Undergraduate / 'consumer's subconscious' - Psychology and Business; Cornell Supplement [2]

College of Arts and Sciences:
Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study. (500 words max)

My friends never fail to tell me that I read too much into things. I never fail to tell them that they are only taking things at face value. Where they see a catchy commercial, I see a genius attempt to persuade the a consumer's subconscious. After taking a step back and analyzing this habit of mine, I realized that all of my previous life experiences could culminate with two fields: psychology and business.

When I first decided to pursue/give in to my naturally curious tendencies, I was unable, as my high school no longer offered a psychology course. However, when I had the opportunity my senior year, I joined the Online School for Girls, which offered an AP Psychology course. I was thrown into a completely online world focusing on a completely new subject.

As I grew acclimated to this new and challenging class style, I also grew to love Psychology. The vast wealth of knowledge that this online course has offered me leads me to want to push myself even further. The way psych... I would love to expand my understanding of psychology through Cornell University's Psychology major.

Cornell's extensive academic opportunities would allow me to pursue not only my interest in psychology, but also my interest in business. The option to pursue majors and minors in more than one field has always been a factor in my college search, as I am not certain about my academic major. While my love for psychology has flourished with my choice to take an online course, it was my experience interning with a local successful bakery owner that peaked my interest in business.

Coming from a family of businessmen, an interest in business has always been prevalent throughout my life. My mother created her own flower business in California, my grandfather created a successful airplane parts company that my father now runs, and my aunt was the first woman publisher at Time, Life, then People magazine. I attempted to follow in their footsteps from a young age. I held lemonade stands on sunny summer days, and made homemade dog treats and sold them around my neighborhood. However, it was not until my experience with Kat Gordon, owner of Muddy's Bake Shop, that I really became interested in majoring in business. Her unique approach at entrepreneurship led me to see a true connection between psychology and business. When you walk into her bakery, you feel as if you are walking into someone's home. Drawings from the customers hang on the wall, and board games and puzzles cover the coffee tables. Kat Gordon undoubtedly had the zaniest staff and the happiest customers in all of Memphis. As she taught me the ins and outs of her business, it was the little things she did such as not making the icing colors too bright so kids wouldn't completely ruin their clothes with food dye that brought me to see how she saw her customers: her family. Kat Gordon always kept in mind the feelings of her customers. Her compassion as a business owner made me realize just how valuable pursuing both psychology and business would be. Although the two fields do not necessarily go hand in hand, I hope to harmonize these two academic interests of mine throughout four years at Cornell University.

**this is an old essay that I'm re-writing to fit Cornell. There are some unfinished thoughts, but in order to include more about Cornell I have to take out some things first. What can I get rid of or shorten?**

Undergraduate / Short 1000 Characters; Olympic Games: Worth the Cost? Wake Forest Supp [9]

Make a rational argument for a position you do not personally support. For clarity, please state your true opinion first and then argue the opposite position. Consider an issue that has affected you personally. 1000 characters

After enrolling in a summer course where I studied the effects of the Olympics, I believe that the Olympic Games are worth the political, environmental, and financial cost.

The Olympic Games not only cost billions of dollars to put on, but they also harm the environment, provide an often abused political platform, and create a competitive sense of nationalism and tension. The grand buildings that must be built to host large quantities of spectators cost billions of dollars for the host country and its citizens. Post-Games, these grand buildings built for hundreds of thousands of people are now inefficient but must be maintained by the host city. The amount of reconstruction and demolition done to prepare for the two-week long event also causes great harm to the environment. Additionally, countries have used the Games as a political platform hundreds of times. Boycotts, gestures made by officials and athletes, and simply not inviting a certain country all create great political tension.

I'm at 1000 characters on the nose. I'd like to have a better conclusion, but I need to compress other things first.

Undergraduate / Life of Pi; Living colorfully; UVa supplement [2]

I really need some help with this one! I'm not sure where to go or how to spin this so it reveals something good about me! Here's the prompt

We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. What work of literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way? (250 words)

I first came across Life of Pi by Yann Martel the summer before my junior year. Luckily, my English teacher decided to change the syllabus and assign the novel that year. Having already read the book for pleasure, I was excited to gain a new perspective on the book and all that Yann Martel crafted.

I am a surprise ending kind of reader. If there is some sort of unexpected twist at the end, I am almost guaranteed to fall in love. In the case of the Life of Pi, even a self-proclaimed plot twist expert like myself could not have foreseen the ending of this novel. The majority of this novel was spent detailing the trials and tribulations of a boy separated from his family and stuck on a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The ending was spent in an arguably similar, yet starkly different manner. Throughout the first part of the novel, the boy was stuck on the raft with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and, most importantly, a ferocious Bengal tiger. However, after facing doubt from reporters that he could have survived 227 days on a raft with a carnivorous tiger, the second part of the story was about a boy who was stuck on the raft not with animals, but with humans. The reporters, along with the readers, were then faced with the challenge of which story they believed. After analyzing the novel from a purely literary perspective, it was clear to me that Yann Martel is really asking how readers would choose to live their lives. Accept what is believable and live a yeast-less existence, or choose to challenge your beliefs and live a colorful life. This work of literature has led me to challenge how I choose to believe things. Instead of leading a "yeast-less existence," I choose to live colorfully.

It's over the word limit by about 50 words!

Undergraduate / Fascination with Eye Contact; Yale Supp/ learn more about you [6]

I will edit your essay if you look at mine!
Yale #2 prompt: Please reflect on something you would like us to know about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application (500 words)

For the first five years of my life, school picture day was always a big production. Every year, before I left for school on that fateful day, my mother would put me in my prettiest dress and adorn my hair with bows and barrettes. She would push me out of the car, always leaving me with the words "Look at the camera!" When it came time to wait in line, my teacher would stand near me, dropping hints that my mother had so obviously planted such as "You should see the photographer's face when she takes your picture, it super funny!" However, when I sat down on that stool, all requests to look at the camera went out of my mind. Looking back at my school pictures, I have no idea why I refused to look at the camera. Sure, I looked ridiculously adorable with a shy little smirk on my face and my eyes glued to the ceiling, the wall, the floor, anywhere but directly at the camera, but I still question why for five years I never had one normal school picture. Now, I grew up as a very shy child. I had decided early in my childhood that adults expected to be impressed by what I had to say. Talking to my parents' friends was a daunting task to me, the terribly meek and timid five year old. I suppose that it was this personality trait that repeated failed me when it came to school pictures. *However, having matured a great deal since my averted eye phase, I have come to realize the great importance of eye contact.* (This is just a sentence I came up with, not sure where to place it and/or if I want to keep it)

Growing up with this camera eye contact problem, when the topic of oculesics, the study of eye-related nonverbal communication, came up in my AP Psychology course I was particularly intrigued. How is it that humans are able to communicate without speaking a word?

This is all that I have come up with so far for my Yale 500 word supplement. I know that I can write more about eye contact, I was just wondering if I should bother. Is this a good/interesting topic?

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  Here's just 3 examples, haha!