Undergraduate / Rochester Supplement Essay- How I will contribute to Rochester. [3]

Hi, this essay is part of my supplement to Rochester University. I feel it is a bit weak since the prompt confused me a little. I tried combining personal experience with a proposed research plan. Feedback will be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Saad

Rochester students represent many different points of view. Each student constructs an indenpendent study and research plan. Describe what you will contribute in Rochester's diversity in ideas, experiences and identities. If you can, incorporate a positive past experience where you chose your own learning path, or a negative experience where you wanted to exercise more independence.

A significant part of my undergraduate studies at Rochester will be devoted to carrying out an independent research study. I am very curious about the extent to which home remedies are effective in curing every day illnesses.

Whenever I have a cold, my father tells me to gargle with warm salt water and take steam over a boiling kettle. However, I find these remedies to be ineffective against pharmaceuticals. Despite this experience, I want to carry out a research study to evaluate to what extent these home remedies are effective in combating everyday maladies such as colds, stomach illnesses and infections. I find that I can carry this out under the guidance of excellent mentors at Rochester's research-oriented environment. Thus, I will find out for myself how effective the treatments my father prescribes are.

Undergraduate / Academics and student organizations / Microbiology - Duke Essays [3]

if you are applying to trinity college of arts and science, please discuss why duke is a good match for you. is there something in particular at duke that attracts you?please limit your response to two paragraphs.

I was first drawn to Duke when my guidance counselor recommended it to me as one of the top research universities in the US. Since my goal is to study medicine, Duke is the best place to begin this journey with its highly rated undergraduate research opportunities. I have experience on working on an independent research project for the IB Program. As an undergraduate, I want to exercise my independence by proposing my own research project, while still under the guidance of distinguished mentors.

Aside from academics, Duke's outstanding student life attracts me. With over 320 student organizations to choose from, I will keep myself occupied after class. I can keep practicing my religion by being part of the Muslim Students Association. The Center for Muslim Life is a great way for me to interact with other Muslim students and discuss relevant topics to Muslims living in the 21st Century. Duke University is my choice of university in academics and student life.

if you have participated in any significant research activity outside of school, please provide a brief description and limit your response to one or two paragraphs.

In the 11th grade I undertook the beginning of my Extended Essay. This is an independent research paper that I had to write as a requisite of the IB Diploma Program. I chose to do my essay in Biology, specifically Microbiology. My purpose was to investigate which household cleaner, Clorox or Lysol, has the greatest effect on the bacteria Micrococcus luteus. I used the traditional method of inoculating bacteria on sterilized agar plates. My results for the Lysol treatment showed zones of inhibition, while my Clorox treatment yielded no results.

Throughout this project, I received guidance from my IB Biology teacher Mrs. Marivi Gondola. There were some difficulties I had in performing this research, namely procedure mistakes. However, under the guidance of Mrs. Gondola and extensive research on the method, I managed to successfully undertake this massive project. I believe that the Extended Essay is a great entryway into future research projects at Duke.