Undergraduate / 'Hey dude' essay for Roommate - Stanford app [10]

prompt: VIRTUALLY ALL OF STANFORD'S UNDERGRADUATES LIVE ON CAMPUS. WRITE A NOTE TO YOUR FUTURE ROOMMATE
THAT REVEALS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU OR THAT WILL HELP YOUR ROOMMATE - AND US - KNOW YOU BETTER.

Hey Dude,

First, I assume you are dude because come on: sleeping in the same dorm with a total stranger of the opposite sex will be quite weird for a college freshman.

I am Enrique, and the first thing I have to say is that I talk--A LOT. That's a good thing and a bad thing. Please, let me know when it's a bad time to be talkative. I am what you may call an oddity: too weird, too insane, too calm, and too hyper, and, at the end, a bit normal. Yeah, I am hyperactive--that explains my talkativeness. It's kind of state of mind--when I try to slowdown it's really hard. I see it as a surplus of energy. So please, count on me to do anything--running, working-out, and reading, doing pranks or pulling all-nighters--other than being idle.

Ok, I will refrain from all-nighters. Let me explain you why: in Costa Rica, my country, we have a coffee culture. So, please do not be bewildered with this: I started to drink coffee when I was two months alive. Yeah, two months alive!

For the record: my grandma and my auntie still differ on who was the culprit.

Now, the irony is that coffee makes me sleepy. And yes, I did find out that interesting fact in my first all-nighter. Which, yes, it was an utter fail for I fell like a rock--and yet, aced my Calc II final. If I force it, I go to sleep. That's the way I work. So, for future pranks, or studying, be mindful of that.

I hope you like sports. I do--except soccer. I suck at soccer--and my country revolves around it. However, I am fairly good at tennis; not because I am actually marvelous, but because I can outlast my opponents. I like to work-out, and will like to try crew in the bay area. So, if you are looking for rowing at 6 am in a Saturday morning, we have a morning activity.

So, that will be pretty much me. Anything else will be impossible to describe in this paper. We will have to meet, take a good coffee cup-for fun-and talk about stuff so we can have an idea of how good roommates we could be.

Please, help me out with this...specially what can be cut down to meet the character limits.

Undergraduate / 'technology advances so fast' - why Math, Science--Caltech Essay [3]

Prompt: How does scientific exploration excite and inspire you? In a page, more or less, what is it about math, science or engineering that compels you to satisfy your intellectual curiosity?

We live in a world were technology advances so fast the only constant is change itself. It's impossible to keep up. I have always being drawn to science-particularly engineering-because I am interested in understanding nature's mysterious ways. As naïve as it is, I have a sense of wonder. I want to understand, for instance, why we can't have fusion right now-and the ways I can help, with appropriate instruction and guidance, to make it possible. Such answers are in front of us. There's complexity in simple things. Or, more eloquently, as Richard Feynman put it, "the inconceivable nature of nature".

When my friend Ariela asked about my dream school-and I proudly responded Caltech-she said say suicide. Yeah, suicide: she thought the institute is a monastery for geniuses that will go nuts when something blows their logic. However, she happened to miss that every student admitted to Caltech has drive and curiosity for the world and its mysterious ways. I share those values. I want to attend Caltech for the thrill of discovery, research-and reward of obtaining the best education in math and science in the world. Caltech is the place where true creativity is matched with boundless curiosity. The result is the finest effort of people, in function of their curiosity. For me, intellectual curiosity is to work on projects that deal with important problems-like generate power from entropy, or heat generators as a preamble to fusion-and find a solution, or at least a step forward, for it, by using the best minds available.

STEM represents a challenge to human ingenuity. At first it will always be hard, but that's because there's a thinking process to be made before understanding. One has to learn its ways first. Afterwards, with such logic, STEM makes sense. It may be frustrating, but I remember that I must not be afraid of not knowing. I find it interesting. It empowers me to dream of the possibilities that "being clueless" projects. It engenders the passion to think of ways to develop the concepts and tools for new ideas to be viable. Science, technology, engineering, and math are the gateways for the discovery of new possibilities, and for new technologies. By not knowing, I am challenged by nature to understand its ways. I am curious person; unyielding in my ambition. I will never give up. Hence, in science, my curiosity will be always satisfied-for there's a question to be answered. It's all there-the discoveries we need to leap humanity forward-as Feynman said. But it takes will and understanding to unlock them.

As to Ariela's question, this was my reply: for you it's suicide-for me, the opportunity of a lifetime.

Any help is always welcome :)