Undergraduate / Interest in Math and Science - California Institute of Technology [8]

Topic: Interest in math, science, or engineering manifests itself in many forms. Caltech professor and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman (1918-1988) explained, "I'd make a motor, I'd make a gadget that would go off when something passed a photocell, I'd play around with selenium"; he was exploring his interest in science, as he put it, by "piddling around all the time." In a page, more or less, tell the Admissions Committee how you express your interest, curiosity, or excitement about math, science or engineering.

"I have something to tell you, Sam. I love you." I said, unhesitant. By admitting my feelings, I promised him to be loyal, dedicated, and compassionate unconditionally. I never regretted feeling affection towards him. He never gave me a reason to. I still remember the first time I met him in school. Since then, he has been always there in my life.

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Undergraduate / "no other choice but to become Saudi" - Describe the world you come from [8]

Describe the world you come from, for example your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?

I had no other choice but to be born a female in Saudi. That was God's will, and I will not change what God has decided. I lived most of the seventeen years of my life opposing whatever I find not up to my satisfaction level here in Saudi Arabia. I have lived here all my life, but as they have always said: "The grass is always greener the other side." I did not try to "make our grass greener." Instead, I focused so hard on finding ways to get to the other side where the grass is greener.

Last year I had to write about "How can I turn my passion and enthusiasm into actions that will make Saudi Arabia a country that I'm proud of in the next ten years?" It was a writing competition that I was part of. What I did not know was that it was not simply a contest, it was more. Each time I typed a sentence and reread it, I began to believe it. I did not expect that my power of persuasion could turn against me, but it turned out to be for the best. It made me realize that my attitude wasn't right. I should not keep looking at the positive points of "the other side," but should look at the positive point of my country that I belong to, and the negative points that are vulnerable to the power of human minds and the creativity of Saudi's youth. I know that I can leave this area, where I can't find the grass green enough for me, yet it would only mean that I am weak as I am escaping my troubles.

We do not want Saudi women to feel less than Saudi men. The thing here is that many women here in Saudi see that men are offered more and easier opportunities than women. I have been in this phase myself. Maybe it is because the country is recently becoming open-minded by starting to provide more chances for women. I can see that. I also see many determined motivated open-minded women that outnumber the chances provided. They are willing to break the barrier of old customs and go for every voluntary, educational, or career opportunity they hear of, competing against each other to get them.

Utilizing chances our school provides is the best policy. As a Saudi girl, I do not have that many opportunities to shine and prove myself. Dhahran Ahliyya School (DAS) was different, it compensated for the opportunities our society has not provided enough. The clubs and activities no other schools offered were accessible in ours. DAS even sent girls outside the kingdom for various purposes, including international competitions and conferences. DAS is the one school that includes traveling as an educational experience among all Saudi public and private schools.

Although school has indeed provided me with everything I might ask for, it opened my eyes to witness reality; women should never wait for opportunities to make use of. Instead, we should create them. After observing how DAS overcame challenges to introduce more options for girls with the Saudi Ministry of Education, I realized that. I felt responsible of conducting such change ever since I saw that it was possible. I am able to generate opportunities for me and others my own way by establishing clubs about areas that interests me. Not only did the situation in my country shaped who I am, but it also motivated me to team up with whoever thinks similarly to me and overcome it just like our school did. I believe that I can make the grass greener in the lands of Saudi Arabia. Just wait and see.

Undergraduate / 'Model United Nations' - MIT application essay.. Short response [14]

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do for the pleasure of it. (*)(100 words or fewer)

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To me, meeting people, debating, public speaking, researching, and traveling all sound tempting. Something that could combine them all is even more alluring. Model United Nations seemed appealing; although I was not interested in politics by the time I auditioned to join the club. It was an addictive drug; I couldn't miss a conference whenever I had the chance after I joined. I traveled to Singapore, Turkey, and England to attend three conferences representing different countries I barely knew of before. I valued that experience and this opportunity to make friends from all over, be introduced to politics, and have intellectual conversations. I lost my stage fright through repetitive exposure to audience. Gladly, graduating from high school is not going to be the end of it, what I did was just the beginning. 

Undergraduate / Compare yourself now to when you were younger.. [12]

When comparing one to himself in childhood, we tend to find many differences, but if we look deeper, we can see that he resembles his younger personality, only now he has become more into what he used to be. It is rational to find new traits in his personality, but in the end, being that child is a base of what he is in the present.

My mother used to keep lists of different things, one that led me to this discovery. There were lists of the things we wish to have or do, one for each of my brother and me. Each item on my list has evolved into a quality in my personality. Flower, the first item, could be interpreted as my tenderness and softness with whoever surrounds me and the ones I love and care for. "Learning second grade's subjects," shows ambition, as I was a first grader by that time. Colored pens, a sharpener and an eraser, reveal my interest in art, which I have improved throughout my life. A mobile, (which I never got until an older age), demonstrates the desire to be connected to others. A piano, to me, was a chance to learn more, as I would have to learn to play, as well as a buoy to help me learn how to swim. Traveling to Dubai illustrates how I like to travel, yet I am economically considerate for choosing a nearby destination. Swings, a slide, and a seesaw display playfulness and an urge to have innocent fun. A backpack from "Toys R Us" that could transform into a chair proves how I prefer the compressed and practical. New shoes portray an interest in fashion, and now shoes are what most interest me when it comes to clothing. Renewing my room's furniture expresses how I like change and modification every now and then. Lastly, a mid-sized Qura'an (our holy book) symbols religious belonging. It symbols my Islamic identity. It symbols my beliefs and values. These items partly define me, and tell me who I really was.

Today, every item means something to me. Each item tells me about myself, and how I haven't changed, but only developed what I already had all along. Trying to understand myself has been very difficult when I feel that my life is complicated, and that I have plenty of things going on, but trying to compare myself to what I was helped, as it showed me that a sunflower only grows from a sunflower seed, and I have grown from my own seed. Just like growing up makes you bigger in size when you're still the same person and look similar to what you were, my different qualities have also become bigger in size, although not always for the best, for no one is perfect. Everything around me shaped who I am at this moment, nevertheless, no matter how much they see me unlike who I was in the past, the fact that I originated from that little girl I was ten years ago cannot be denied.

Undergraduate / Caltech Essay Prompt - Interest in math, science, or engineering [4]

Interest in math, science, or engineering manifests itself in many forms. Caltech professor and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman (1918-1988) explained, "I'd make a motor, I'd make a gadget that would go off when something passed a photocell, I'd play around with selenium"; he was exploring his interest in science, as he put it, by "piddling around all the time." In a page, more or less, tell the Admissions Committee how you express your interest, curiosity, or excitement about math, science or engineering.

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I usually fall in love with things I consider easy which I find myself good at. This explains how I can be a writer, an artist, or a dancer.

I am fond of drawing, because my hand skillfully creates magic between the pen and paper that compels them to work together and bring out the best of what could be accomplished by these two. I can see myself in whatever I draw, whether it's a girl, a horse, or simply abstract art that is not understood by anyone but me.

I love writing, because I can better express myself on paper as I can rephrase my message a thousand times in my head before I get out my final piece. I can hear myself speak, scream, and whisper in my writings, sometimes all at once.

I cannot live without dancing, because I cannot stop myself from moving collaboratively with the beats of the exciting tunes of music. I can feel myself through observing my moves working and cooperating with sounds and jingles.

However, that is not why I desire to be an engineer or why I care passionately about science. Science was different. Science challenged me, and I was up for it. I fell in love with something that I actually found challenging.

I am fond of math, because a simple unsolved equation invites me to crack it. I can see myself in whatever I solve; I see a person with problems in her life that is ready to be cracked. When it's free-time at school, I tend to ask my teacher for math questions to compete with my friends in solving them.

I love physics, because it provided me with answers that I found illogical in the most logical way. I can hear myself excited and cheerful about discovering a new answer to a question I have always had. I skip my way to class when we have physics when most of my classmates watch me, surprised.

I cannot live without chemistry, because it is subject that deals with mystery and predictions made by scientists who might have been a lot like me in one stage of their lives. I feel myself in chemistry, and I feel that chemistry is my path to success in my life.

I decided to take my relationship with math, physics, and chemistry to the next level by choosing to major in chemical engineering. I fell in love with chemical engineering because I can see, hear, and feel myself a chemical engineer.

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thank you everyone!! Your feedback is very much appreciated.

Undergraduate / Success could be measured by outcome, effects, or the influences one makes [3]

I already wrote an essay but it certainly won't fit in other essay prompt. I wrote another one..

Success could be measured by outcome, effects, or the influences one makes. Simple doings do lead to change, like putting a smile on an orphan's face, be there for an old friend who needs you or to simply treat your younger brother well for a week. These would make a huge effect if made by many, and these are the kind of activities I try to include in my daily life. However, I am aiming at giving the world something to remember me with, and to make a massive accomplishment under a name of a woman, a Saudi Muslim woman.

I have been always a huge fan of Powerpuff Girls when I was younger, and I've always wanted to be the forth Powerpuff. Perhaps I found that cartoon appealing because females were starring in it, and they were the ones responsible of everything. I still want to be a woman super hero, and I believe I can by tackling different issues at the same time. I can correct Islam's misrepresentatives' mistakes just by holding on to my beliefs and beautify my personality by the morals of a Muslim individual, and by satisfying today's needs as much as I am capable of. On the day of 11th of September, 2001, terrorists, whom might be Muslims, gave the world something terrifying for them to remember. I want to give the world something as shocking, only beneficial. This leads me to the next problem: the scarce sources of energy, and saving the environment. I am willing to utilize my education to take a next step toward relying on renewable energy sources. By succeeding in my life goal, it would be a challenge for the issue of women's empowerment, as women would realize that we do not wait for chances to make use of, instead, we make our own chances.

It would require lots of effort and work, as well as the best quality of education which I am going after. I am concerned about the huge dependence on oil in this world, especially in my country. Running out of oil would cause a huge damage in our country's economy, which might send us back to tents and on camels. The major I desire was chosen not only for my affection toward chemistry, but also for the reason that I chose to think about individuals other than myself for a change. Not that I never thought of others, but such a major decision in my life that requires dedication and continuation was never given for the sake of someone else before. I will never consider myself successful if I lived for myself, and I never want to be known for anything but making a positive change in this world.

Thanks for all the help.. This place is amazing