Undergraduate / 'Both a doctor and an engineer' - UM Supplement. Why your field of study? [12]

Science has always intrigued me from the very beginning. Starting in elementary school, I loved doing experiments, learning how things work, and solving problems that required deep-level thinking. As a child, I would always find myself spending countless hours in my room, playing with Legos. Alone or with friends, I would masterfully design and manipulate these pieces of plastic into battle scenes or metropolises. Every day, I would want to create something new, something unique and unparalleled. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of building as well as the end result, knowing that it was a sole result of ideas in my head.

Later in grade school, I came to realization that I was an applicator. Citing random facts and information was not my forte, but instead taking something I had learned and applying it to a new concept or problem. When I face a dilemma, my mind will not stop until there is a solution. I believe that in mathematics and science, this type of environment is more prevalent, especially in engineering.

In all honesty, I aspire to be a doctor, not only an engineer. Nevertheless, I realize that I need the right technical and specialized skills if I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Given my strength in mathematics and science, engineering seemed the best field of undergraduate study for me. Although I am strongly interested in the subject, I felt that an engineering background would be a solid stepping-stone towards a career in a hospital; the methodical and systematic techniques in engineering bolster decision-making and quick thinking. I hope to earn a degree and continue on to med school, a process that I know that will take some time but I am prepared to face each and every challenge with dedication, perseverance and integrity. Unfortunately, I accept that life's hopes and plans do not always pan out. Four years of undergraduate school is a relatively long time, plenty long enough for me to change my mind about my career choices. This is why I desire to be in engineering; it allows me to have a viable career that I enjoy, but also the openness to pursue my goal in medicine.

As a high school student, I do not currently know which field of engineering I want to study. However, I do know that I want to attend a university renowned for its success in the subject. Growing up in Saline, I was privileged to experience UM second hand through students I knew. From them, and previous knowledge, I realized that Michigan fit that description.

Undergraduate / 'Race, my favorite event' - Common App Essay - An experience that affected you [2]

"Humans are terrible athletes in terms of power and speed, but we're phenomenal at slow and steady. We're the tortoises of the animal kingdom," said Harvard anthropology Professor Daniel Lieberman just days before the 111th Boston Marathon. Most people probably would not believe with this statement after seeing amazing people like Usain Bolt run 100 Meters in just over nine and a half seconds. In fact, after seeing that quote, I was in the same boat. To me it was very simple; distance was bad and short was good.

When my coach told me that I was going to be swimming the 500 Freestyle at the conference meet of my junior year, I was once again disappointed and frustrated. This marked the third year in a row that those words had come out of his mouth. To those unfamiliar with the sport, the 500 or "The Five", is not a very fought-over event within a team, and very few swimmers enjoy it at all. I was not one of those swimmers. Instead, I considered myself to be a sprinter, with literally a get-in-get-out mindset. In the two years previous, I had given up deep down as soon as I was told the news and this year was no different. How my coach thought I was going to swim well in an event I hated was beyond my knowledge.

As the meet approached I prepared for my other events primarily, because in my mind I could actually go fast in those, not just swim the same time I had all year. During prelims, I swam slightly faster time than I had before, but nothing special. The following day of the meet, my coach changed the lineup and placed me on the 200 Medley A relay, where I would be swimming the 50 freestyle anchor leg against the best of the best. In short, I went in and got my job, and we placed first. The feelings of pride, happiness, and encouragement from swimming those two laps were indescribable feelings that carried into the finals of my 500. Unexpectedly dropping ten seconds from prelims to finals in the five was quite a way to end my meet.

There was one difference between my first and second 500 freestyle: mindset. I was ready to rock and roll heading into the latter, but in the former I was ready to fail. The phrase "mind over matter" had never been anything more than a ridiculously clichĂŠ motivator before that final. Physically, there was no way I had that kind of time drop in me, but I did it anyways. In times before, I had been so worried over the number of laps involved rather than just putting my head down and racing. Instead of my muscles controlling my swimming, it was my brain.

That race is now my favorite event, but I still get nervous every time I have to swim it. It is not a nervousness of failure, but one of how well I am going to swim. Even though I could have sworn that the tortoise was the tortoise of the animal kingdom, I now realize that I am that animal. I actually am good at slow and steady, all it took was change of heart and mind to get there. If I can apply this kind of attitude to everything in life, the possibilities are endless, regardless of whether they be long or short.

Undergraduate / 'Upward' - Common App: Write about an extracurricular (1000 characters) [5]

As I backpedal my steps and glance over my shoulder, I can hear the screams of shoes on hardwood grow closer. I worry of running into someone, but not as much as I fear getting trampled by sixth graders. A boy with the basketball takes too many steps without dribbling, and I shortly blow my whistle. I get down on one knee and stare at an already distraught face, "You need to make sure you bounce the ball when you are moving with it, kiddo. Give it another try." I return the ball to him, and he smiles at the second chance.

Upward Basketball is a unique league. It is not only devoted to teaching kids about the sport, but also about Christianity. At every practice, there is a short devotion in between, relating something in the game to the Word of God. Over twelve weeks, I have the privilege of watching young kids evolve, both spiritually and physically. Whether it is an eight year old that makes his first basket, or a thirteen year old that commits her life to Jesus, I am filled with joy to know that I was a part of the process. However, giving second chances is my favorite part.

Thoughts?

Scholarship / Exploration is key; U Michigan - Bell Scholarship [3]

Not my best essay by far....the consequence of procrastination.
PROMPT: In a one-page personal essay, please discuss what makes you the right recipient for the Bell Scholarship. An understanding of your thoughts and feelings about the importance of a career in engineering, mathematics, physics, computer science or other related scientific field is helpful, but not exclusive. Please use this essay to help the Scholarship Selection Committee better understand who you are and what this scholarship would mean to you.

Exploration is key. Some of our nation's greatest discoveries have come from just exploring certain things and phenomena in our daily lives. People have made findings that they never intended to even come close to, just through probing and searching for answers to questions they may have. I feel with as broad of a subject as engineering, this will be a key role in my career for the rest of life. In fact, as a high school student, I am still questioning what type of engineering I want to pursue. Throughout the past four years, I have taken various courses and found that math and science to be my favorites, hence my choice in engineering. I imagine that when I enter college, I will still have ambiguities as to which major I want to practice. Unfortunately, exploring different types of the field through university classes can be extremely costly. With the help of this scholarship, I would be able to openly look into different sorts of the subject, without the continuous stress over extremely limited funds. I am certain that through doing this, I will find a career path that I will thoroughly enjoy, which will lead to me actually desiring to further explore in the field.

In all honesty, I have always aspired to be a doctor, not only an engineer. Nevertheless, I realize that I need the right technical and specialized skills if I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Given my strengths in mathematics and science, engineering seemed the best field of undergraduate study for me. Although I am strongly interested in the subject, I felt that an engineering background would be a solid stepping-stone towards a career in a hospital; the methodical and systematic techniques in engineering bolster decision-making and quick thinking, both powerful tools in the field of medicine. If I do indeed end up pursuing medicine, the financial aspect again comes into play. It would be nice to have limited debt from my undergraduate degree so I can focus on my further studies.

Undergraduate / Why I'm a good candidate? - Michigan Research Community Application Essay [3]

Prompt: The Michigan Research Community (MRC) aims to build a community of students from diverse backgrounds and academic fields and to expose these students to the interdisciplinary nature of research and the breadth of its applications. MRC enhances our students' undergraduate experience by providing them with a year-long, research experience with a faculty mentor as well as an academic and social environment that supports their educational and personal growth. Based on this description of the program, please tell us why you would be a good candidate for membership in the MRC next year.

As I sat down to begin to plan and draft this essay, I tried to think about why I wanted to be a part of the Michigan Research Community. Nothing specific came to mind, albeit the fact that it interested me. Originally, this was not a sufficient reason, however, as I began to brainstorm even further, I realized that a majority of the things I have done in my lifetime were done simply because they interested me. I believe, probably as most do, that people who are actually captivated by something tend to dedicate themselves and care about that thing substantially more than the average person. Science has always intrigued me from the very beginning. Starting in elementary school, I loved doing experiments, learning how things work, and solving problems that required deep-level thinking. As a child, I would always find myself spending countless hours in my room, playing with Legos. Alone or with friends, I would masterfully design and manipulate these pieces of plastic into battle scenes or metropolises. Every day, I would want to create something new, something unique and unparalleled. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of building as well as the end result, knowing that it was a sole result of ideas in my head. Later in grade school, I came to the realization that I was an applicator. Citing random facts and information was not my forte, but instead taking something I had learned and applying it to a new concept or problem was where I excelled. When I face a dilemma, my mind will not stop until there is a solution. In research, I think this type of mindset and dedication is extremely important as the researcher ultimately determines the boundaries of the exploration. An example of this attitude would be from my junior year of high school. I decided to take AP Statistics, but the class was cancelled due to low enrollment. My counselor offered to let me take it through an online provider, and I agreed. This was a very unusual classroom environment for me: no teacher in the room, no one to tell me to do homework, and essentially no guidance. Because of this, I basically had to self-teach the course to myself, which was difficult. How well I wanted to do in the class, and on the AP exam, was strictly determined by me. I ended up scoring extremely well on the exam, which I attribute to my self-motivation. I plan to carry this skill forward and apply it, among other things, in the MRC.

As far as what I want to get out of the MRC, I really hope to broaden my educational experience and further prepare myself for life after college. Unfortunately, in high school, lots of courses are designed in a way that students can only pass by remembering and citing random pieces of information, instead of understanding the reasons why things occur. By being in this community, I know that I will be able to have a learning environment where application of concepts is more prevalent. Also, although I am enrolled in the College of Engineering, I aspire to be a doctor. I realize that I need the right technical and specialized skills if I want to pursue a career in medicine. The methodical and systematic techniques in research bolster decision-making and quick thinking, both powerful tools in the field of medicine. Finally, there are no boundaries as to what subject I would have to research within the MRC. Because of this, I would be able to learn more about medicine, while pursuing a degree in engineering, which will allow me to obtain my career goals.