Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Essentially, talk about something important to you in 500 words. There were various permutations in the wording between Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Georgetown, and UVA, but this was my general "major" essay.
Consider the Piet`, by Michelangelo. Not his first Piet`, the masterpiece with
Mary forever youthful and mourning over the luminous Christ, finished at 23 and
enshrined in St. Peter's Basilica, but his afterthought. Michelangelo said that
in sculpting, rather than imposing his will on the block, the statue is already
perfectly formed inside of the marble; he merely chips away the stone concealing
it. His last Piet` Rondanini was left half-delivered on his death at age
ninety.
It is a coincidence of history that the Christ and Mary are frozen stepping
from
the marble, almost dripping off like water at their feet, and their torsos are
obscured by the rough grain stone. Form and imagination meet in this Piet`, and
it proves that the artist's saw is not hubris, but his own deep sensibility of
form.
Michelangelo's renaissance sensibility is also modern. Karl Popper's
epistemology of falsification is the enormous chisel that divides what we know
from what must be. Science exalts and humbles its student, whose deepest
insight
is the removal of chaff. There is truth in data obscured by the opacity of
ignorance, and so analysis is a chipping away. Plodding sterility brooding over
the pure marble, the dispassionate scientific method has no taste for insight
unless it is reproducible. Intuition and the chipping away become negative
images that meet in beauty, where science and art are the mind becoming one with
the external.
I learned this at the National Institute of Health. My research involves data
from PET scans of sleeping patents, which we correlate with
electroencephalograms
to learn how brain metabolism is reflected in brain wave patterns. One thing we
have noticed is that while it's commonly thought that brain activity decreases
generally across the brain as a person goes deeper into sleep, there are some
regions that actually decrease less. This is exciting, and something which we
seek to explain, and yet, my work has also been extremely mundane. I spent time
dividing the brain into 200-odd general anatomical regions for comparison among
subjects, and I spent long hours tweaking the mathematical form of the data.
Often, it would seem like meaningless numerology.
Yet, to find a conclusion in
one of these forms that relates back to the brain itself through all the
numerical and formal abstractions, to all the brains of our subjects, is a
moment
of beauty where insight illuminates a drab chain of logic and cuts off a chip of
marble that never truly belonged.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement. Write about any experience.
Escape to Lake Boronda I'm not known as an outdoor person. I've never gone camping or hiking before, and an indoor fly is enough to repulse me. But this summer, a friend convinced me to drive up to nearby Lake Boronda with him ' and for the first time in my life I was introduced to the pleasure of fishing. For five hours on a beautifully breezy summer day deep within the peaceful Bay Area Foothills, I sat at the edge of a dock switching between watching my friend cast his rod, and observing a pair of dragonflies mate besides my head. As I picked up my friend's pole and cast it for the first time, I felt a strange transformation, as if holding that rod suddenly converted me into a placid naturalist. Standing with a fishing pole on a small dock, dwarfed by a huge lake, overshadowed by a mountain range, I had a distinct feeling of serenity in casting and reeling, casting and reeling. My schoolwork, social life, and stress seemed to sink away; all I could do was watch my lure sail through the air and splash, feel the tingling of ants scrambling up my leg, and smell the fresh scent of algae that had just risen to the surface. Some people tend to ignore nature because it doesn't play a part in their daily lives - but as I took my friend's rod and sat down at a nearby, secluded rock, I began to feel a warm dependency on my surroundings. I gauged the passing time by glancing at the sun rather than my watch; I dug in the dirt with my hands to find worms for bait, and then rinsed my hands in the lake water to wash off the grime. I didn't catch any fish that day. In fact, I revisited that lake over a dozen times that summer, yet I did not catch a single fish. However, it didn't matter. It wasn't the fish I was after, but the tranquility, the escape. Perhaps it was fitting that the fish continuously eluded me, for I was on their turf. Some of my friends derided me for enjoying sitting alone on a rock, instead of joining them in more typical teenage pursuits, like playing video games or going partying. But at the lake, I felt a joy from being away from the strains of society, and among the beauties of nature. By walking past the gate that separates Palo Alto from the Foothills, I was stepping into a new world free of calculus tests and English essays. There was something tranquilizing about those wiggling tadpoles, those screeching gulls, and those pesky flies that kept buzzing into my ear. On the last week of the summer, I drew from the murky water a gleaming, four-inch long bass. I didn't feel triumphant, but flattered - as if the fish had finally accepted me into its secret paradise. Feeling a peculiar bond form between that tiny creature and me, I held it tenderly in my hand and stretched it over the water, letting it jump off and scramble away. Then I reset my reel and cast once more, gazing at the lure as it sliced through the air and dove into the water, again and again.
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:
"Tell us about an experience that tells us about you"
I boarded the train at 9:17 and sat down. I opened Camus. The Stranger.
'Light reading for the summer?' said the man seated on my right. I looked at
him. 'Yeah'. - Digging into my bag, I pulled out a garishly green, laminated
copy of World's Best Coin Tricks. Grinning, we talked. He works for the State
Department. I was interning at the NIH and get off at the end of the red line.
He works setting up education exchange programs and I did neuroimaging on sleep
and language patient. His major was national defense at the War College, and I
asked what he read. 'Modern writers and the classics, like Thucydides, and a
Prussian' he trailed off. 'Clausewitz? On War?' I offered. 'Yeah!' he said.
'I bet nobody else in this whole train has read On War.' What else have you
read? 'I've read Sun-Tzu and Herodotus, but haven't read Thucydides.' 'You'll
like it,' and he asked me what I wanted to do for college.
'I'm really not sure now. There are a few things.' 'Go on?' 'I either
want to
go into neurology, business or join the CIA. I'm undecided, but until then I
want to major in economics or biochemistry. I also want to join the Peace
Corps.' 'That's great!' he said, 'I was in the Peace Corps 20 years back.'
'Really? That's awesome! Where did you serve?' 'Afghanistan, in Kabul believe
it or not.' 'Do you speak Farsi?' I asked, remembering reading a snide letter
to the editor of the Washington Post deriding yet another professor's plan for
peace in Afghanistan of teaching US soldiers Arabic by pointing out that people
in Afghanistan don't speak Arabic. 'I did, but I'm out of practice now.'
Thinking of languages, I added, 'Would you believe that I don't speak my mother
tongue?' He looked at me appraisingly. 'Yeah, sure. Maybe your parents wanted
you to assimilate?' 'Close,' I replied, 'My dad speaks his regional dialect,
while my mom's from elsewhere and speaks her own dialect. They didn't share a
common, natural language and met in the US speaking English.' 'That's really
interesting,' he replied. I asked, 'So what did you do in Afghanistan?' 'Oh, I
taught English to schoolchildren in Kabul, and since there wasn't much to do, I
kept a dream log.' 'Really? That's unbelievable!' I burrowed into my bag,
scooping from below my laptop a small, cloud gray book called A Little Course in
Dreams. 'I promise you, that's the last book I have in my bag, so no more
surprises.'
'Wow,' he replied, 'I haven't seen this book in a long time.' Pulling out a
fountain pen and writing the title and author on a corner of newspaper, it was
his stop coming up. So he asked for my phone number to continue the
conversation
later: I gave him mine, took his, shook hands. Tucking the slip into page 73,
the Horizontal Vanish, of World's Best Coin Tricks, I leaned right and went to
sleep, bound for Medical Center.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
This essay was a response to the open-ended question, "Do anything you want to a sheet of paper to persuade us to admit you."
Dear Princeton Admissions Committee, When I had to find a number for reading in my ranked list of activities, I had trouble placing it. I've always read, and I think that reading is something too important to me for one line. So, here is a list of the books I've read over the last year that I can remember. I hope that this can give you a sense of where I've been intellectually wandering outside of school. Sincerely, Now reading: Ecrits, Jacques Lacan One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez American Constitutional Law, Laurence Tribe The Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal editorial pages daily. Fiction The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams The Orestia, Fschylus The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell The Plague, Albert Camus The Stranger, Albert Camus Artemis Fowl (Trilogy), Eion Colfer The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Great Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas The Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison The Golden Bough (condensed volumes), Sir George Frazer The Tin Drum, Gunter Grass The Saskiad, Brian Hall Folk and Fairy Tales, Martin Hallett Mythology, Edith Hamilton Magister Ludi, Herman Hesse Ulysses, James Joyce Collected Stories, Franz Kafka Captain Courageous, Rudyard Kipling The Man Who Would be King and Other Short Stories, Rudyard Kipling Eden, Stanislaw Lem Chronicles of the Vikings, R.I. Page The Morphology of the Folk Tale, Vladimir Propp The Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling Holes, Loius Sachar A Series of Unfortunate Events Series (11 volumes), Lemony Snicket The Bronze Bow, Elizabeth Speare Huck Finn, Mark Twain A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers Non-fiction How to Build your Home in the Woods, Bradford Angier Arabic in Three Months, Mohammed Asfour The Complete Book of Abs, Kurt Brungardt The Complete Book of Shoulders and Arms, Kurt Brungardt Libertarianism, A Primer, David Boaz De Bello Gallico (The Gallic War), Julius Caesar Alchemy : an illustrated A to Z, Fernando, Diana. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Frederick Douglass Caesar and Christ, Will Durant The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Thomas L. Friedman The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud The Book of Survival, Anthony Greenback Godel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter Modern Times, Paul Johnson Dreams, Carl Jung Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung Psyche and Symbol, Carl Jung Worlds Best Coin Tricks, Bob Longe The Discourses, Niccolo Machiavelli History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy, Niccolo Machiavelli Talk of the Devil: Encounters with Seven Dictators, Riccardo Orizio Winning Table Tennis, Dan Seemiller The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, Barbara Tuchman Ethics: Theory and Practice, Manuel Velasquez The Middle East: Opposing Viewpoints, Mary Williams Coaching Olympic Style Boxing, USA Boxing The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program, Evelyn Wood Poetry The Waste Land and Other Poems, T.S Eliot Never, Jorie Graham Complete Works, Edgar Allan Poe Collected Poems, George Seferis Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, J. R. R Tolkein The Aeneid, Vergil
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Describe a character in fictions, an historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
Sitting on a grassy hillside, Scipio Africanus stared down at the burning remnant of Carthage. After three long years of fighting, Rome's mortal enemy was defeated. Scipio ordered his troops to salt the soil and cross the city's foundation by plowshare so that it would never rise again. Still, tears rolled from his eyes and the words of Hector slipped from his lips: 'The day shall come in which our sacred Troy and Priam, and the people over whom Spear-bearing Priam rules, shall perish all.' Asked by a companion what he meant, Scipio replied, 'This is a glorious moment, Polybius; and yet I am seized with fear and foreboding that some day the same fate will befall my own country.' Many people who hear this story interpret it as a fable of humility, but pure humility isn't what forged the story into accounts of the battle, or impacted Romans so strongly that they whispered the tale as a bedtime story for their children. What speaks so powerfully to us is Scipio's gravitas, his sense of the importance of the matter at hand. Scipio Africanus didn't lament looted museums, burned orphanages, or even the fate of the city. In the dying embers of Carthage, he saw Rome. As heirs of the Roman Empire, our culture is steeped in classical thought and we surround our judges and lawmakers in Corinthian columns, but gravitas is acutely missing. And there is no better example of this than our dealings with the heirs to the Carthaginian Empire, Libya. Libya seeks to purchase an end to its pariah status by paying blood money for its Lockerbie bombing. Four million dollars dribble when the UN lifts sanctions of Libya, then four more drip should the US lifts its own sanctions. The final two million trickle if the State Department removes Libya from its terror list. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, probably one of the last confessed bastions of Roman virtue, acridly expressed its sentiments by asking, 'Would the US accept ten billion dollars from Osama Bin Laden and call it even?' But the story goes deeper. As a young nation, we lack the gravitas that Rome had. We possess greater power than Augustus ever wielded, but we lack earnestness in what we do. In ancient times, tribute was accepted in exchange for yielding your prerogative to wage war. Now, we place sanctions on North Korea, or Cuba, or Libya as their actions compel us, and promise to lift them should conditions ever change. Through international law, we've given up the catharsis of forgiveness. Rather than forgiving and forgetting, we simply forget. Scipio Africanus stared into the dying embers of Carthage and discerned the fall of Rome. We stare into the embers of Libya and see nothing.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Jot a note to your future college roommate relating a personal experience that reveals something about you.
In my junior year of high school, I was thinking of what I could over summer. I had already applied to do research, but it would be months before I would hear from them. In the meantime, I was making other plans. I desperately wanted to travel, but I didn't know how I'd be able to. I found a book on travel in the library, and buried inside of it was a footnote on traveling by courier flights. By agreeing to take the manifest of a cargo with you on a flight, courier companies are able to speed their packages through custom faster than if the cargo had been sent through as a package. Thus, for sensitive deliveries that require quick custom clearance, it's necessary to buy an airline ticket. Rather than hire couriers to take packages across the world on short notice, the companies let citizens accompany packages, and offer the ticket as a steeply discounted incentive. I realized it was possible to get a round trip flight from New York to London for $50 dollars. Other flights were free if you were adventurous enough to leave with hours of notice. I had an entire travel plan laid out, from keeping my bag permanently packet to staying with family friends in various cities across the world. At the last moment in April, I heard from the research institute, putting a premature end to my plan. Traveling is still an option for my next summer, though.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Discuss an intellectual interest of yours.
Whether politics is an endlessly various soap opera or the deepest expression of our culture striving for itself, I'm totally captivated. I spend at least an hour a day over the newspaper, and read, from left to right, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal editorial pages. What captivates me is that politics is the ratio of all disciplines. Biology collides with business in Medicare, but the conflict centers on methodology, not fact. Making two opposed op-eds talk to each other is like squeezing water out of rocks. The dull language of policy is truer than any other because the allocation of resources seeks to span the breadth experience. Ultimately, the law of conservation is the law of the universe, and policy can't deny all of it at once, nor any of it forever. My brother and I both read multiple newspapers, and for years we've played tennis and talked through our opinions of the opinions. We both love to rattle off order of magnitude calculations. An opinion in the Post on falling Chinese aquifers brought us to calculate that the world's energy supply, including metabolic, is about 50/50 biomass and oil. Almost a gigaton of wheat is harvested annually, nearly a quarter of all agricultural yields, and a gigaton of oil is burned, with four times starch's energy density. Wherever I go to college, I know I'll miss these conversations.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Of the activities, interests and experiences listed previously, which is the most meaningful to you, and why?
I'm deeply interested in biology, so the activity most meaningful to me has been my research. I began last June when I was chosen as a summer biomedical research intern. This senior year, I've continued my work through my school's selective mentorship program. It allows chosen seniors to leave school three days a week at 10:00 AM for area labs. I take the metro to the DC where I continue my work as a volunteer and leave for home at the end of the work day. My foray into research began when my chemistry teacher, suggested I apply to the summer internship program. I applied, and while waiting for a response, I became interested in the work of a researcher who was exploring the intersection of neuroimaging methods and language. Luckily, since I had studied neurobiology and had read some Noam Chomsky, both scientific and otherwise, he could find a place for me. Our project involves comparing differences in regional brain metabolism with EEG brain wave patterns. Our data suggest that as a person falls deeper into sleep, brain activity decreases less in certain area of the brain than commonly supposed. My role has ranged from analytical work to dividing the brain into over 200 different anatomical regions for region to region comparison, and the last half-year has been extremely exciting for me.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Write about anything important to you that will give us a sense of who you are in 500 words.
'Tell me the causes, O Muse, why the Queen of heaven drove him, a man marked by such devotion, to undergo so many perils, to endure so many toils. Can the minds of heaven bear such malice?' (Aeneid, 1.15) Water laps at my heels, and I realize with a start that high tide is washing in. On salt caked soles, I walk back from the foot of the lighthouse, thinking over a classical question the Aeneid's opening raises: do the gods inflict suffering from cruelty or apathy? The year was 1911. My grandfather coiled his hundred-year lease into a shallow pocket of his thick dungarees. The promised lush acres rolled down to the sandy shores of the bay on the West rim of the island. Age twenty, he rooted his sugar-cane plantation under the bright-eyed lighthouse. Planting by the bay, he prepared his crop for the harvest of the fall. Growing sugar cane is exacting work. At harvest time, the towering Cane calls you to the field, barbed and beckoning by serrated leaves. The field is given to flame, cleansing it of dry leaves and releasing caramelized incense as it burns. The stalks are hacked down by machete and bundled alongside the plantation tracks. Later, agents would appear at the junction to receive the burnt offerings. My grandfather fathered many children before my father was born. But between the first and the last, times changed. Our family plantation was successful, but the tide of globalization eroded our prosperity. Although our cane was less expensive than Floridian cane, farm subsidies to Florida cane growers amounted to $618 an acre, and Congress severely restricted sugar importation into the United States. As a result, Americans pay four times the international market price for sugar, while island growers are denied the right to compete. Plantations folded, and the honorable and ennobling work gave way to the pursuit of tourist dollars. My grandfather felt that tide lap at his heels as the agents granted less and less for cane. Soon, they stopped coming at all, and our plantation came to an end. Abel killed Cane and Globalization struck us from tillers into wanderers, scattering us East of Eden. We prospered in the United States, becoming doctors, teachers, and businessmen, but ultimately, we're still wandering. Walking on salt-caked feet across the shoals that separate the lighthouse from the plantation, I gaze over the worn fields. The plantation lies fallow and its fields are covered in low shrubs, tall grass, and dead leaves. On a corner of the property, our old tractor rests in a furrow, grizzled by tawny rust. The air is thin and cool, without a hint of the caramel of burning cane carried on ocean breeze. In the distance, a yacht slices across the bay under the bright-eyed lighthouse's gaze: Carthaginian ruins blurring into Roman foundations. Now, I realize that the classical question of whether we've suffered from apathy or malice doesn't matter. Now, it's only my academic point.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Select one activity outside of math and science in which you have been involved, and describe why it has been meaningful to you.
'You know what? This is impossible,' Albert said. 'How many tutors do we have now?' Tom asked. I read from my planner, 'We only have sixteen people so far.' I still remember our conversation during that crucial meeting with my friends at the beginning of junior year. This dilemma concerned ambitions to grow our club, Tutors Helping to Educate Minds. We were expanding our tutoring program from one school to two schools. Therefore, we had just attended a meeting with the superintendent, principal and faculty to discuss our proposed goals. The meeting had ended with our pledge to tutor 50 eighth-graders for two days a week. Soon, we realized that it would be impossible to achieve our goal without recruiting many more tutors. I founded this club during sophomore year with several friends to advance the education of younger students. As Stuyvesant students with immigrant parents, we realized the emphasis placed on education in our families. As a result, we wanted to open up educational opportunities for others. Our goal was to help students in Chinatown prepare for the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test. Since these economically disadvantaged students could not afford private tutoring, we wanted to provide free tutoring. The process of recruiting tutors, however, proved to be an enormous challenge. After witnessing a mini-Oreo food fight among these kids, I understood why my classmates were reluctant to join the tutoring club. Furthermore, my peers were already overextended with other extracurricular activities, tests, and homework. The necessary time commitment discouraged many prospective members and, therefore, made the task of enlisting dedicated tutors a difficult problem. By promising to expand our tutoring program into another school, we had agreed to a seemingly impossible goal, which placed our club at great risk. We were now about to send out 50 consent forms to 50 new students. If we failed to gather enough tutors during the next few weeks, we would let down the 50 new kids in addition to those we were already tutoring. Fearing broken promises, I considered returning to the principal's office to admit that we could not reach our goal. However, I did not want to back out of this challenge. While the risks were great, the advantages of success were potentially greater. If we could accomplish the task, our club would double in size and be able to reach more kids in two schools. During the next few weeks, we proceeded to recruit more members by holding interest meetings that informed the student body of our goal. We even managed to recruit freshmen during their first week of school. By October, we had successfully expanded tutoring to two schools. After our success, I learned to aim higher and to challenge myself. I learned not to back down from what appear to be insurmountable odds. If a challenge presents itself, I will go after it. I have also learned not to gamble with other people's education and not to make promises before considerable thought. Creating a successful club has made me approach situations more maturely and responsibly. Upper limits do not exist in reality. With persistence, nothing is impossible.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
It was 8:00 A.M. on the first day of the Tournament of Champions National Debate
Tournament (TOC), and I was utterly exhausted from researching, writing
arguments, and doing practice debates the day before. I was also jittery and
excited, for I was finally competing at the most prestigious high school policy
debate tournament in the country. Only 72 teams were accepted into the
tournament, and this Holy Grail of debate had eluded me for a year and a half.
In
my junior year, my partner and I were put on the waiting list for the
tournament,
and then, three days before the tournament, a spot opened up. My partner and I
immediately began working on debate like crazed fanatics, tossing homework aside
in order to prepare for the tournament, then flying across the country to
compete. Although badly unprepared, we were ecstatic.
In the first round, our opponents were Westminster School's top team, among the
16 best teams in the country. Their arguments were excellent, and despite our
most valiant attempts we lost that round. Rounds 2, 4, 5, and 6 had similar
outcomes, and the win/loss record for my first year at TOC was 2:5. Two wins,
five losses. It was depressingly reminiscent of sophomore year, when nearly
every
tournament had ended with a losing record.
Sunday night, after the seven prelim rounds were finished, gloom hung over my
head. I was functioning on four hours of sleep and doubts were gleefully
parading
through my fatigued head. I was missing classes to be here and had spent the
last
week preparing for the tournament rather than the AP exams that were beginning
in
five days. My teachers had suggested that I skip the tournament and my parents
had been hesitant to support me. What would they say when they heard about my
dismal performance this weekend? My blood began to boil at the
thought of the 'I told you so,'s that I'd be hearing in a few days, and suddenly
the debater in me stood up and aimed an evil glare in my direction.
She demanded to know why I was moping around like a whiny second-grader. I liked
debate, didn't I? I'd chosen to come here, knowing that the competition would be
intense, and had opted to spend my time embroiled in fast, heated arguments
about
foreign policy and weapons of mass destruction. I'd debated decently in all of
the rounds, and there was no justification for sitting on my bum and brooding.
A bit shocked at first, I realized that the irate debater manifestation of
myself was correct. I was obsessed with debate, and still haven't found anything
as stimulating and invigorating as the fierce, intellectual arguing that is
policy debate. Unlike other forms of debate, policys focused on argumentation
rather than rhetoric, and it pulled out a confrontational, aggressive side of me
that none of my other academic activities could. The multitude of rounds that I
lost in tenth grade, although dismal, only served to make me stronger, more
tenacious, and more determined to succeed. And the work had paid off; even if my
showing at TOC hadn't been stellar, I'd made it into elimination rounds at other
national tournaments in my junior year. Furthermore, despite having only three
days' notice, I'd held my own against some of the best teams in the country,
teams that had been preparing for two months. The chance to face off against
some
of the most intelligent people in the activity was more than worth the lost
study
time.
People ask me why I debate, why I choose to participate in an activity that
takes up most of my weekends, my spare time, and weeks of every summer for
tournaments and camps. The answer, which my debater self reminded me of at TOC,
is that policy debate challenges me. It demands work, obsession, and passion.
Schoolwork, sports, music - none of those hobbies is as intense as debate, and
none of them has taught me as much as debate has. From debate, I've learned
about
a wide variety of topics: deaf education policies, racial profiling, critical
race theory, and Bowers v. Hardwick, for starters. Furthermore, debate has
taught
me about life - from the countless rounds where Ive had to give a speech
extemporaneously, I've developed an ability to appear self-assured and
competent.
That has bled over into life outside of debate, and I find that I'm much more
self-confident and forceful in front of people than I used to be. More
importantly, debate has made me critical and skeptical. Everything is open to
attack in debate, since the point is to seek out the holes in your opponent's
arguments and then blast them into craters with the cannons of logic and
evidence. After spending hours playing this game, I can't take anything for
granted - information that teachers present, articles in the news, formerly
sacrosanct religious beliefs, all are scrutinized from a doubting point of view.
It's as if I have to intellectually dissect whatever thought is presented to me
before I can take a stance on it. I've been debating for three years, going on
four, and yet my obsession with this activity of intellectual skirmishing has
yet
to fade.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal statement
One of the main activities of the Junior Classical League (JCL) is certamen, a buzzer game that's Quizbowl with a Classical twist: all of the questions are about ancient civilization. In ninth grade, when I started taking Latin, my teacher would use the last few minutes of class for a bit of certamen practice. Although we only had time for two or three questions, each reference to an unfamiliar nymph or a quirky Roman bathing habit spurred me to learn more about the ancient world. The Classics were a foreign realm to me, and the tidbits of knowledge that I picked up in the certamen questions were entrancing hints that an ancient civilization had once thrived in Rome and Greece. I chose to focus on mythology and Roman customs, and studied fiercely. My teacher took the school's JCLers to competitions, and through attending local, state, and regional certamens I met people who passionate about ancient Greece and Rome. We challenged one another to see who was the quickest at answering questions and argued about obscure mythology. I continued to play certamen for the next three years, and although winning competitions and correctly answering questions were thrilling, the true allure of certamen was that it pushed me to learn more about Latin than basic grammar and translation. Since certamen questions covered a wide range of topics, from Roman history to grammar to Latin derivatives, in order to succeed I had to study subjects beyond what I learned in class. As my interest in certamen grew, I started to write certamen questions as well as compete in tournaments. As opposed to simply reading Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology and attempting to master its contents via rote memorization, writing questions demanded that I absorb the stories of the capricious Olympians and think how to best test the information in the format of a certamen question. Writing them certainly increased my skills at the game, since I was retaining more information, but it was primarily a way to learn more about the fascinating cultures that had once flourished on the Mediterranean. These were militaristic civilizations that had conquered the greater part of Europe, but they were also the poetic realms that had produced Homer and Vergil. At first, Dr. Duncan, an ex-JCLer who dropped by Harker to help the Latin students with certamen practice posted my questions online on the Certamen Questions Database. Although I knew that very few people were using my questions, I was still excited at the idea that my work was available to other people. In my own way, I was promoting the study of the Classics, spreading knowledge of this bygone but fascinating world. I spent my weekends perusing the official, JCL-sanctioned sourcebooks for certamen and wrote questions for whole sections of Mythology, by Edith Hamilton. Although my early questions were basic, a hundred and fifty questions later, my question-writing skills have improved dramatically and my certamen questions possessed the same flair and tested for the same depth of knowledge that questions from the National Junior Classical Leagues certamens did. Last summer Dr. Duncan published Myth Mayhem, a book of more than a thousand certamen questions on the material in Mythology, and we sold many copies at the National JCL convention. I wrote over three hundred of the questions in Mayhem. The thrill of seeing my work in print was certainly exciting, but the true joy came when teachers and students from across the country bought Myth Mayhem - people would be using my questions to further their own knowledge of mythology! Three years after starting certamen, I remain excited about all the details of the Classical world that I don't know - yet. Continuing with writing questions, I'm now writing a book similar to Myth Mayhem, but this time around I'm expanding my horizons to write on Latin literature rather than mythology, and I'm doing it independently. My questions are based on Moses Hadas' A History of Latin Literature, and my goal is to present the information contained in the book in an engaging format that is more accessible to the average JCLer than Hadas' dull, if informative, prose. Thus far, I've written 227 questions on subjects ranging from Plautus to Cicero, and with determination and a bit of luck, next summer I'll be selling a book filled with thousands of questions on Latin literature at the National JCL convention.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Tell us something about yourself...
From across the biology room, a small but confident voice asked Mr. Jordan whether certain genes were hereditary. The inquisitive student was a junior named Shayma and I noticed that she had a trace of a strange accent in her voice. After chatting with her, she told me that she moved to Boise from Egypt last year. She didn't seem to know many other students, so I introduced her to some of my friends. Although initially intimidated with hanging around a bunch of seniors, pretty soon she was packed in the Pontiac with us on the way to lunch. I asked her about the many differences she had observed while living in the United States. We connected because I, too, am originally from a different country: Panama. Because I have more international experience than other American teenagers from my class, I felt like I could appreciate her unique situation. I laughed with her about certain situations that we both could understand. For example, we giggled at the similar memories of our moms getting frustrated trying to order a Happy Meal. It was an almost impossible task at a drive-through intercom because their strong accents prevented any communication. There was one point, especially, on which my new friend and I strongly related. That common principle was that we knew our families are always number one. If my four-year-old sister is sad because another girl in her preschool class has the same t-shirt, my dad will be at Kmart the next day. When my ten-year-old sister wants to learn to dance, my mom and I blast Ricky Martin. My dad suffers countless hours trying to produce a single assignment, such as a 'Difference in Learning Styles' paper, for his MBA classes. My mom and I chuckle to ourselves as we edit one of his masterpieces. Even though my older sister, Lourdes, is living in Phoenix now, she does not escape from the warm grasp of the family. Lourdes haplessly bought an ill-fated piece of junk for her first car and my dad was the one to come to the rescue. After a few costly repairs, he now drives the wretched car and she drives his. From their actions, my family has demonstrated to me the value of supporting each other. Encouraged by our shared experiences, Shayma and I became closer friends. We discussed the many benefits of sharing two cultures, including the option of celebrating numerous holidays. During the early years of my family's life in the United States, we celebrated all the Panamanian holidays. We celebrated Children's Day on November 1st, the Day of the Dead on November 2nd, Panama Independence Day on November 3rd, Mother's Day on December 8th, and the customary Christmas and Easter. When Lourdes and I entered grade school, however, we started bringing home gooey painted pasta for Mother's Day gifts in May and dressed up like goblins for trick-or-treating in October. So, eventually, as a family we decided which holidays were most meaningful to us. I won't forget, however, the gratifying transitional period when every couple of weeks was a fiesta in the Arjona household. Shayma let me enjoy the similar memories of her family, though they were more recent since she had only been in the states only a few years. Shayma misses her previous home in Egypt, but we agree that there are numerous opportunities in the United States that are not found elsewhere. Being a foreign-born American has helped me to appreciate those distinct opportunities. My family never talks about it, but we moved to this country to establish a more secure life. At the same time, we strive to keep our culture. I discuss with my family my future career plans to become a bioengineer. The enthusiasm of our conversation is proof enough of the contentment and balance we have created in our life in Boise, Idaho. In college next year, I will meet amazing people from a variety of different backgrounds. Because of my own Panamanian and American background, I feel easily connect with persons of many cultures and want to appreciate them. I hope to continue to share that spirit of amiability and provide leadership through example towards my roommates, class peers, and swim team members in college next year.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
How did you realize you wanted a career in business?
People may be surprised to learn that my childhood dream was to become an artist. In elementary school, both my teachers and fellow students admired my artwork. Then, in high school, I took as many art classes as possible including an independent study, all of which advanced my cause. Thus armed with talent and training, I was poised, in a sense, to realize this goal. However, once enrolled in university, new interests peaked my curiosity. During my first year of college, I modified my dream of becoming the next Kandinsky and set my mind on becoming an art dealer upon graduation. Accordingly, I decided to double major in business and art history. After two years of pursuing these very different degrees, I was admitted into Business School. Suddenly, I was immersed in a world completely different from that of the humanities, and, to be frank, I enjoyed it. Global Marketing became more intriguing than 15th century painting. I came to realize the financial aspects of becoming an Art Dealer were more interesting to me than the art itself. I dropped my art history classes (but, importantly, not my interest in art and its history) and pursued a Marketing degree. Although my passion for the business world is stronger, my love of art has not decreased. When traveling, the local art galleries always yield many pleasurable hours. I still get my hair blown back when I see original works by Miro or Brancusi. I also astonish friends when I explain the philosophies underpinning movements like Dadaism or Rococo. In my heart, a business career comes first. However, I believe that the knowledge and creativity I gained from studying art will enable me to contribute unique ideas to the XXX School of Business and corporate world as a whole.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
No. You don't know him. No, you have never heard his name. No, you don't even know he exists, yet once you read this, you will want to meet him. He was born in 1923 in the midst of Nazi Germany, where he grew up facing feelings of hatred towards him, all because he was an innocent Jewish boy. With black hair and dark eyes, he was different than his siblings (for they had blonde hair and blue eyes), and thus was called a 'dirty Jew' by the other Aryan youngsters. At age twelve, his parents decided to escape Europe before falling to Hitler and his Nazism. For the first time, he left his home on a boat and headed to Cuba, where he was denied access. More feelings of hatred and prejudice was what he encountered. Then, by pure chance, he anchored in the remote port of Buenaventura, in Colombia. He had never heard the Spanish language, but due to economic necessities, he had to start working in the Spanish speaking wilderness as a golf caddie. He was only twelve, and the hope for receiving a formal education had banished. He soon moved from the coastal town to Bogota, which was still only a big town and not a city. Life was hard and money was scarce. His father was a seamstress while his mother juggled the job of raising five kids and attending a bakery. He worked hard: he was a newspaper delivery boy, a caddie, and a messenger at a factory. His twenty cents a week salary taught him the value of each cent. With all these jobs, he never again entered a classroom. Today, he is fluent in five languages, learned how to read and write, knows math, science, history, literature, and geography, just to name a few. He has his own factory where thousands of panty hose and socks are produced and sold each day. He never attended college, yet he has become a successful businessman. He has three kids, who all hold a college-degree. He has established and supported a family, all from scratch. He supports all four of his siblings, who have not been as successful as he has. Also, he now takes care of his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's. He is always there to help his family, no matter what the problem is. He has taught me numerable lessons and values. Clearly, he is a self made man. He has taught me, and most important, has showed me that hard work and determination can take a person anywhere. One's dreams are the limit to what one can achieve. He often tells me: 'Value your education because it is the only thing that you can hold forever.' He encourages me to pursue my dreams, and pushes my intellectual abilities to the limit. He inspired me to strive to reach my goals. He epitomizes the idea of a self made, Renaissance man, for he is wise, loving, caring, and determined. I am proud to say, this man is my grandfather. I hope everyone gets to have one as great as mine, but I find it hard to believe that there are that many great people in this world.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, or risk that you have taken and its impact on you.
Bang! The gunshot exploded as I ate dinner with my parents at a local restaurant in Colombia. As we saw the gunman shoot, my family and I hid under the table while I continued to clutch the hamburger I was eating. I was only ten years old, and violence was already part of my everyday life. This was not a foreign fear but a living reality. Two days later, while in XXX school, a bomb threat reached the classrooms, causing all the students to evacuate to the dense forest surrounding the institution. Fear for my life are the only words that explain my terror. On the other hand, life in our South American nation was also the paradise anyone could dream of. Warm hospitality, strong traditions, and a nurturing community were the customs I grew up with. Weekly family gatherings to celebrate Jewish festivities and eat traditional Spanish foods composed my life. In addition, I had my entire family as well as my childhood friends, all living within close proximity. In this homogeneous society, I felt a strong sense of security in my roots, for the combination of my Jewish roots and the Colombian traditions made me feel extremely comfortable. Then one day my parents sat me down for a serious conversation. My greatest fear now became a reality: 'We are moving to Miami in six months.' I stared at my parents in disbelief. How could I leave my comfort zone? How would I establish my life in another country, with different traditions and customs? But I did not have enough time to answer these questions, for before I knew it, I was on American Airlines flight 241 to Miami. I started seventh grade in a new school where I did not find anyone like myself. The first year was a miserable and lonely one, for I had no friends to call on the weekends and no family members whom I could visit. Slowly, I started to accept the harsh reality: my life would never be like the one I had in Colombia. Family dinners with ajiaco, a traditional Colombian soup, and gefilte fish were now a thing of the past. On the other hand, I no longer had to worry about my safety: now I could wear my gold earrings to the mall, and I did not fear someone pulling them. My new worry was getting accustomed to my life in a society with different values. I also had to find happiness in this new country. Slowly but surely, I discovered the differences between the third world country and Miami and learned to make the most out of them. Instead of longing to interact with people of my culture and background, I learned to appreciate the new cultures which I encountered in my new home. I discovered that other people were interested in the diversity which I brought, for a Jewish Colombian young girl was not the typical combination found in my new environment. Perhaps the most strategic change I faced, and appreciated the most, was going to school with African American kids and those of other nationalities. I soon joined Multicultural Club, and through the organization I attended various events that celebrated cultural diversity. This exposure to other cultures helped shape my character by making me more culturally aware. After living in the United Stated for five years, I now look back on the tragic day I moved to Miami and smile about that moment. Although I took the risk of leaving my comfort zone, I know that it has planted the seeds for my intellectual growth and development. Knowing the future lies ahead I have to strive to preserve my own culture and individuality, and in doing so I contribute to the appreciation of all cultures.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Describe a moment that has had an impact on your goals.
I looked at the score board: 14-13. It was the match point of the district volleyball game, and I was at the service line with the ball in my hands. This would be the last time I would ever play for my high school team. The whistle blew. The pressure was all on me. I started to think about my life, my education, and my goals in search of inspiration. I was only nine years old when I joined XXX Clubs girls volleyball team in XXX city. I had never played the sport, and naturally, as any amateur, I was not good at it. When it was time to play, I was so nervous that I could not even bump the ball over the net. I would turn to look at my mom in the stands, clapping and giving me a sense of security, but then I would just miss the underhand serve. It was a harsh reality, but I was not good at all. My determination and my love for the game kept me from quitting, until I had to move to Miami, where there was no XXX Club volleyball team. I was fourteen years old when I decided to try out for Junior Varsity volleyball team at school. Tryouts were intimidating, for the other girls were much better than me, but the coach saw my passion for the game and decided to give me a chance. For the entire season, a warmed the bench for my teammates. Nevertheless, I was determined to improve. The following season, I migrated from the bench to the starting line up. It was a great feeling now that I could get an overhand serve over the net and in the court. Still, that season I could not spike a ball to the floor. Eleventh grade soon arrived, and I was moved to the varsity team, where I was also a starter. I worked on my weaknesses, and strived to improve. The season was great, for I learned a lot from it. The team's record was 16-3 (the best it had been in a long time). Now, as a senior, I had passed the hardest obstacle: spiking. As I thought about my life, I realized how much I had improved on the court. My passion for the game drove my determination. More important, my determination was not limited to the court, but was evident in all my activities, both extracurricular and school related. I had reached my goals in life, and was now ready to set new ones. BEEP! The whistle blew and I contacted the ball for the serve.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Why are you interested in studying engineering?
The field of engineering is appealing to me because it deals with problem solving, which offers a practical application of ones knowledge. The field allows one to use the rigorous powers of analysis, which prepares students for future careers in science, industry, research, business, law, or medicine. Engineering requires an individual to use the tools learned in mathematics and science and apply them to real problems. The field trains an individual to understand a concept thoroughly in order to make use of it in a practical manner. I find it particularly attractive that one uses advanced math to solve complex problems, for math is my strongest and favorite subject. Furthermore, engineering allows me to experience hands on learning by conducting experiments in a lab to further develop my skills. I like the fact that engineering combines math and science in a field that allows one to use analytical skills and creativity to come up with the most practical solution to dilemmas. These aspects are appealing to me because I see engineering as a practical science that helps society solve crucial problems in a mathematical and analytical way by developing new processes and methods.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Briefly describe any experiences that you have had that are related to engineering or that led you to have an interest in one or another field of engineering.
I became interested in engineering as a result of my A.P calculus and chemistry classes last year, where I saw the practical applications of the materials learned. While finding the derivative of the cost function to find its minimal cost to examining an unknown substance to discover its components, I grew interested in a field that combines both subjects. Furthermore, I attended the Introduction to Engineering Program at Notre Dame last summer, where I reconfirmed my previous interest. At the program, I explored various fields of engineering as well as the curriculum in each of these. I also learned about the work of an engineer today, which was appealing to me.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
How do you think the programs in engineering offered at Princeton might suit your particular interest?
Unlike many universities, Princeton University offers a wide variety of programs from which to choose. Although I am sure that I want to pursue the field of engineering, I have not yet decided what type of engineering I want to study. Since Princeton offers various types of engineering, I have many options to choose from once I decide what field I want. In addition, I am attracted to the engineering curriculum at Princeton, for students study mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing during the first two years in addition to seven courses in humanities and social sciences. In this manner, the University shapes its engineering students into well-rounded students that are knowledgeable in an array of areas. Furthermore, the program provides engineers with language and communication skills that are crucial for today's world, which are often areas that other engineering programs neglect. The freshmen seminars offered at Princeton include topics such as the Engineering of Ice Cream or How Cities Work, which are programs that are unique to the University. The program at Princeton is appealing because it is a flexible program where the student can choose from many courses.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Think about all the things you hope or expect to gain from your college experiences, and then tell us which two or three you would place at the top of your list.
College is a once in a lifetime opportunity where an individual learns and experiences new things everyday. During the next four years, I am eager to become intellectually mature not only in my field of expertise but in other areas as well. The foundations that I will build in my undergraduate years will mold me into a well-prepared woman for the career world. In addition to engineering, I want to become a well-rounded person who can hold intellectual conversations about a wide variety of topics. In addition to expanding my intellectual limits, I hope to become a mature and independent person. The college experience will be an exciting one for me because I will be living in a college dorm as opposed to my home. This encompasses various new responsibilities, for I will have to be independent. Consequently, I will have to learn to manage my life and my money in a responsible manner. Independence and maturity are crucial tools to achieving future.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Discuss something you just wish you understodd better than you now do.
Very often, bad things happen to good people. It seems indeed cruel that honest and caring people have to suffer the consequences of hardships. For this reason, I wish I understood why events such as these occur. For example, I do not understand why innocent children are born with birth defects or cancer. It is also a mystery to me why people are starving throughout the world and why women are being suppressed in Afghanistan. When someone has not done any harm to other humans, why do they have to suffer dire consequences? In instances like these, I wish I understood the role of God and religion. I may never be able to understand this concept, for it is an abstract concept that involves a thorough understanding of religion. Nevertheless, I wish I could comprehend why bad things happen to good people.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Chances are that you are going to have one or more roommates at some point in your college years. What sort of person would you consider the ideal roommate? Explain why.
The ideal roommate needs to be a person who has an array of ideas and interests, like myself. The person should want a quiet study time during the weekdays and a social time in the evenings. She should be understanding and compassionate, so that I can share my feelings with her. In addition, she should value her education as highly as I do. Just like myself, she should be a caring, friendly, energetic, and outgoing person who is always eager to explore new ideas. Furthermore, she should be an honest and open-minded person whom I can live with in a harmonious manner. From rapelling to snowboarding to art and to studying, the roommate should be a well rounder person. The ideal roommate should be a respectful person who shares some similarities with me, yet celebrates our cultural and religious differences. My ideal roommate should be an organized, clean person, but not a neat freak. The roommate should be responsible for her personal belongings and have respect for my property as well. Hopefully, my roommate likes a variety of music, ranging from Latin to pop to classical music. My roommate should be a person whom I can trust. I hope my roommate is a person whom I can grow and mature with.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
What one person, class, book, or experience would you point to as having had a significant effect on the way you think about something? Explain.
My exploratory trip to Israel two summers ago clearly shaped the way I view my own heritage and ancestry. Before the trip, I valued my Jewish roots and history, but I was unaware of the struggles my people have undertaken in order to have a Jewish nation. Furthermore, I did not know the hardships of everyday life faced by Israeli people. During my summer trip, I visited the Holy Land with a group of teenagers. During the six-week trip, I toured Israel from North to South and East to West. While staying in Jerusalem, I learned about the conflicts between Muslim, Jews, and Christians over the sacred city. I also experienced the coexistence of different people within one city. In addition, I learned the history of the Jewish people in the place where it happened. I toured the museums, national cemeteries, mountains, and beaches of my native land. Furthermore, I compared the way of life in Israel with that of XXX, learning the pros and cons of each. The most impacting moment was my weeklong stay at the Israeli army base where I was a soldier. I woke up at 5:30 AM to exercise and then proceeded to courses on military tactics and skills. By shooting an M-16 rifle or having to work in the kitchen that served the five hundred soldiers, I experienced the life of every eighteen year old in the land. I learned how to be thankful for the system in the United States where enlistment is voluntary. Not only did I mature during my trip, but I also learned to appreciate my Jewish culture. By facing the barriers that are present in Israel, I further appreciate my way of life in XXX. The trip changed the way I view life and my culture.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
General personal statement, no topic
Reach As I cross the green, I pause to take one last glance over my shoulder at the castle, trying to capture an image that will last me a lifetime. Months ago, as I daydreamed at home in Taiwan, the desire found its way into my head: I wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone. As an Asian American, I do not have any drop of Irish blood in me. The strange urge, though, grew stronger, and by August, I have managed to fly, walk, ride, run, and tumble my way to Blarney Castle in Ireland. That was the summer after grade ten; and actually, I aspired then to do more than just kiss the Blarney Stone. I wanted to set foot in the Vatican, behold the Leaning Tower of Pisa, visit the little Irish town called Tralee, reunite with Irish friends I had met a year earlier, marvel at the magnificent Book of Kells, and venture up the snowy mountains of Switzerland. In order to do so many different things, I needed great control over my itinerary, so I decided to make the trip alone: total freedom. As I was only fifteen years old, making my own trip would be a challenge. I would have to plan my route, book youth hostels, compare airfares, pack for the long trek, and fly alone to Europe. When I finally touched down at my destination, I would have to find my own way to the hostel on foot and public transport: a reasonable budget would permit no taxi rides. Then, for about five weeks, I would be on my own. My family and friends would be back home, thousands of miles away. My parents had complete confidence in me, but I wondered, as I hugged them goodbye, if their confidence was misplaced. Before I knew it, though, I was checking in at the hostelI had made it to Rome. I soon met other travelers who shared my interests and discovered that I could easily make friends if I felt lonely. I learned to be independent, to be a street-smart backpacker, and to get along with strangers. First in Italy and then in Ireland and Switzerland, I surprised myself by being able to roam and discover on my own with only a trusty cell phone as a lifeline. I found museums to visit, streets to shop, ancient ruins to explore, and national parks to hike. Afterwards, I always managed to arrive back at Pisa Centrale Station for my next train, Bus Iireann Killarney Station for my next bus, or Zurich Flughafen for my flight home. I realized each of the dreams I had had in Taiwan and new ones that came to me in Europe, like biking through Killarney National Park. The park boasts many breathtaking sights ranging from waterfalls to castles and from gardens to lakes. Exploring the park, I biked over 24 miles in one day. After hours upon hours of cycling, I was exhausted; the stunning beauty of the terrain ahead, however, kept me moving. I remember parking my rented bicycle on the shore of a vast, serene lake and sitting at the waters edge. There was not another human in sightin any given direction, I could see only the emerald of grass and leaves, the amber of branches and earth, and the sapphire of water and sky. The idyllic beauty of my surroundings was overwhelming. However, what I enjoyed that summer, more than the scenery and the landmarks, was the independence and the adventure. For the first time in my life, I was completely on my own, free to go where I wanted, when I wanted, free to follow my itinerary or change it on a whimfree to decide. I discovered that when we chase our dreams, we are on our own, but if we want something intensely enough, we will find a way to reach out for it. I accomplished much that summerI have fifteen rolls of film and a new, confident outlook to prove it. Those five weeks were the most amazing ones of my life.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Describe an activity or extracurricular involvement and its importance to you.
InterAct Memories 'Do you know why I come here every day?' asked the woman, ecstatically, poised over the donation receipt she was about to complete. 'Its because of people like you! You've made my day. You could be watching a baseball game, but here you are, raising money for UNICEF!' I thought guiltily of the Mets ticket in my back pocket. The game was to begin in less than two hours. I wasn't really the boy this UNICEF volunteer thought I was. But I was trying. I did enjoy working in the community. There is something about leading a blind toddler down a long corridor or trying to explain Mother's Day to an orphan'a feeling at once cold and warm - that makes me remember, This is why I stay in InterAct, why I have chosen InterAct. In the ninth grade, my first InterAct Club (international action service club) activity was a senior citizens' health convention co-sponsored by InterAct's parent Rotary Club. I helped a dentist give free checkups and teach dental hygiene. I enjoyed the experience, and I have been in InterAct ever since. While staffing InterAct's do-it-yourself greeting card booth at a charity fair, I faced the matter of explaining Mother's Day to an orphan. I was amazed and impressed by the boy's grinning acceptance of the facts of his lifehis candor and smile showed no trace of grief or resentment. I vowed to remember his resilience and keep my mouth shut the next time I felt like complaining about how difficult my own life was. Later, while volunteering at the Lux Mundi Center for the Mentally Impaired, I had the chance to take a Center toddler, who was blind but enjoyed walking, on walks around the complex. This experience served to reinforce my earlier vow. Some of my time at Lux Mundi, where I volunteer monthly with other InterAct members, is spent performing duties like cutting old clothes into washrags, but my favorite part of each visit is caring for the residents. I particularly enjoy working with the children because I feel that they need the most support and that I can make the greatest difference in reaching out to them. While helping out at the Lux Mundi Center is the InterAct activity I enjoy most, I have worked on other InterAct projects as well, such as the Student Beat Concert we held last year. We raised US$650, which we divided between UNICEF and our club's International Crisis Fund, a project I initiated. When disasters occur, groups scramble to fundraise, but victims often need immediate relief. Saving money continuously in advance ensures that we will have cash readily available. We drew from the Fund for the first time this September, when we donated our savings (then $400) to the Red Cross to assist in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. At the end of my junior year in high school, I faced a tough choice. I could choose to run for InterAct President or to run for re-election as Student Council President; I knew better than to attempt to juggle two presidencies along with my senior-year workload. As Council President, I had enjoyed organizing dances and other activities as well as effecting improvements around school like the installation of more storm drains and a student-accessible photocopier for the Bilingual Department. However, I ultimately realized that students at my school do not need dances and photocopies quite so much as children at the Lux Mundi Center need food and care. I found my work in InterAct more meaningful because it allowed me to meet more people and make a greater difference in their lives, so I chose InterActa decision I have never regretted.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Personal Statement
My grandfather spent his childhood studying the Torah in secret, lost an eye
fighting in a battle where both sides were wrong, and spent his adult life
dreading a knock at the door from a member of the KGB. While the other children
at the nursing home were listening to life stories with bored expressions and
vacant smiles, I was being taught the meaning of courage from a noble man wasting
away from prostate cancer. I have blocked out the painful memories of a
late-night phone call and the hospital bed that my grandfather never left.
Instead, my memories center around how he always gave me chocolates from a
never-ending supply and sat me on his knee to tell me about a world I would never
fully understand.
Religious persecution in the USSR never stopped my devout grandfather from
sneaking out at the age of five to study Torah; at his age I was learning
hopscotch and how to ice-skate. My mother fondly recounts a childhood spent
listening to Jewish songs on the radio and knowing that each knock on the door
could be police officers sent to take her parents to jail. My worst transgression
against the law consisted of shoplifting a pack of gum when I was six. Our worlds
were so different that I am amazed we shared anything as ordinary as a family
bond.
I grew up firm in the belief that I had the right to read and listen to anything
I pleased. Everything my grandfather told me seemed so alien that I doubted it at
first, the way a small child doubts that the detergent under the sink is really
harmful if swallowed. It was not until I was older and read about the subject
that I truly fathomed the circumstances in which my grandfather lived.
All my life I have been striving not to disappoint his memory. I do not feel
that I have succeeded yet, but I hope that someday I will. He was an amazing man
and I must repay the debt that I owe him for teaching me the right way to live,
by the strength of my convictions and no one else's. Right now I can only offer a
small token in remembrance; I put a lighted menorah in the window every Hanukkah,
partly because it looks good there and partly because I can. As I watch the
flames dance to the inaudible beat of the world, I imagine my grandfather in the
room with me, sharing in the beauty of the flicker of the fire on the windowpane.
In Judaism, a flame represents the eternal spirit and the accomplishment of a
holy mission by setting an example. Whenever I light the menorah, I think of my
grandfather and everything he taught me through his illustrious example. He may
not have had a peaceful life, but at least he will be honored with the
immortality I grant him by retaining his lessons and passing them onto the
grandchildren that I shall have someday.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
What is your favorite activity?
Stars exploded in front of my eyes as I was being choked mercilessly. I fought back with all my might to break out of my assailant's hold with everything I had been taught, but progress was impossible without air in my lungs. Just before I succumbed to the darkness blurring the edges of my vision I heard my opponent say, "twenty four, twenty five" and then suddenly the pressure was off my neck and I was able to suck in delicious sips of cool air. This was my first introduction to Judo, receiving advice and experience from someone who had competed in Judo in the Olympics. The focus of martial arts is the blending of mind and body into a single entity. The process of learning Karate, Jujutsu, and Judo hones concentration and self-control, skills I have then applied to all other facets of my life. The sports are soothing; focusing on a match pushes all unpleasant thoughts from my mind while the physical exertion is the most effective stress-reliever I have found. I started martial arts because I wanted to participate in an athletic activity mainly comprised of thinking and strategy where my lack of inherent athletic ability would not be a deterrent from excelling; I stayed with it because it gave me the confidence and focus to pursue other ventures I had weaknesses in.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Major essay: In what role do you see yourself working immediately after graduation? Why? How will your past and present experiences help you achieve this? How will the London Business School MBA Programme contribute to this goal? Finally, how do you see your career progressing five years after graduation? (Max 600 words)
I want to work in a business-to-consumer industry because I think the psychological dynamics of spending are more diverse, less rational, and to me more interesting than in the business-to-business industry I work in today. An MBA will help me make that change as it will give me knowledge of business approaches beyond my own industry - both through the curriculum, but also through learning from my fellow students. Further, an MBA would enable me to make career progress much faster than I could without one. In fact, it is likely a necessity: In doing my research on future employment opportunities, I found that companies often explicitly state that having an MBA is a requirement for getting the job! Particularly at LBS, I can continue performing in the truly international and multi-cultural environment I so thrive in: The share of international participants at LBS is higher than at many other top MBA schools. I presently lead a team of people from more than 8 different nationalities spanning Asia, Europe and North America. Bringing such diversity together is highly rewarding, and helps me understand aspects I implicitly take for granted: Recently, I introduced new pricing guidelines, and during the first meeting the Americans were quick to ask questions, whereas their Malaysian counterpart kept quiet. Only afterwards did the Malaysian approach me to get clarification on some questions. I learned that even though I encouraged debate at the meeting, it was deeply ingrained in him that publicly questioning me would be a sign of disrespect. My first interpretation of his silence was that it was a sign of agreement and understanding but that turned out not to be the case. Finally, I am especially enthusiastic about LBS' summer internship, which will give me a chance to get a taste of new industries. Given my wish to change industry, I have no definite employment path planned immediately upon graduation. However, among the options I consider are - joining the Dutch electronics company Philips, who recruit MBA graduates on a fast-track programme. 5 years later - or even before - this will position me for a senior management job for example in the International Marketing group which deals with development, production, distribution and communication about all the latest products launching around the world; - joining MARS, the American consumer goods company. Since I have no previous experience with FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), I expect an introduction period. However, I expect to quickly be able to move into a position for example as Brand Manager responsible for developing and executing brand innovation and communication plans. In both the two options, my 9 years of experience from an international conglomerate will come in handy. I will be able to use my understanding of how internal politics in big corporations work, how the ability to communicate with other departments can be critical to ones success, and how to manoeuvre in a strong and sometimes rigid corporate culture. In the case of Philips, the MBA fast track programme will emerge me in a fast paced, competitive environment. This is similar to the situation when I joined the management trainee programme at Maersk. I work well under pressure and thrive in a competitive environment. I graduated Maersk's programme as 2nd out of 130 graduates in my year.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Major essay: Please describe your experience of working in and leading teams, either in your professional or personal life. Given this experience, what role do you think you will play in your study group, and how do you intend to contribute to it? (Max 500 words)
I am presently member of a committee responsible for planning and executing the annual company indoor football tournament. Around 1,000 people will participate in the tournament and will afterwards enjoy a 3-course dinner followed by live music and dancing. The budget is around USD 80,000. I volunteered to join the committee because I encourage the social aspect of work. Long working hours become more tolerable if you have fun with the people you work with. Social events like the football tournament help people get together and have fun. At the first committee meeting, we had to assign the initial tasks among us. No one seemed interested in the task of drawing up a preliminary budget, so rather than rushing out and reserving my preferred task, I agreed to do the budget. This is to me the essence of teamwork: To realise what the capabilities in the group are weak and strong - and then try to enforce the weak points. This is in line with my leadership philosophy: Each situation has its own unique solution. I do not believe in one cure-all approach; for instance that either delegating or centralising decisions is the sure way to success. The newest member of my team requires a firm framework for him/her to work in, whereas the experienced member would be highly de-motivated by that approach. Six months ago I led an initiative at Maersk to change the product offering, i.e. the schedules vessels sail according to. I had met with Dutch flower bulb growers, who sell their produce to the US market. To fit their production runs, the growers were looking for a Saturday vessel departure from Rotterdam, and an arrival in New York the following weekend, to have the goods in the stores Monday morning. The main challenge was to get the operational matters solved: Changing the port rotation of one service has a ripple effect on other vessel schedules, and ocean terminal capacity is extremely scarce, which limits the flexibility. I brought together the local operations staff of all North European ports and the overall operations responsible for Europe. During the first meeting, most were positive that the change was feasible, but in the ensuing weeks communication between the parties was lacking - so I instigated daily telephone conferences to keep momentum. However, operations in Rotterdam finally found the impact on other vessel schedules too severe. Despite this I was determined to make it work, and in co-operation with the regional operations manager, I gathered the necessary data and developed a good contingency plan, which finally made Rotterdam go along with the plan. Top management approved the schedule change and two weeks later, the flower bulb growers got the service product they wanted. This change generated USD 2 mill. profit to the company over a five-month period. My role in the study group will reflect my experience of working in and leading a team. I will use my organisational skills to structure the task at hand, and try to strengthen weak sides in the team. I will use my social and communication skills to bridge cultural gaps, motivate and thereby contribute to the group's performance.
Essay Category:
Essay Question:
Minor essay: Student involvement is an extremely important part of the London MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. What type of student club or campus community event do you envisage yourself initiating? How would you set about organising this, and how would you communicate it to the wider School community?
I have played guitar since I was 12. These days, I perform in clubs and universities in Copenhagen and around Denmark playing guitar in the soul/funk band 'Slapdaddy Groove'. I would like to continue performing at LBS and envisage creating a forum where other students who play music can perform and the campus community can get together and enjoy a concert and a drink. The concept would be a monthly concert and jam session at the school, where a 'house band', consisting of fellow student musicians and me, would play for one hour first, and thereafter it would be a 'free' stage. Anyone can join in and perform with or without an instrument and with or without the support of the 'house band'. This way, I create a social event that facilitates artistic expression, networking and relaxing to music at the same time. Getting to know new people is to me an essential part of my MBA experience. I would firstly need to gather the 'house band', and I would use the school's messaging boards to advertise for candidates. We would need to find a place to rehearse a few times, and if not on campus, then rent a place outside the school. Obviously we would need instruments and amplifiers also, and since private companies have a record of sponsoring social events at LBS - we might find a company that would sponsor renting equipment for the concerts. I would contact the Public Relations department at LBS to get a list of companies that have a history of supporting LBS events. With an external company involved, the events will as a bonus also serve to strengthen the ties between LBS and the surrounding business community as well as help students get in contact with possible future employers. Finally, with the band in place we would need proper marketing to make sure everyone is aware of the concerts. Again, I would use posters on the school's messaging boards, but direct e-mailing could be another good way to reach the potential audience. I would invite people who like music and social events to sign up for an e-mailing list on the posters. This way, we could establish a direct link to make sure those interested are aware of the time and place of the next concert.
