Undergraduate / MIT Pleasure Essay & Field of Study Essay [3]

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)

Every Saturday, I wait eagerly in my studio for the thunderous stomps of children running up my side door for weekly art classes. Some of my fondest memories come from teaching art to those youngsters - creating murals, sketching toes, keeping Andy and Cody on task and helping Karla win at a local contest. There is a certain inner satisfaction and delight I get from teaching that I know I would never experience from just learning. I charge a small fee, at the insistence of the mothers, but really, I teach art simply for the pleasure that comes from it.

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (*) (100 words or fewer)

The day I realized architecture was the best fit for me was also the day that I knew MIT was where I wanted to study. Not only does MIT harbor crème-de-la-crème instructors of the design field, but it also has some of the most architecturally interesting buildings - from the Great Dome to Gehry's Stata Center - that shape a campus only inviting further investigation. MIT's strong focus in innovation and technology makes its architecture department stand out from that of all others, as it offers a greater emphasis on practicality rather than pure aesthetics, addressing significant issues to building in today's economy.

Undergraduate / 'Using the dollar' - Most Significant Challenge Essay [4]

Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?(*) (200-250 words)

When I was five, I used the dollar I earned from washing dishes to buy a whole garbage bag full of legos at a garage sale. For the next five years, those legos were the only significant recreational items to me. I could build and rebuild, design and redesign; my creativity was unbounded, and I let my imagination run free. I had the mentality of an architect even before I knew what it was.

When my family's financial means improved, my mother showered me with toys she thought would foster my mind into embracing her dream profession for me. Every birthday was a new toy stethoscope; every Christmas a doctor doll. She had her mind set on sending me to medical school, and nothing was going to get in her way.

For years, I tried to show my parents that I wanted to be an artist, a designer, an architect, but I never received any support. They blew it off every time, saying art was a hobby, not a profession, and that one day I'll realize the faultiness in my silly aspirations.

Yet, that day never came.

The most significant challenge I've faced is one that I've been contending with all my life: the struggle between pleasing my parents and following my own aspirations. By junior year, I decisively choose the latter, but the war was not easily fought. An amateur high school designer verses two PhD level polymer chemists make for a lopsided battle, but I stuck by my guts. My innate talents, my interests and my passion all align with the field of design. For now, my parents have accepted my choice, but my goal is to make them truly proud of me as an architect.

(word count is 288, so I need to cut at least 38...)

Undergraduate / MIT the world you come from essay [4]

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?(*) (200-250 words)

In the 17 years I've lived, I have seen changes of a magnitude one would expect over 50 years. I was born in a one room apartment in the seaport city of Qingdao, China. As a child, I had to boil sheep milk because pasteurized milk wasn't available. There was only one building that was over 10 stories tall until I was eight years old, and the most international thing about Qingdao was the tightly monitored foreign films video store.

Although I immigrated to America when I was five, I continued to travel back to my hometown every summer. Every time I went felt like five years had lapsed while I was away. Each year, the city became increasingly cosmopolitan, and now, there's nothing one cannot get. Every major US and European company is in China and producing for the local market, and massive skyscrapers crowd the city skyline with architectural marvels like the "HuaShiLuo" and the Qingdao TV Tower.

Therefore, what inspires my own dreams and aspirations is change. I have been an eyewitness to one of the most phenomenal transformations, and I know that that speed and magnitude of change is possible anywhere. If, fifteen years ago, there was a proposal for the Beijing Olympics, everybody would have said it was impossible. Because I've witnessed this change, I know that it IS possible, and it feeds my motivation. The transformation of my native country has taught me to never put a limit on my aspirations.

Undergraduate / "the Renewal Foundation" - MIT Creativity Essay [2]

Tell us about a time you used your creativity. This could be something you made, a project that you led, an idea that you came up with, or pretty much anything else. (*) (200-250 words)

Ever since my freshman year, I have been working closely with the Renewal Foundation in aiding children in rural China. The massive earthquake that occurred in Sichuan in 2008 really tug at my heartstrings, so I decided to expand my efforts and introduced RF's projects to the GlobalGiving club at school. Successfully, I persuaded the club into adopting one of the projects - raising $5000 to rebuild the HuaYu elementary school library.

The following school year, I was elected president to lead this ambitious plan. As president, my creativity was demanded at every level. I set up bake sales during all the school functions and began a candy cane grams tradition during the holidays. Both the bake sales and candy cane sales were huge hits, and by January, we were only $1000 away from our goal. In the spring, I presented GlobalGiving's efforts to the local community, and successfully lobbied for a donation of $10,000 from the ICCCI Chinese Society. With this, we were able to build the HuaYu library as well as two other libraries for schools in the area.

The entire process of leading this project was both exhausting and exhilarating. My innovation was demanded at every moment - from delegating tasks to fundraising to spreading the word about our mission. The end result, however, was undeniably worth it; not only did I touch the lives of over 1000 young students, but I also learned a great deal about my capabilities through stretching my creativity to its fullest extent.