Undergraduate / SELF-COMPELLED to do the best ; UC -Advantage of the educational opportunities [2]

This is my response to the first UC essay: How have you taken advantage of the educational opportunities you have had to prepare for college? The limit is 200 words and I am currently at 186. Thank you for your help!

Throughout my entire life I have felt self-compelled to do the best I can in all circumstances. Many times in elementary school I participated and excelled in spelling bees, math contests, and read-a-thons. When my junior high teachers asked me if I wanted to be moved up to a more challenging class in high school, my answer was always a resounding "yes!" I love the thrill of competing, but the thrill of succeeding is even better. That is why I enjoy participating in all of the rigorous AP classes and taking all of the AP tests our school has to offer-I have passed every one so far while enjoying the rigid and vast learning experience throughout my high school career.

For the last several years, I have taken to business administration. The business management class offered at my high school is my favorite course out of all the classes I have taken in my high school career. It is an ROP program, so it helps prepare me for the real world, giving me the necessary skills I need in order to succeed as a business major.

Undergraduate / 'eagle project' - contribution or personal quality.. [3]

Hard work and perseverance are important qualities in motivated students. Throughout my life, participation in Boy Scouts has taught me that these important qualities are essential to leading a healthy, productive life. Because I grew up in a small town, there was not much for me to do; thus, much of my time was spent with my friends in Cub Scouts, the forerunner to Boy Scouts. During our weekly meetings, I learned how to make simple crafts such as invisible ink, a derby car, or a birdhouse. As I grew older, my friends and I progressed through the ranks of Cub Scouts, but with our age came the 'uncoolness' of Scouts. Many of my friends dropped out, and by my thirteenth birthday I was the only one left of our original group of nine boys.

Although it was lonely being by myself, I stayed in scouts because I enjoyed it. I quickly made new friends in other scouts who had joined at a different time than me. I quickly learned how to work together with others through interacting with my peers, and through that partnership I found that hard work makes projects much easier and faster. As a part of scouts, it was necessary for me to earn community service in order to progress. I performed my service in a variety of ways, always to the best of my ability.

Working on my Eagle Scout project was the toughest challenge I faced in scouts. My project consisted of landscaping a community center that had just been constructed in my town. In order to do this, I had to be able to talk to strangers. This kind of activity is not very comfortable for me, as I find it difficult to talk to people I don't know, much less ask them for a donation of their money or their wares. Through the help of my parents, however, I overcame my fears as I talked to more people, each conversation becoming more fluid than the last.

The main point of an eagle project is to let the eagle candidate learn how to be an effective leader on his own. After collecting the donations needed for my project, I began construction. We dug holes, planted plants and trees, and hauled several tons of rocks to the site. Overall, the project logged almost two hundred and fifty hours of community service, all under my supervision.

When I first joined my troop, I was elected as the Patrol Leader for the younger scouts. After leading my group for two years, joined the Senior Patrol, which consisted of four youth who are the leaders of the entire troop. I became a leader and a mentor to the younger scouts, just as the older scouts had been to me when I started as a scout. By passing on the skills I have learned, I am helping to continue the tradition and core values of scouting.

Being a Boy Scout has prepared me for the rest of my life. From basic first aid to wilderness survival, scouting has taught me to be trustworthy, helpful, thrifty, loyal, and most of all, prepared. The Scout Law and the Scout Oath have been the guiding force in choosing how to run my life, making me physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Undergraduate / Scout/ Grammar School/ Drama/ Peer Counseling; UC - More on Academic Record [2]

This is my response to the third and final essay of the UC Application: "Is there anything you would like us to know about you or your academic record that you have not had the opportunity to describe elsewhere in this application?" I realize that I have most likely posted this too late to be analyzed, but I would like your input regardless. I have 214 words, which is over the 200 word limit. Thank you for your help!

CH 08-17-1989

I grew up in a small town out in the foothills of California. Nevertheless, my life was not secluded. Several times a year I take camping trips, some as far away as Oregon. Most of these trips have been with my Scout troop, visiting camps that have hundreds of Scouts from other troops. I had the opportunity to visit the Boy Scout National Jamboree in 2005 with a troop of forty-four boys, which I helped to lead. Our troop met Scouts from as far away as Jamaica and Russia, and we traded our uniforms for theirs. That experience made me proud to be a Scout and meet my peers from all over the world.

As a young student in grammar school, I decided became active in various clubs and activities. Drama club was my favorite, and I had the role of Grumio, Petruccio's servant, in our production of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew.' I also enjoyed an after school program called G.A.T.E., which taught finer arts such as acting, drawing, and several other crafts. Finally, I joined Peer Counseling to help other kids get through a potential fight situation without having the fight. These experiences helped teach me patience and understanding and helped build a powerful foundation for my opinions in the future.