Undergraduate / "Make your passion your work, and work will become a game" That test night..(UIUC essay 1) [2]

Prompt: Explain your interest in the major you selected. You may describe a related experience you've had to that area of study and/or your future career goals. Please limit your response to approximately 300 words.

Response: I got up from my bed having an 'after school evening nap', sweating a bit in nervousness due to my computer science practical test scheduled for the next day. I quickly gathered my laptop and powered it on. Recalling the necessary algorithms I needed to know for the test while the laptop went through self-checks. I clicked open the turbo C++ IDE and started off with the 'palindrome numbers'. Pretty easy. Armstrong number done. Stacked array done. Array List done. Linked list and linked stack done too!

Now remained the circular array and linked circular array. It left me worried and perplexed. On the contrary I also was enjoying the tease it gave me every time I tried running the program. I felt ambivalent. The errors weren't easy to spot and that intensified my determination for running the program. The clock already showed 11:15 pm. The situation started to hit my nerves. I ran the program again after a careful scan. Boom! It finally ran successfully. After reviewing all the algorithms for the last time I went to bed. While lying I felt accomplished, relieved and ready for the next day's test.

During my childhood whatever game I played, I always wanted to reach its end or its final level. This was because I loved the feel of attainment. Computers have always been intellectually stimulating yet enjoyable for me. I remember asking my father, out of curiosity, what software is? The intricacies and the build of the software would always catch my fancy...

I believe in the quote, "Make your passion your work, and work will become a game". I want to study a subject that is pleasurable and pulls me into it until I finish working upon it. I intend to major in Computer Science, for it will allow me to cater my interests and simultaneously act as a problem solver, thus allowing me to impact the citizens of this world positively.

Undergraduate / 'It was the summer holidays of grade 11' Teaching is in my bloodlines...(UIUC prompt 2) [2]

Please review my essay as soon as possible as I am going to submit it today.

Prompt: Tell us about one interest or experience of yours that allows us to get to know you better as an individual. Please limit your response to approximately 300 words.

It was the summer holidays of grade 11. I was savouring the lazy atmosphere and the chilled attitude that had taken over me. My mother got to know to about the deteriorating children of nearby slum failing in computer subject through our house maid. She realised how vital the skill of computing is for anyone's future in today's world and asked the maid if I could help in teaching the kids computer. She was also quick to see this as an opportunity for me to take up a fruitful activity. The maid agreed happily and said to bring the kids over to our house. I must confess I was in no shape to sacrifice my holidays and perhaps a tad lazy for this initially. I started with some apprehension on my part.

This experience helped me realise that students failed because of 'poor quality of teaching' at the aided schools. It left me feeling responsible and a bit worried about their education and their 'future'. I went ahead with the basics of the subject first. For the first half of the class we would study using a writing board. In the second half the kids would come turn by turn to practice what they just had learnt on my laptop. I took classes on weekends. After I thought that I had covered a significant amount of lessons, I held a quiz session and awarded the kids who had performed the best with candies. This made the learning process more fun helping me retail their interest intact.

This experience gave me the joy of sharing ones knowledge. I realised how much I loved teaching anyone something I was good at. I savoured the feel of attainment obtained after successfully teaching them. I loved their questions, nods, 'yeses' and the mistakes they did during the class. Teaching the class made gave me a sense of leadership which I treasured. It'll let me make a direct impact.

Undergraduate / "What can be done about it?; Accomplishment or event [4]

"Please review my essay. I am going to submit it within few day. I promise I will review back your essay. "

Prompt: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community or family.

Response:

In our family maturity is credited to 3 factors of a person. Those are independence, sensitivity to surroundings and the need to take initiative.

I have often asked myself, "What can be done about it? Those children at the red light begging for money need a direction". They need a change. They need education. I feel it's like a well-lit path to metamorphosis. But this is somewhat different to how I felt before. Actually I never was so responsible to this matter until the following happened.

One day during my summer vacations, I heard my mother and our house maid discussing about the studies of their children. I realised she too wasn't satisfied, about the academics of her children who were enrolled at one of the schools under the government's education policy for underprivileged kids. She said that the worst affected subject was computers as students barely even passed in it. My mother suggested that I knew computer subject pretty well and I could help them. The maid agreed readily.

I must confess I was in no shape to sacrifice my holidays and perhaps a tad lazy for this initially. My mother saw this as an opportunity for me to get me take up some fruitful activity. I started with some apprehension on my part.

This experience helped me realise that students failed because of 'poor quality of teaching' at the government schools. It left me feeling responsible and a bit worried about their education and their 'future'. I went ahead with the basics of the subject first. For the first half of the class we would study using a writing board. In the second half the kids would come turn by turn to practice what they just had learnt on my laptop. I took classes on weekends. After I thought that I had covered a significant amount of lessons, I held a quiz session and awarded the kids who had performed the best with candies. This made the learning process more fun helping me retail their interest intact. I ended the classes after the end of my grade 11 in order to save time to prepare for my school leaving examinations. I plan to resume the 'classes' after I graduate from my class.

I feel that I began to gain a mature mentality the day I took up responsibility to stand for a cause; the day I started working for the betterment of the society. I understood there is a big scope for improvement in the society. Although poverty still remains to be dealt with, I think I have made some contribution towards the cause. My elders tell me that 'the more you share your learning the more you learn'. It has been an enriching experience carrying a deep learning for me in many aspects. I not only acquired a set of decent teaching skills but also learnt to establish a rapport with economically weaker sections of our society. It has allowed me to get a view of how the thinking of these kids work and the way they have shaped up to look at things. It has made me much more responsible and conscious of things like poverty in my society.

Undergraduate / Georgia Tech and Purdue Supplement. [4]

Georgia Tech(150 words):
Why are you interested in attending Georgia Tech and what do you hope to contribute to our community? (150 word limit)

Georgia Tech is my top choice to study CS because it is consistently tops rankings, has a separate college for computing providing separate attention to the subject, and a multi-dimensional academic curriculum. The system of 'threads' and 'roles' will help me to customize my academic path. I believe GT would help me reach my goals that are to excel academically and extra circularly. At GT I would get plethora of opportunities that were lacking in my school curriculum. The 'ESM' club is where I can delve deeper into video gaming subject. I too wish to join the programming team that would enable me to hone my programming skill and compete using it. I would also like to explore Robotics through the 'RoboJackets' club. These organizations I feel would give the platform to make a mark for myself within the community. I wish to join GT soon.

Purdue:
What life goals will Purdue help you to achieve--and how? (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)
Throughout my growing up I have been fascinated by the innovations of companies such as Google, Microsoft. Their thought would always leave me wanting to build something that could be used and appreciated by everyone. I want lead a successful organization working for the betterment of the society. I believe a Purdue education would be vital for the success of my plans. Purdue will provide clubs to explore other interests and give me exposure to new cultures. These would carve out an all round personality out of me. I hope to join Purdue soon to give my aspirations a ground.