Undergraduate / Favorite Movie/ source of inspiration/weekend/compliment; QuestBridge National Match [7]

Guys, this is the first time I join this forum! I'm applying to QuestBridge National Match. Here are my short answers. Hopefully someone can read it and give me some feedback, negative, positive, what you like and dislike, tell me everything! Don't mind me!!!! Thank you everyone!!!

What are your favorite books, movies, and/or types of music?
My favorite movie is Mary and Max, which filled my eyes with tears even after the third time I watched it. I hope that someday I will have Mary and Max's friendship, the true friendship despite distance and age.

What is your favorite source of inspiration?
It's simple, Science. Findings and inventions in every field of Science incited me to learn and absorb knowledge every day. Scientists never stop working to challenge and change the world; they are my greatest inspiration.

How do you spend a typical weekend?
I spend most of my Saturdays babysitting my niece, learning how to cook Vietnamese food from mommy, and finishing up homework if I have any. On Sundays, I see my students at Vietnamese class then spend time with family.

What is the compliment that you have been paid that you are most proud of? Who gave you the compliment?
In ninth grade, I designed and sold Christmas cards to my classmates, who loved my unique designs and told me that I had a special talent of bringing happiness to people when I put all my thoughts into making the cards.

How do you rejuvenate yourself?
Music is what I seek for when I feel lazy and "not doing anything." I would turn on a pop song, stand in front of the mirror, "dance" and laugh at myself for looking so stupid. Then I'm refreshed and ready to be productive.

What do you consider to be your most significant achievement?
"Acceptance score: 30.5; Luong Hoang Van Khanh: 31.5!" "Dad, look! I got in!" Passing the entrance exam of the most selective middle school in Vietnam opened up in front of me the door to three years of excellent education.

If you could change one thing about your high school, what would it be and why?
I wish Olympic High was not divided into five specialized, career-oriented schools, because in one big school, students would be exposed to different interests rather than just Medicine, Engineering, or Business.

What historical event do you wish you could have participated in and why?
Ever since I heard the story about Archimedes and his legendary Eureka, I have dreamed to witness the story and talked to him because Archimedes's passion for science had gone beyond what a scientist nowadays would show.

What about college most excites you?
Truthfully, I am both excited and worried the most about living independently from my parents which I believe is the only way for me to reach maturity and start to get really involved in my own college community.

Tell us about a concept or subject that intellectually excites you. Why does it interest you?
"... So today, we will talk about Autism in children and what parents should expect."
"Autism? Dad! What is Autism?" - wondered I while doing math homework.
"No idea, but we can find out by watching the program." - suggested my dad.
I dropped my pencil, looked up to the television screen, and suddenly paid absolute attention to the next thirty minutes of What a Family Should Know Program, which changed my whole point of view on a mental disorder: Autism is neither insane nor dangerous like what I had always referred to when I saw mental patients; it is a complex and beautiful phenomenon of human brain, especially those of idiot savants. Idiot savants are autistic people, most notably Kim Peek the Rain Man, who are gifted with extraordinary abilities such as reading two pages at the same time and mastering a new language in a week, yet they might not be able to finish a sentence without giggling. I am excited about studying and conducting research on these individuals for the rest of my life because they are evidence showing that the human brain, not the sky, is the limit.

Scholarship / "Good Girl" and the "Gentle Child"; Questbridge Biographical Essay [7]

Hi guys, I am applying to Questbridge and this is the most important essay in the application. I am a non-native speaker so I might make grammatical mistakes. Please throw ideas/opinions/critiques at me :) Thank you all!

Prompt: We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors caused you to grow? (800 words maximum)

"Mom and Dad will be the shield,
Protecting you through all your life
Because you are Daddy girl,
The very good girl
Because you are Mommy child,
The very gentle child."
-For You (Cho Con) by Pham Trong Cau -
In the boundless love and protection of my parents, I grew up to be the "good girl" and the "gentle child" who always hid behind my parents' shield. I never looked outside that shield to see my heroes waking up at 4 A.M every day to prepare the stove, put down the chairs, set the tables, and open the door for another day serving the hungry customers; I never caught their silent sighs and disappointing looks when the diner was empty at lunch time. Time flew; I grew taller and wiser, yet I still tried to fit myself under my parents' shield, which overtime had turned into a shell, until one day my Dad told me about the "big American journey."

From the very first moment we set our feet on American soil, I faced the situation that would become so common in our daily life: we got lost at Chicago's O'Hare National Airport, and my Dad could not understand the directional signs, so I reluctantly put my little English knowledge into use. I came to a middle-aged woman, showed her our tickets with shaking, nervous hands, and asked her in tiny, trembling voice: "Excuse me! We are lost. Can you help us?" She smiled and pointed out the way. Good Lord, she spoke with the speed of wind, so I asked her to repeat herself many times until I was confident about where to go. My mom squeezed me and almost cried when I told her we had reached the correct gate. Dad said he was impressed with me "speaking English like a native". And I smiled triumphantly at myself before falling asleep on the plane heading to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nonetheless, that victorious smile soon went away when I found it extremely difficult to adapt to American culture and language. Nobody understood me verbally or intimately; I became unheard, unseen, unknown. I wanted to run to my mom, put her arms around me so that she could protect me from the unkind comments on my accent or my big, bristled, second-hand jacket, but she had already run to me first, telling me that I was (and still am) her and my Dad's only way of communication. Just like that, I switched places with my parents, turning from a princess hiding in her castle to a warrior confronting the real-world challenges. I started my tenacious English-learning journey by attending ESL lessons after school and catching up with other high school students with a 4 in the English I End-of-Course Exam. Speaking English fluently does not only help me in academics but also allowed me to assist my parents in their daily activities. I became Mr. Kapasi in Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies," thinking with all my heart, trying to fully convey my parents' health concerns to American doctors. Several visits with my parents to the doctors' clinics amazed me how neat American medicine system is - magnificent facility characterized by bright, glistening floor with fragrant flowery decorations and incredible faculties who always fulfill their jobs. I dream about working with those spectacular individuals and wearing that shiny white coat one day for it belongs to someone who the patients can trust, like my parents have always trusted me. I might start off my educational race later than other future doctors, but I am not afraid. Three years in America have exposed me to invaluable academic interests and opportunities which nine years of Vietnamese restrictive memorize-it-all schooling did not offer. I am grateful for this fortune, for the permission to dream, to achieve, and I will make the best out of it by furthering my education in one of the most qualified institutions in the nation, the foundation on which I will climb to the apex of success in the challenging yet rewarding medical profession.

Time passed by in the blink of an eye; I am now a senior standing on my own feet, welcoming the challenges and opportunities behind the threshold of college. As I listen to my childhood song, I find my cheeks burning with tears rolling from my eyes. Equipped with the American eagle's wings, I am able to break away from my parents' shield to chase my dreams over the American sky. I am not little Khanh anymore; I am responsible for myself, even my parents. But no matter what my parents are still my heroes who will always be there for me whenever I seek for them.

"When you spread your wings
Flying far, far away
Don't ever forget
We will always be your homeland."

Undergraduate / Life gives me chances, but I make my own choices; Davidson College- Why Davidson? [4]

Hello, I am applying to Davidson and it is my favorite school. I'm just overly worried because I procrastinate and have no teachers to look over this. It is due on January 1st, and I desperately want help! I never get a chance to visit the school, so I cannot talk much about the campus. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Why Davidson? (300 words limit)

Life gives me chances, but I make my own choices.
I am not an American well-rounded student who plays three sports, draws perfect circles, and has a thousand volunteer hours. Chances are that diffidence will swallow me up as I face Davidson's "well-rounded" 2018 class. My choice is to ignore other applicants to fight for the place that I will call home - a tight-knit community in which individuality is emphasized and developed - in the next four years It is an incredible honor to sit down and discuss my personal interests with world-class educators. It is even a more incredible honor to be trusted by whom to have take-home tests and schedule my own exams. Davidson's Honor Code will build my trust in others and others' trust in me. As I desire, dream, and plan to be a pediatric neurologist, I understand that the mutual confidence between me, the children, and their families is very important. The Honor Code, therefore, will challenge and confirm my integrity so that when I look at a mentally defected child in ten years, I can believe that she is trying her best to get better. For this particular reason, it is best for me to expand my medical knowledge in the resourceful and thought-out Pre-Medicine program at Davidson.

In spite of everything I have read, heard, and watched about Davidson, I must admit that I am not as familiar to Davidson's residency, people, and facilities as others who have dreamed about the school for their entire lives. Chances are that I am not the right student for Davidson for now, but I believe it can make me exactly who I want to be in the next four years. Despite of all the chances, I choose Davidson College.