Undergraduate / VCU: page 87 of your autobiography; Land of the Free and Math [7]

A Few Verb Tense Issues

"Yet my heart could not but raced in my chest as I imagined the things my father did every time he came home drunk."

-Change RACED to RACE.

"My mother locked my door from outside as soon as she heard my father's car engine roared that only happened when he was drunk."

-Change ROARED to ROAR.

"with alcohol in his system."

-Sounds a bit contrived. Make it simpler. Just use "drunk" or "intoxicated"

"Math gave me safety and reminded me that somewhere in the world, there is justice, and that my mother's and my suffering will soon end."

-This has the potential to be great, but the reasoning is faulty. How does math represent hope for your mother? Elaborate.

"Just like what the American's anthem states..."

-Again contrived. Make it simpler by taking it out. Just say "America is the land of the free..."

My mother and I are free of my father's oppression. Within months of our arrival, my parents divorced.

-Switch the 2 sentences around and change the verb tense to were.

Years of living with my father have taught me to be independent. Now that the door of a better future is widely open for me, I unhesitatingly move forward.

-Remove have
-Second sentence is a bit awkward. Try "I unhesitatingly moved forward as the door to a better future opened before me.

I have been a straight A's student ever since I entered American schools.

-Straight A student, take out the - 's -
-For the last paragraph, you don't want to sound like you're bragging.

...I do math in the restroom. I do math in the gym while waiting for my turn to shoot the basketball. My favorite hobby is to recite the first fifteen digits of Pi while waiting for my name to be called at the clinic.

It has been five years since I moved to America. Like Langston Hughes once wrote "life ain't been no crystal stairs," but as long as there is a will, there will always be a way. I have been through the worst, and it did not break me then. Whatever else might come my way in the future - no matter how hard it is- I will persevere. I work hard. And I will win. From this page on, there will be nothing but moving forward. This, I promised myself.

-The I do math prose and Pi revelation are a bit forced. I'd seriously consider taking it out. Or changing it to be more humorous.

Good Job.
:)

Undergraduate / Describe the world you come from - UC essay - Indonesia [5]

I am accustomed to listening to the news that natural disasters have left thousands dead or missing.

-Awkward Structure. Try "I am accustomed to news broadcasts reporting the thousands left dead or missing from natural disasters."

Indonesia is a poverty-stricken nation where natural disasters happen more often than national holidays,and I have witnessed and suffered from these phenomena.
Great Statement. Change the apostrophe to a period to emphasize it's power. This will create two sentences. So "I have witnessed and have been directly affected by this phenomena." will be your second sentence.

I do not know how many times the school closed down due to heavy monsoon and how many times my maid had to quit her job in order to find her family affected by earthquakes in Yogjakarta.

-switch that to "Many times heavy monsoons closed our school doors."
-you have a maid? This is what thought when I read it and this is what the admissions officers will be thinking. It's more respectful to use a name. Be careful with that.

- maybe you could remove it and just leave

"There were many times that earthquakes led to the disjointing of families in Yogjakarta."

I have learned to appreciate and be thankful of what I have.

-Incorrect expression, we are thankful FOR things, not OF things.

I am from a golfing family where my father boasts a professional golf license and my mother is regarded as one of the best women golfers in the community. I play golf with my parents every week and there I sense the need of the poor more than anywhere I have been to.

-Insert period. I am from a family of golfers. My father...
-change tenses since your parents no longer live in India, assume and this happened already.
my father BOASTED and my mother WAS REGARDED

I play golf with my parents every week and there I sense the need of the poor more than anywhere I have been to.

-I used to play golf...
-insert period, remove "AND,"
-Introduce the story properly.

"It was there that I became aware of the sense of poverty in my immediate environment."

"Get that little monkey and bring him over!" I seethed in fury as I told my caddie and a security guard nearby to capture that little culprit. I could not believe anyone would so blatantly steal a golf ball that costs less than a dollar. I approached the little red-handed lad and asked him why did he spend all day long in the bushes and blatantly snatch the ball away.

-This is a RISKY section. You don't want the admissions committee to think that you are rich and arrogant. Calling the boy a monkey and having a caddie conveys this message. Try to find less vindictive words or you may give the wrong impression.

Anyway, there are a lot of grammatical errors here.

I approached the little red-handed lad and asked him why did he spend all day long in the bushes and blatantly snatch the ball away.

This needs to be reworded. Try:

-take out the bolded part. And change it to...

"I approached the ________ to ask him why he was trying to steal my golf ball."

I have to find and sell golf balls because my father alone cannot support the huge family.

-delete "have to"
-"because my father cannot support my family on his own.

I felt so ashamed that I have denied feed a family for a mere golf ball. I learned how fortunate my life has been considering that at such a young age I gobbled up a pan of pepperoni pizza while a young boy squatted in thorny bushes waiting for a ball. The epiphany moment taught me how little contributions mean so much to poor local Indonesian families.

The logic here is faulty. You were not ashamed for denying the boy the ball. He should be ashamed for trying to STEAL it. However, you were appalled that something you took for granted, a small golf, could be so valuable to another individual.

-You cannot say an "epiphany moment..." it's incorrect grammar usage.
Just change it to "At that moment, I realized that something small meant a lot to...

While I walked towards the green shell-shocked by the incident, my father revealed that heis a humanitarian entrepreneur. Having lived in Indonesia for decades, he told me that he has always been grateful of everything that happened around him, including the local community in which he runs his garment industry. He stated that he sends sacks of rice and necessities to the town council every month in a show of gratitude and he relishes listening to local residents thanking him and having such a amenable ties with the local community. His words together with what has transpired inspired me to become an entrepreneur of such a high status to repay not just to Indonesia but the world for all the thankfulness that I owe.

-change "is" to "was"
-also...why weren't you aware of your father's efforts? Maybe you should change that sentence to

"I asked my father about his humanitarian efforts."

"he relishes listening to local residents thanking him"
-this makes your dad seem pompous. Delete it.

His words together with what has transpired inspired me to become an entrepreneur of such a high status to repay not just to Indonesia but the world for all the thankfulness that I owe."

-okay, here's the fix.

-The little boy and my father inspired me to pursue my own humanitarian causes."