moment I feel his calloused feet against my foot beds, I wonder what our next adventure will be. Hardly a day passes when I am not with him. Every day through sun, wind, rain, and yes, even snow, I protect his feet. People tell him that he is crazy for wearing Birkenstock sandals in the winter, but I know that I am special to him. He is always running'to school, to Student Council meetings, to volunteer at the hospital - so I suppose that is why he and I are always a pair; he just needs to slip me on, and he is set to run out the door. We share many memories. I will never forget those long physics lab periods when he would pour over his work, making sure he examined every aspect of an experiment, or those days he would stay after school just to run extra trials. I could always tell whenever he got frustrated because his right foot would begin to shake, but he never quit; his curiosity would not let him. I remember days in government class when he would get into political debates with his teacher. Sometimes he would win, sometimes he would not, but he always came out of them more knowledgeable about the topic than he had been going in. He is never afraid to speak his mind and stand up for what matters to him. Together, we have marched in human rights protests in New York City, circulated petitions at his school, and fought the school board for club funding. Sometimes, he even fights with his brother for the remote control, but that's him, always passionate about what he does. Yet he never forgets about his other interests, however small. Sometimes we hang out in Barnes and Noble as he flips through magazines, looking for articles on international politics. There are sunny days we go to the park and toss Frisbees with his friends and rainy days we run out and dance in the rain. As a duo, we once joined in a snowball fight, only quitting when his feet began to turn shades of blue. I even remember, though not fondly, the day he used me as a projectile while horsing around with his friends. Still, I never miss a beat, even on sprints with his greyhound. I know he remembers the same things. Perhaps Forrest Gump's mother was right when she said that there are such things as magic shoes. But I am magical for a different reason: I can not only take my friend anywhere, but I can also take him to his memories of where he has been and what he has done. He will never leave me because we share these memories that pictures cannot capture. I know that when we arrive home after a long day, he will carefully place me in my corner spot near the door. There I will sit and wait, until I can again feel the rumble of his footsteps.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Essay, open topic
I remember her ridiculous pink Prada shirt, but not the color of her eyes. I recall sneering at her overstuffed shopping bags, but I don't think I once said hello. And I would never have given her a second thought, had it not been for that letter. Expecting just another update from the summer program I attended in Paris this July, I let the letter sit on my kitchen table for a few days, buried under a heap of college brochures. When I finally read it, I immediately threw it away because I did not want to face the shame and embarrassment that surfaced within me. Ashleigh had committed suicide in her Los Angeles home, only three months after I had crossed paths with her in France. The more I attempted to forget, the more I could not help remembering - all the wrong things. I realized I knew nothing about her interests or hopes, and I hadn't cared. I saw her as a clothes hanger, the sum of her possessions, and a representative of the materialism I despised because I could not afford to indulge it. Thrust in amongst a group of upper-class teenagers like Ashleigh for a month, I had been jealous of girls wielding daddy's credit card when I did not even have a daddy. I considered Ashleigh the quintessential materialist and shamelessly criticized her gaudy outfits and affectations. When Ashleigh was wearing a particularly flamboyant outfit, I commented that she might as well have plastered herself with hundred-dollar bills. Now, I realize that Ashleigh had been doing just that: Cloaking her insecurities and depression with money. Here was the real-life Richard Cory whom I had read about in ninth grade: A person secretly suffering despite an exterior image of monetary and social success. If Ashleigh was using money as a mask, I was even worse. I had judged her by appearances alone instead of looking beyond the surface. I do not delude myself with the notion that I could have prevented her tragedy. Although my actions had no direct impact on her, this experience has made me reevaluate my own priorities and recognize my own prejudices. Whether people shop at Kookai or Kmart, all have phobias, hopes, and private demons. I do not pretend that I will never again feel envious. But I will be more cautious with assumptions and hopefully more generous with compassion. Only by going beyond the surface can one connect to the humanity in another and have meaningful relationships. Yes, I remember the coat that I couldn't afford at the Galliries Lafayette, but I will never forget the time my friends and I sang to the guitar of a stranger on the bank of the Seine. I now understand that people and experiences characterize existence. Ashleigh's clothing was no more a measure of her being than my mother's salary is a measure of mine. I have either forgotten or never known anything important about Ashleigh. But her tragedy has taught me an unforgettable lesson about life.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Briefly discuss one book that has strongly influenced you.
Before his finest - The Great Gatsby - there was Fitzgerald's first - This Side of Paradise. And for all his pretty words in the former, my favorite remains the latter, for it is only in This Side of Paradise that one can see Fitzgerald flail, struggling to become a writer. The book is marred by moribund metaphors and stale similes, predictable plot and out-of-place poetry. The diction is as excessively rich as the Jazz Age Fitzgerald so violently denounces in The Great Gatsby. And that is what makes it so great - the mistakes - for there is no greater comfort for an aspiring writer than watching one of the finest authors fight the same old literary battle, shielded only by a thesaurus. So when I sit down to write at my desk and stare at the computer screen and sigh because the words sound so insubstantial, I set aside my subpar syllables and pick up This Side of Paradise. Fitzgerald plays teacher, I play his faithful pupil, and we learn to write together. We become beginners again, writing for the first time, with words as flawed as our first novels.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
Resplendent Awakening Every morning I cannot await the nervous warmth that creeps into my hands. The sensation that quivers in my chest, that brings me nearer, that draws me closer, to the unexplainable magnetic force of my significant other. He is not particularly tall, handsome, or muscular, but there is that quick intelligence, that hint of slyness and that warm laughter beneath his eyes. I look up at him and there is nothing in that empty hall of classrooms that matters. Among the white fluorescent lights and gray tile, in the haven of our love, our hands find one another; sensational electricity passes between us. Then reality shatters it all. The bell rings for school to start, doors slam, students enter, and the long day begins. What of love in such an institution? What of personality, charm, and laughter? All such emotion is obliterated in reality. With the exactness of a timed bell, I switch off love and truth and I prepare myself for intelligence. I memorize, I analyze, and I raise my hand. I use my critical thinking skills to answer whatever questions my teacher throws at me. I bury myself in books and write neat notes in my three subject, college-ruled notebook. And I let myself get smothered in historical facts and biological processes; I become nothing more than a line of text in the five pound book I carry in my backpack. I would rather take the identity of knowledge, impersonal and unimportant, than reveal my true self. But then his kiss burns on my lips, his arms wrap around me. There is passion between us, and there is love. And that love is just enough to help me pull away from my plastered cast. I shed the protective coat of a self-absorbed intellectual and step into the real world. Each time we are together I can see how deeply I had wrapped myself in knowledge, how I had disconnected myself from all that was important in the world. Knowledge had for so long kept me in isolation, made me feel superior, made me feel as if I were defined. And now love has made inroads in my mind. It has helped me see how important it is for teenagers to go out and enjoy playing hide and seek in the park. I see how utterly important it is for me to go and rent movies and to sit in my living room with my family to enjoy all the dramatic hits and latest Academy Award winners. But most importantly, love has made me value life and the true acquisition of knowledge. Suddenly it is so clear to me that love and life are so explicitly interwoven and that in all that I love there is a deeper and more spiritual life. I can take the role of the feminine heroine, I can appreciate an authors use of metaphor and simile, and I can write what I think and how I feel. The sweet sensation of life permeates through me and dispels what was once dark, afraid and lonely. The love I have experienced is so simple, but it has transformed the self-portrait I carry in my heart. My love has helped me feel like a part of the world, an individual entity who shares whatever gifts I have been blessed with. So now I can chatter, laugh and hug; now I can skip, and sing and relish the seeds of learning. Now I can cry, and kiss, and pour out warmth onto those I love. And now, I can live.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
This was the essay for the Common Application - one of the suggested topics was to write about a challenge you faced, which is roughly what this is about, though of course I took a creative angle to it.
'Kelly, why do we do this?' Val's question jolts into my rain-numbed reverie. 'D-d-do this?' I chatter. Water lifts the fragrance of shampoo from my braids and smudges mascara beneath my friends eyes. 'This... this sport.' Val spits the word as though it tastes bad. 'This torture. This hell. This exercise in misery.' 'Oh,' I reply, comprehension forcing itself across my icy face. 'Cross-country.' It's 4:21 on an October afternoon, and the rain is coming down like artillery fire. A whistle's lament cuts through the syncopated patter of the rain and chatter of my teeth as I take my place on the starting line. Crack! The report of the gun gives way to a thunderous rumble as fifty lightweights with whipping ponytails jostle for the lead. I hang back; years of racing have taught me to choose my battles carefully. Now is not the time. This is not the place. These girls are not the enemy. Thudding down the field, across the bridge, the clackety-clack-clack of one hundred and two feet rasps on weathered wood and wet gravel. Wood chips slither beneath my spikes as we scramble up monsters affectionately dubbed 'Freshman Hill' and 'Snake.' Val's question buzzes around my thoughts, unanswered, as the miles trickle by. Permeating the scene like the scent of wet leaves, apprehension weaves my stomach into knots. There is one hill yet to come. Cardiac. It is a name to strike fear into the most intrepid runners heart, a catchword in elite cross-country circles, the highest point in Sunken Meadow State Park. Deceiving us with twists and false summits, ridden with jutting roots and rain-gouged rivulets, nearly perpendicular at its apex - this hill is the defining feature of our course. Salty rain trickles between my lips as I approach its base. This is the time, the place, the enemy. I am ready. Pumping my arms in rigid arcs, I seem to bounce in place as other girls stagger past, hands on their knees. Trees and pebbles, rain and runners, all melt away until I am conscious only of this: that there is the hill, and there is me; and one of us will have to give up first. One of us... it won't be me... getting there I'm almost there n o w ! even breathing artificial regulation gives way to gasps of painful triumph as the victory burns in my calves my heart thumps in my ears like a war drum and my legs unwilling children must be forced to continue its not over yet knees still trembling the conquered hill pulls me toward its base with a force stronger than gravity feet skim the ground and then I am at the bottom and the colors cease to blur and again I find my rhythm wet braids beating a tattoo across my shoulders as they move like pistons or like dancers to a rhythm like the heartbeat of the pulsing earth. I have won. In the serenity of the final mile, epiphanies shoot like stars across my vision, startling me with sudden answers. A philosophy forms, unanticipated, as old questions are cast aside. Life is about the little things, the rain, and the leaves, and the easy rhythm of breathing. It's about running up hills, even though walking is faster. It's about spending hours on a poem for sheer love of language, not for a grade; it's about learning because I want to understand, not to outdo the person next to me. It's about running. I do not run to beat the clock, or my teammates, or the time my coach expects of me. I run because in the spaces between the footsteps and the heartbeats, I can feel the fiery green echoes of my soul. As I sail across the finish line, rain now warm against my skin, there is not a doubt left in my mind. I know why I do this.
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Essay Question:
This was a supplementary essay.
Elegy for Faceless Victims Scarcely blinking, scarcely breathing, I hunch over my paper. Colored pencils litter the low table where I sit, hands and eyes and mind caught in a wordless dance of color and emotion. I grab first one pen, then another, markers swinging out vibrant arcs or subtle crosshatching. Moving with a rhythm that knows no logic, nor rules, colors mold themselves into forms and shapes with an evolution beyond my control. Faint beatings of life on paper, shadowy forms beneath the surface move my hands in lines my thought has never traced. I build layer upon layer of pain-flecked pigment, orchestrating each stroke of the pencil as colors weave themselves into nameless rainbows. The hands of the clock on the mantle spiral lazily as time spins itself far into the night. At last, with inexplicable but undeniable surety, I am released. Leaning back for the first time in hours, I take stock of the disarray surrounding me. On the table, beneath the scattered pencils, markers, scissors, and glue, lies my finished piece. Three rows of barbed wire stretch across the page, cut from thick paper, slicked down with silver ink. Clinging to the top wire is an emaciated hand. Its owners bony frame has been exaggerated to grotesque proportions; sallow skin hugs the ribcage visible through tears in his blue-black pajamas. Their pin stripes echo the austerity of prison bars. Through the poisonous fog behind this figure rise the forms of others like him, yellow stars shining like badges on their chests. The man in front seems to be their leader. He has reached the end, halted by the wire which separates him from the living world, my world. Blood glistens, maroon against wasted flesh where the wire has sliced into his palm. His face, featureless, gazes out from the page in blank desperation. Shallow hollows suggest the spaces where his eyes should be; smudges of the pencil imply a nose, ears, cheekbones. These men have no mouths. This is why I must tell their story. After months of intensive research into the Holocaust in both my English and European history classes, my mind was ripe with images and emotions just waiting to explode. Oddly, I'd originally planned a pencil-sketched collage-style portrait of Hitler on the page. It was only in the evening, when the first flushes of artistic fervor overcame me, that the faceless succession of victims in the mist began to appear. Hour by hour, the circle of pencils, markers, paper, and glue round me widened; not once did I pause, not once stop to plan or reconsider. This piece now hangs in a museum fifty miles away, yet I can still see every detail as vividly as if it were sitting before me - the putrid blend of violet and olive I layered for the shadows, flecks of red mingled in the mists, white highlights in the bloodless hand on the wire. These form the picture that sprang full-grown from my subconscious, the story my hands wove from color and aching remembrance. These form the elegy I wrote for the nameless, the faceless, the uncountable millions whose stories will never be heard.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement
'My dear, do you think the risk is worth to take?' Mum asked with anxiety. I nodded and grinned with determination. The United World College in Hong Kong that I attended for my pre-university course helped us organize a Project Week in an Asian country of our choice annually. Mr. Udy, our vice-principal emphasized that we should try to break away from our circle of comfort as a process of growing up. In my first year, I chose to do a service project for handicapped children in Hanoi where deformity was believed to have been caused by Agent Orange. I took six fellow students with me. Being American, my heart was filled with apprehension and uncertainty before I went. I wondered if the Vietnamese still harbored some hostile feelings for the Americans, especially those who had suffered in the 'American War' as they called it, and whose children had fallen victims to Agent Orange. 'One in every ten Vietnamese was wounded or killed in the war against America. If the U.S. had suffered a proportional number of casualties, it would have seen twenty-seven million people dead.' When I arrived in Hanoi, the backwardness of the country struck me. While touring in the Old Quarters, children and old people chased after us for money, others pushed their goods at us trying to sell them. Some kids were hardly ten. Having a little sister nine years of age, I pitied them more. But I staunchly refused to buy anything from them, for I didn't want to encourage child labor. We started our week in a vocational training school for handicapped children. Armed with an eager heart, we brought them clothes and toys. By the time we got off the primitive van which bumped along a dirt road for forty-five minutes, we found the teachers and liaison officers warmly waiting for our arrival. After a brief introduction, we were given time to interact with the children. Taking a deep breath, I bravely held out my hand to a dwarfish girl. She looked at me, smiled and grabbed my hand. Her disarming smile melted all the fear and doubt in my heart. Together we spent a most enjoyable afternoon. We taught the children games and English songs. Although we spoke a completely different tongue, there was no barrier between us. We spoke the fraternal language of the human souls. This was a risk I took, and it turned out to be most rewarding. I was happy to have won the hearts of the children and the friendship of the people. What could be more valuable than that? I will always treasure their gift of forgiveness and pragmatism, and their acceptance of all the consequences of a meaningless war. Witnessing the abject poverty, the catastrophe and the devastating effect of war, I raised a question in my mind: Is war necessary to attain peace? Nobel Peace Prize winner and former American president, Jimmy Carter's answer to the question is 'No'. I wholeheartedly share his view.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
In the space provided below, or on a separate sheet if necessary, please describe which of these activities (extracurricular and personal activities or work experience) has had the most meaning for you, and why.
At the age of twelve, I was chosen as one of the six of Hong Kong primary students to attend a ceramic exhibition in Saga, Japan. In Japan, I stayed a week with a host family. In 1999, I was selected an Ambassador of Hygiene by the Hong Kong Government, again to Japan. Both trips were 'eye-opening' experiences which helped to develop my interests in languages and world literature. Languages enable me to communicate with others and understand their culture. Literature helps me to understand human nature and gives me food for thought. Winning a scholarship to study in the multi-cultural United World College (UWC) of Hong Kong from September 2001 to June 2003 had further broadened my scope and sharpened my social awareness. From my fellow classmates who came from different parts of the world, I gained a first-hand understanding of problems of developing countries, such as poverty, injustice and political strife. I became actively involved in the Middle East Initiative, a project we organized with the aim of bringing young people from Israel and Palestine to the conference table to discuss their differences of opinions. It was our hope that the youngsters involved could at least come to an understanding of themselves, their people and their counterparts, and that, one day, they could help mend the situation with mutual respect and make peace with each other. However, among all activities, I find community services most meaningful and challenging and thought-provoking. I gave my best endeavour to fulfill my involvement in services of varying nature. The ones that had impacted on me most in the past two years included: Mai Po Wetland Monitoring (2001-2002) After the year long monitoring at the wetland during weekends, I had woken up to the fact that conservation and environmental protection is absolutely vital to the world. I also realized that with urban developments in different parts of the world, the wetlands are fast disappearing which is detrimental to the well-being and survival of the migratory birds that sadly bear the blame for the possible cause of the recent outbreak of avian flu in Asia. I do believe that the beautiful and most of all, free-spirited migratory birds should be protected and given their natural and undefiled wetlands to pass the cold winter months. Service at Ronald McDonald House (2002-2003) I was the leader of the service group for children cancer sufferers sponsored and accommodated by Ronald McDonald House, a non-profit making organization. The children all suffered from varying stages of brain tumors and leukaemia and yet, none had lost their naivety or their zest for life. I was totally confronted and touched by their courage and resilience in their fight with pain and suffering and maybe, death at such a tender age. I could only pray that medical science could make fast progress so that one day all children's diseases could be cured. In helping those sick and dying children, I had also helped myself to some basic truths in life that I had not before really thought about. The most important was that I realized that I am lucky to have a perfectly healthy body and healthy mind and I promise myself that I must render help to the sick, the under-privileged and the deprived whenever I can. Service at a Yao Tribe primary school (October - November 2002) I was the leader of my school's service group to a poor and remote part of China where the Yao Tribe has made their homes for thousands of years. This was a mind-boggling experience that sent me onto a crossroads. To these Yao Tribe children, time and history have stood still. Life within the tribe has not changed much since the time of their ancestors. When our group appeared at the school, the children looked at us with disbelief as if we were aliens from another world. There and then, I asked myself, 'Am I right to expose these innocent souls to the sophisticated, materialistic, modern world? Would it only be eroding their happy, though deprived lives of modern living and giving them false notions of materialistic satisfaction while they have been enjoying a self-contained and self-sufficient life with their own culture and way of life since time immemorial?' Even now, I still have this uncertainty that I had wrongly opened the Pandora box of city life to them. However, it is also true that these hilly tribes have lots of problems which are closely related to the fact that they have been neglected by modern civilization. They have been leading a primitive life untouched by the progress of the world. As a young woman of the new millennium, I do think it is essential for them to adapt to this fast-moving and ever-changing world while preserving their own customs, traditions, beliefs and their tribal pride. I strongly believe that modernization and tribal identity can co-exist. Student Consultative Committee member of UWC Student Government (2001-2003) Being elected as a Student Consultative Committee member of UWC Student Government was best proof of trust and confidence from my fellow students. During those two years, I played a very active role to fulfill my responsibility to bridge the gap between staff and students by listening to the opinions of the student body and making suggestions to the school authority. I have learnt how to fully evaluate issues that arose and make comments objectively while giving full respect to opposing views and making the necessary compromise that is acceptable to all parties concerned. All in all, I undertook the four services above with full responsibility and did my utmost to achieve the best results. The services have in turn, given me the deepest soul-searching experiences and food for thought. They have also strengthened my determination to do the best I can to make the world a better place where we can live in freedom like the migratory birds, in good health without succumbing to the scourge of incurable diseases like the children of Ronald McDonald House, in pace with the modern world without losing one's cultural heritage and most of all, in peace with all humanity.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Briefly, please indicate the most influential factors to your original decision to attend your present college, such as location, cost, size of student body, only option, special program offered, Early Decision plan, etc.
I chose Wellesley College largely because of the all-round liberal arts program that it offers, as it allows me to explore different fields and future career choices and to enable myself to seek where my true interests lie. I was also attracted to its small student body size. In this way, class sizes are kept small and this guarantees full attention from experienced professors who are very fond of the subjects they teach. Another reason was that Wellesley College is on the East Coast where many prestigious universities are located. This gives me the opportunity to interact with students from other schools through intellectual conferences, parties and even through cross-registration classes with a few other universities offered by Wellesley. Meeting and talking to new friends and scholars from other universities is extremely inspiring which compensate the fact that Wellesley is a small-sized college.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Please indicate your intended field of specialization and briefly outline your academic plans at Harvard College.
While fulfilling the core curriculum, I plan to do a dual major in Psychology and Economics and I will try my best to opt for the Honor Requirements in both fields. I will also try to include an overseas studying or learning experience in my undergraduate curriculum, as 'Charles Dickens said on his visit to Harvard in the 1840's, 'Above all, in their whole course of study and instruction, (they) recognize a world , and a broad one too, lying beyond the college walls.' Since the college provides us with very sufficient resources, I think we should put it into full utility. Besides, I think international exposure is essential and will better-equip me to face a world which is moving towards globalization. Lastly, I will embrace every chance to participate in research programs or internships which will greatly enhance my understanding in my two fields of specialization.
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Essay Question:
What are your current postgraduate/career plans?
I would like to establish my future career in a corporate concern or a financial house that deals with global and international businesses. I would also like to leave the option of attending a graduate business school open to myself. I strongly believe that learning is a life-long process. Therefore, I would try my best to embrace every opportunity to continue my education, be it full-time or part-time. Also, learning is not confined in schools, I trust that through working and interacting with people will help me grow and mature intellectually. My plan will always point towards the direction that guides me to becoming a better person and player in corporate world.
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Essay Question:
Briefly discuss one book that has strongly influenced you.
Beloved by Toni Morrison has opened my eyes and enabled me to look at matters from more than one perspective, but I only learnt to truly appreciate the message behind the book when I came to the States. Morrison emphasized that Beloved is a story told from the African-American point of view, a voice which has been long neglected by society. It makes me ponder, when America is being named the most multi-cultural country, have people of different racial backgrounds really mixed and integrated with each other? In a community where an Asian American who was born and raised in the States, whose family has been living in the States for generations, still has to encounter the question - 'Where are you originally from?' - can we still consider the United States a truly multi-cultural country? Or as Morrison has pointed out, it is only a country of the majority plus 'the others'. Morrison has made me realize that we all have to contribute our efforts, so that one day all American people of all creeds and colors will become true Americans living in the land of the free.
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Essay Question:
In the space below or on a separate sheet, please explain in some detail your reasons for wanting to transfer to Harvard College? What personal or educational experiences influenced your decision to apply?
I am a student with strong desires for challenges. My two-year experience in United World College, a co-educational college and my experience in Wellesley make me realize that I can meet stronger challenges and competitions in a co-educational university. On a personal base, I did not have the confidence to send my application to your university, while I was in Hong Kong, because I did not consider myself the crhme de la crhme of the very top students that your university would prefer to admit. However, after one semester in Wellesley, I have eagerly embraced all the challenges of life in a U.S. College and have now gained new-found courage to pursue my dream, which is, to seek education at Harvard/ Yale, a most prestigious seat of learning. The large variety of student activities in Harvard/Yale has also attracted me. I have a wide range of intellectual interests, and I take part in various school and college activities. When I am a participant, I try to be attentive and co-operative; when I play the leadership role, I readily shoulder the responsibilities and try my best to co-ordinate and take care of the need and interests of my fellow group members. Being elected as a senator representing the Asian Student Union on the College Government in Wellesley College and as a Student Consultative Committee member of United World College, I worked towards bridging the gap between staff and students by listening to the opinions of the student-body and making suggestions to the school authority. Getting to know that many activities are student-initiated in Harvard is encouraging, for I feel I would have much to contribute both as leader and participant. Lastly, in the mission of Harvard College, I find new inspiration in the fact that'Harvard strives to create knowledge, to open the minds of students to that knowledge, and to enable students to take best advantage of their educational opportunities'. And it is my hope, my dream, to become a Harvard student who can receive an education that helps me to explore my academic goals creatively so that one day I can become a leader of sort who is ready to shoulder responsibilities and to meet challenges of the modern days.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement
The enticing aroma of Aunt Paula's caramel monkey bread wafted through the living room from the kitchen. Uncle Bob and Grandpa had succumbed to the low drone of the football game and were now whiffling softly in the twin armchairs. The younger cousins were preparing a play and I was curled up under a blanket on the couch enjoying a comfortably worn special edition of The Two Towers, vaguely aware of the ping-pong game in overtime downstairs. Christmas at Grandma's house - twenty-five people in a four-bedroom house for a week, the fifteen grandchildren all sleeping on cots in the basement. Suitcases lining every wall and six curious kids under the age of ten make it impossible to keep everyone's possessions separate. As a result, Dad has dubbed this annual week at Grandma's The Great Underwear Exchange. In addition to exchanged underwear, the close quarters results in late night, whispered discussions of dreams and tall tales as, one by one, the younger cousins drop off to sleep. There is something about being in Grandma's basement that causes us to drop our fagade of being perfectly 'together' allowing a comfortable vulnerability among cousins who are more like brothers. The Great Underwear Exchange two years ago was particularly unforgettable. At our morning discussion, typically led by a different uncle each day, my 6'5'' cousin unexpectedly took the lead. Through sobbing tears of regret, he admitted making a poor choice that caused him to be benched on his college basketball team and had serious ramifications for his life and dreams. He didnt need to tell us - we would never have known - but he said he loved and respected us too much not to share his pain and warn his younger cousins not to follow in his footsteps. His vulnerability triggered sharing among different members of the family, resulting in a deepened closeness. Popular culture typically discourages this kind of vulnerability, encouraging instead staying on the safe side of 'How's it going?' - more of a greeting than a question about fears, hope and life. Too often, people fail to interact on the 'underwear exchange level.' The practice of such interaction doesn't come naturally, but is one by which I try to live, influencing those around me to do so as well. When I arrive at college in the fall of 2003 and plunk my suitcase on the floor of my soon-to-be-decorated dorm room, I will be looking for someone with whom to 'swap underwear.' I have been convinced of the value of honest relationships that involve communication about the deep things of life. Such an 'underwear exchange' breaks down barriers of exclusive self-interest, encouraging people to consider the good of others also. It provides a foundation for mutual benefit through learning from, and stimulating, others in the achievement of goals. If everyone from the highest decision-makers of our land to our local city council committed to such honesty, I believe widespread changes would occur, increasing the well-being of people on all levels of our society.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Which of your activities (extra-curricular and personal activities or work experience) has had the most meaning for you and why?
I am a competitive person. Though I enjoyed playing baseball throughout grade school and junior high I soon realized that it was a game - one from which I learned many life lessons such us determination, sportsmanship, the eternal optimism that the team will rally in the 9th - but it was still a game. In the eighth grade, due to my desire to pursue a career in law, I joined the high school mock trial team. Mock trial allowed me to transition into a competition that would confirm my career goals while I learned skills and lessons that I could use in the professional world. Starting as the 'eighth grader newbie,' I knew that someday, when the seniors graduated, I would be the heir apparent; and I was determined to meet and exceed that challenge when the day came. Those first two years of competition, in addition to sharpening my speaking and advocacy skills, allowed me the opportunity to watch leadership in action. When I became team captain in the tenth grade, I therefore had a clear vision of how my carefully selected team could achieve a higher level of excellence. Through our pursuit of the National Championship, I learned what it felt like to set goals and then work day in and day out for nine months of the year to achieve those goals; it felt good. I learned to lead by example - to write my closing argument early, so I could help the less experienced team members with their assignments. I learned how to bring together eight people from different family situations, with varying beliefs, agendas, and temperaments, to construct a cohesive team focus, crystallizing our goals and motivating our efforts. I have been told many times that mock trial, like a baseball game, 'isn't like real life,' but somehow I have come to believe that it can't be all that different.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement
Portrait of Eva, Over Falling Snow and Soggy Bags She reminded me of one of those Spanish cleaning ladies from my Brooklyn childhood, those women all named Marta or Anita with faded leggings tucked into sagging white socks. I didn't even know what socks she was wearing, but here she was, Eva, arms wobbling as she moved about behind the counter in her thin white undershirt, ridiculously underdressed for this weather. She moved methodically, never blinking, sending slices of cold pizza skidding into the oven with a single strike. All it took was one customer to say the word, and there she'd go, flinging the pizza so hard I could hear sauce splatter and drip down the wall, and in three minutes it would be ready. Her customers were all sitting around, washing their defrosted slices of pizza down with cans of flat Coke, when I came inside. I had missed the bus again. Wanting to warm my hands before trekking home in the snow, I was met with Eva's scornful greeting as I walked in. 'Yes!' she barked, grimacing, anticipating my pleading glance. Please, let me stay inside for a bit, I have no money, I begged, it's freezing. In answer, Eva gave an emphatic sweep of her broom and glared me out the door. She never seemed to stop sweeping, moving the dust around that little place, corner to corner, as though she could change something by cleaning it, as though all the past needed was a good dusting. I went outside and stood there for a while. The hazy snow covered the ground like a raggedy blanket, and I could almost make out my reflection in the puddle of slush. Thinking about it like that, I forgot my rejection for a minute. I wanted to whirl around with my face to the sky as the words whirled in my head like voodoo incantations; I wanted to laugh wildly, ecstatic at my treasure. What I needed was a box big enough to fit the whole scene inside it, to store it in my attic, so brimming with inspiration that it would drip through the ceiling cracks and flood my house with magic. What I needed was a warm room, my bean bag chair, a pen. As I stood there wondering what to do with my night, Eva stared at me from the window. I've seen this episode before, I thought, I know what happens: now she invites me back in, gruffly apologizes, gives me a free slice of pizza, ducks back into her kitchen. The music crescendos: Eva slowly peeks out from behind her oven, comes closer, starts talking to me. We embrace, forget the past, move on... But this doesn't happen at all. Eva turns back to her next customer, who is handing her money, making small talk, buying a slice of pizza as though it were the easiest transaction in the world. Instead of waltzing back in and strangling her, I remember the advice Raul, my writing mentor, gave me: 'All around you the world is bursting with poems. You just have to stop and take it in.' And suddenly, as scents of cheese and pepperoni mingle with the snowflakes falling on my nose, I drop my bags into a puddle, shrug my scarf off my shoulders, and take out a pencil and notebook. In the soggy night, I sit outside Evas window with my thoughts. And under the light of her doorway, I move my wrist to silence us both.
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Essay Question:
This was a question asking for a letter of intent to apply early action to Harvard, explaining why you have chosen to apply Early Action to Harvard above all other schools.
October 26, 2001 Office of Undergraduate Admissions Harvard College Byerly Hall 8 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Subject: Statement of Intent for Early Action Application Dear Sir or Madam: I would like to state my intentions as an Early Action applicant to Harvard College. After thorough research of my options, I stand resolute that Harvard would be a perfect match for my educational and personal characteristics, goals, and aspirations. As a sixth grader on the verge of entering middle school and embarking on a new path of learning, I visited the University to see what awaited me at the end of this new road. I stood in awe of Harvard's beautiful Gothic architecture, its vast and historically rich campus, its ancient statues and busy urban setting. Everywhere I looked, I sensed the presence of enlightened students and world-renowned faculty, people who were just as at home discussing heavy philosophical constructs as playing frisbee in Harvard Yard. When I visited the campus again this past March, these feelings came back confirmed by the illuminated perspective of five years of further self-exploration. As I stand at another, greatly different turning point in the road, these feelings of anticipation and awe come back to me, stronger than ever, and I remain convinced that Harvard and I would be a perfect match. I have always had a very personal relationship with my learning, and I feel that Harvard would be the ideal place to feed my craving for knowledge. Where better to discover the forefront of science, the infrastructure of the business world, the creative beauty of the classics and the arts, than in a place where I would be surrounded by people equally enthralled and willing to share their discoveries as I am? I envision myself surrounded by bright young minds in a grand, century-old lecture hall, or sharing my perspectives with a scholarly professor or fellow students in a closely-knit seminar. I see myself lost in a maze of book stacks, traversing the worlds most expansive university library system on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I anticipate developing my creative passions at the arts building shaped like a Polaroid camera, sharing my love for poetry at local slam competitions, attending festivals and concerts in the energetic Boston area, and engaging in analytical conversations about Milton, Shakespeare, Homer, and the like with fellow students over chowder in the beautiful Annenberg Hall. In sum, I want to see what treasures the world has in store for me, and I feel strongly that applying Early Action to Harvard would help me explore my passion for learning. Respectfully yours,
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Who or what has been your major source of inspiration in your educational career? A minor essay, 410 words.
Throughout my educational career, my largest wellspring of scholastic, emotional, and moral tutelage has undoubtedly been Mrs. Yael Sears. I first met Mrs. Sears in my freshman year, when I was her student for the Gifted and Talented Seminar. I vividly recall my first impression of her: a short-haired, petite woman who spoke briskly with a thick Israeli accent. Though I was afraid of her at first, the course turned out to be the most valuable experience of my high school career. It gave me an outlet for creative expression and a practical means to expand my learning. Mrs. Sears knew exactly how to make us think. She knew when to help us along and when to let us figure things out on our own. Designing and racing solar cars, writing plays about social issues, investigating mathematical models, and composing dramas about doomsday, we explored a vast span of projects. The staple of the Gifted and Talented Seminar's curriculum was the yearly project. For each year of participation in the program, every student was required to document and complete a self-initiated community service venture. In my freshman year, I developed an arts-and-crafts class for students at the local grammar school. The following year, I coordinated a youth chapter of the local Habitat for Humanity. Thanks to Mrs. Sears, my yearly projects taught me valuable lessons about planning, teamwork, and self-reliance in ways no four-walled classroom ever could. Mrs. Sears influenced my life in many other ways. As my Honors and AP Chemistry teacher, she challenged me to an intellectual level I had never before experienced. The problem-solving methods she taught were not formulaic memorizations. No, Mrs. Sears wanted to make our brains hurt until we couldn't stand it any longer. And to this day, I thank her for it. I know that no matter what curve the future might throw me, I will be ready. Most importantly, Mrs. Sears has become my personal mentor. Always willing to talk to me and give me advice, she motivated me to pursue my dreams regardless of the obstacles. From the day that I met her, I have admired Mrs. Sears for her strong character, her perseverance and her devotion to her students. I have come to know her not just as a teacher, but as a friend. A woman who doesn't waste words, she wrote in my senior yearbook simply: 'Dear Diana, I feel like I've known you forever. Keep it that way.'
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Write on a topic of your own choice
(Name) American College of Sofia On Blue Cheese and Decision-Making Everything comes to an end, even high school. Upon graduation, every senior has the challenging task to choose one among all the routes open before him. Until a short time ago, however, I used to think that I would not have difficulty taking this decision. By the time I was nine I already had a definite plan - to study math in a Parisian university. Back then I knew nothing about the quality of French education, but books and movies had filled my fantasy with appealing images of Paris. I was fascinated by the boats sailing on the Seine, the evening view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, the people playing music everywhere in the subway, and the abundance of cheese in my favorite color. The reasons behind my choice of major were even more solid: the subject proved to be my forte in school and was strongly recommended by my parents, who were both mathematicians. I knew exactly what I desired, and I set myself the goal of mastering the chosen science. As an unintended result of studying math, I understood the veracity of Oscar Wilde's observation, 'In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is much the worst; the last is a real tragedy!'1 [footnote] At the age of 18 I was accepted in a math lycie in Paris, but this did not bring me a feeling of contentment and certitude; on the contrary, it plunged me into a well of anxiety and hesitation. I was twice as old as at the time when only France seemed an option, and I already felt unprepared to decide. Ultimately, the universal problem of the high school senior had become an issue in my life. Enrolling in the lycie meant devoting my entire energy to nothing but exact sciences and my scarce leisure to nothing but sleep. This disheartened me because when my dream of many years finally came true, I had changed. While I still took ample interest in mathematics, I had gradually become just as passionate about poetry. While I still longed to spend my evenings at the top of the Eiffel Tower, I preferred to broaden my horizons by spending my days in debate. While I was still attracted by the charm of the Seine, I realized I could discover more beauty by taking classes in literature. It is never easy to part with your dreams, but my exhausting adventure in the well of indecision left me doubtless: I no longer yearned for Paris. Of the factors that had shaped my childhood dreams, the allure of the city itself was outvoted. Blue cheese, mystical and enticing though it seemed, could not be decisive. Acquainted with the taste of both French cuisine and American education, I found the latter reasonably worthier. My experience in a liberal-style school had helped me discover that my interests and potential extended to fields which I was unable to appreciate while I was devoted exclusively to math. Once I had set my thoughts free, I would not consent to restrain them again. This is why I chose to enroll in a university in which I could explore not merely the exact sciences but also the arts of literature and debate. Thus, I would be better prepared to choose a route after graduation, and I would also feel complete during the next four years, even if I have to play my own music in the subway. ______________________________________________ [footnote] Wilde, Oscar. 'Lady Windermere's Fan.' Oscar Wilde: Plays. Eds. L. Kasatkina et al. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1961. 71.
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Essay Question:
Common application question: Which activity has had the most meaning for you, and why?
(Name) American College of Sofia Magic I feel very strongly about three of my extracurricular activities because they have all added magic to my days. Since I am reluctant to classify one as more important than another, I decided to put them in alphabetical order: debate, literature, and mathematics. My three major areas of interest are indeed quite dissimilar, but what they have in common is that none of them can be mastered completely by a single person; neither can they exhaust their capability to thrill--to provoke the electrifying feeling that I associate with magic. I have developed an unusual passion for debate, which, as all passions, is rather hard to put into words. During a debate I indulge completely in what I'm doing, I become part of a larger thinking unit - my team - and anything irrelevant to the discussion somehow melts away. For sixty minutes my entire being is dedicated solely to playing this 'intellectual game', and I am totally enchanted by it. To me the pressure of an intense debate has inexplicable allure, like a challenging match to a devoted football player; I am also charmed to hear two entirely contradictory theses that sound reasonable. Heated discussions can provide hours of cerebral pleasure, yet their magic is not limited solely to that. Debating also allows a speaker to influence other people. I used to think that only sorcery could induce such radical changes of mind as can result from a good speech. Literature, too, has magic. Its diversity of genres and capability to intrigue are almost addictive. During the last couple of years at the American College of Sofia I have gradually gotten involved in all possible literature-related activities on campus, but instead of satisfying my curiosity for books, they seem to have only nourished it. I have been discovering various genres and styles of writing; each one of them, like a fragrant spice, has its specific allure. Some of these spices, I admit, are too strong for my taste, and I doubt that I'll ever enjoy adding naturalism to my intellectual meal. Others I want to place on the shelves in my kitchen, or library, and savor every day. I am in love with works so different as 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Coleridge, Loon Lake by Doctorow, and 'Sloth' by John Agard. I am enchanted by the infinite variety of emotions which reading can evoke. Has anything more tickling than the comedies of Oscar Wilde or more expressive than the poetry of (Bulgarian poet) Peyo Yavorov ever been written? Could a piece of literature demonstrate more profound understanding of human nature than Shakespeare's tragedies do? Is there anything more cynical than the four-liner Francois Villon wrote when he was sentenced to death? Is it possible that a book be more exhilarating than Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog)? I would guess that the answer to all these questions is 'yes'. I am not sure yet, but I intend to find out. Some would perhaps say that exact sciences are too logical to have magic, but I believe that mathematics is magical exactly because of its rationality. I stand in awe of this incredibly complex system based upon just several simple axioms. I often gasp at the way the different branches of mathematics are interrelated. For example, I was startled to find out that the concept of conic sections unites solid geometry and algebra or that complex numbers can serve as a tool in geometry. There are innumerable creative approaches to a mathematical question: conversion to another numerical system, coloring, proof by contradiction, induction, extreme element principle' Each time I learn a new method for solving problems, I feel something similar to what a newborn must be experiencing when he discovers his senses. Math causes me to feel infantile fascination and curiosity. My interest in this science dates from my early childhood - so early that my parents say I could perform calculations before I was even able to read - and will probably not cease as long as I am a self-aware individual. One who expected this essay to be an account on occultism might find the title misleading; I would argue, however, that the headline is completely reasonable. Inexperienced as I am in witchcraft, I am nevertheless lucky to enjoy a substantial amount of magic in my life.
