Undergraduate / UChicago - What's so odd about odd numbers? [5]

Please give me your unadulterated feedback.

Essay Prompt:
What so odd about odd numbers ?

Walk into a high-school during lunch and chances are, you'll find several cliques. In my school alone, you'll find them. While it's not hard-and-fast as the movies might portray - you do have the cool kids, the athletes, the 'IT' guys - likeminded people who choose to sit with each other. You might stumble upon the occasional lone diner. It is highly likely that you'll think this particular diner is a loner. Quite simply put, odd.

Homo-sapiens are a social species. We seek acceptance from those around us - Maslow's hierarchy puts a sense of belonging in at the third tier which is crucial to our sense of security. People who seem to leap over this need for belonging and acceptance seem odd to our eyes.

Odd numbers are indivisible to society's evenness. It is mathematically impossible to divide an odd number by two to receive a whole number - you will have the remaining one. Since the remaining one does not belong - they do not conform. The fact that we find a number not belonging to a group is odd to us.

I like to think of odd numbers as those 'higher persons' unconcerned with what people might think of them. Despite being indivisible to society's norms, all of us admire odd numbers for some weird reason. Ask a person to pick a number between 1 to 10, by empirical testing, I can safely say that person would have likely picked '7'.

The question is why? We admire the courage that odd numbers have in being apart, in flowing against the tide. Odd numbers are important propellers of social change. In our pursuit for acceptance, we say only what society would accept sometimes ignoring what we know is wrong. If it weren't for those people who chose to step outside of the ordinary, society today would be radically different - universal suffrage a foreign concept, women equality not seen, colored people still segregated from whites. Had it not been for Lincoln, could we still have had a major power still entrenched in the shackles of slavery? Had it not been for Oskar Schindler who chose to step outside of the ordinary in being indifferent of the Jews suffering, would we have those thousand or so people who have him to thank? Had it not been for Ibsen's 'Doll's House', would women still be considered less than men in Norwegian society?

Paradigm shifts pushes society to higher levels. The propeller behind a shift is often considered odd by the majority because the propeller does not conform to popular thought or opinion. Acting against popular opinion in the face of possible rejection by society is what makes an odd number, odd - no even number, in the comfort of a group, would dare speak out.

Keeping the significance of such odd numbers in the forefront of my mind is what gave me the boldness to voice my opinion as a new student in a class of thirty students when a teacher criticized people who held religious beliefs, this thought propelled me to re-start the debate club when I could have instead comfortably gone on with the routines of high-school, this thought gave me determination to work as the head of communications for a charity.

Consider the popular #YOLO. Shouldn't this be all the more reason to step out of comfortable groups, embracing our beliefs, truly being 'odd.'

Odd numbers are representative of what our life should be. Why are odd numbers so odd? They aren't. Momentarily maybe but in the long-run, odd numbers are what drive society forward.

Undergraduate / "Was it long or short, Okawa-san", a man asked his 116 year old grandmother on a video; why UChicago [6]

How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

"Was it long or short, Okawa-san", a man asked his 116 year old grandmother on a video I found on YouTube. "Short", she said in Japanese. Life is unpredictable and short. Growth. This is my single biggest desire - in terms of the depth of my personality, being more open-minded and more human. The environment I grow in undeniably has an impact.

UChicago imbibes intellectual curiosity in the students. I love how students are directed to original texts as opposed to reading out of a textbook. Having debated for over two years now, I understand the transformation a mind undergoes through constructive debate. Previously, I would stray from gay people given my beliefs but I can now empathize more with them. The discussion-oriented classrooms at UChicago make me confident that I will grow ther.

The core program with the holistic perspective it provides - in the arts, sciences, philosophy - is something I would love to study since I can see it contribute to my understanding and the depth of my personality.

Study some of the greats - Walt Disney, John Rockefeller, C.S Lewis - they all surrounded themselves with great thinkers. Given the nature of UChicago, I know I will be surrounded by people with unique perspectives and I am excited to embrace and understand this diversity.

Undergraduate / Following the same approach and expecting different results is rightly called insanity - Common App [5]

Common App - Failure, How it Affected You and What You Learned

Over the word count. I need advise on what I need to cut down on and also, how I could improve it ... thanks!
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As a student in a new school, in an environment different from what I'd experienced before, I was unsure of myself. I made the decision to do the IB program but I hadn't considered the void I would feel in the friends I left behind in my school of 13 years. That void was filled when I found that my school had an active debate club ... active, until the year before. Students who had previously run the club had passed-out and since there was no clear succession, the club was discontinued.

Being one to always see opportunity, I found myself walking up to Mr. Alvaro's office, unsure what he would think of my proposition. Mr. Alvaro had overseen the debate club the year before.

I knocked, smiled and spoke all at once.

"... sir, I can run the debate club."

He was taken aback by my straightforwardness but agreed that it would be a good idea. Overjoyed, I immediately began preparing for the first debate session mentally.

With the help of a friend, I publicized the re-opening of the club in every classroom of our high-school. On the preparations front, I spent hours on YouTube watching every type of debate imaginable - political, school-level, university-level.

The D-day rolled in. I was ready to douse all the information I'd absorbed. I put on a confident front for those twelve people who attended, masking the nervousness I really felt. A good ten minutes went in explaining the debate format after which, I announced the topic we would be discussing. It was all very matter-of-fact and as the final bell rang, signaling the end of school, I knew it hadn't gone how I'd hoped. The attendees didn't enthusiastically answer the questions I asked like I'd imagined they would. Speeches were well below time. And, worst of all, I found people yawning, uninterested.

Given these symptoms, unsurprisingly, only half the people attended the next session. Stoic but really crushed on the inside, I quickly wrote the topic on the board. Having split the attendees into two groups - pro and con, we debated whether 'Sports teams should be penalized for the misbehavior of their fans.' Sports would definitely get people interested, I thought. It did. I was happy to see good conversation on the topic.

But at the next session, attendance dwindled further.

What was I doing wrong - I was putting in the hours, I had interesting topics but the response seen was not in the least proportionate to my effort.

I began to see low attendance as a sign of my incompetence and this affected my confidence. The initial enthusiasm I had for debate club became dread. Insidiously, I began to accept the situation as one that could not be changed. Students were simply not interested in debate; I blamed it on their superficiality.

Days became weeks and weeks, months. As a last resort to attracting members for the club, I organized a debate competition. Unsurprisingly, a few people who had signed-up didn't show but - serendipity! Students passionately exchanged ideas and points on issues ranging from Snowden's information leak to capital punishment to even the less-serious, 'should we be forced to wear uniform.'

It dawned on me.

What was ostensibly the fault of an uninterested student body, was actually the fault of a rigid, uncompromising and sometimes, boring approach to running debate club.

The biggest lesson I learned was that following the same approach and expecting different results is rightly called insanity - I realize the need for reflection and consequently, change, when a certain approach does not work. In hindsight, I realize I never did once ask the attendees why they didn't want to attend. I hadn't asked because I didn't want to confront the possibility that my approach might be the issue - I was too proud. Finding the humility to find the issue would have meant a better year for debate at DIA.

Undergraduate / Why University of Chicago - Address how desire for learning, need for community is met. [3]

The University of Chicago attracts me for several reasons - the intellectual environment, the students who attend, the traditions and its inseparable quirkiness with a core reason being, quite simply, the core itself. In attending, I want to deepen my understanding and appreciation for people with different opinions from myself, I want to learn subjects across a wide range of disciplines and in the process, I also want to have fun. I find that these requirements are amply met at U-Chicago.

U-Chicago has an almost electric environment with its passionate and inquisitive students. As someone involved in debate for a few years, and as an avid reader, I find no dearth in topics for discussion. I believe I can quench my thirst in the constructive discussion with the unique persons I encounter at U-Chicago. What guarantee do I have in meeting interesting people? I can safely say that U-Chicago would only attract those students who genuinely love learning, discussion and debate. Otherwise, I could imagine U-Chicago being a drag for them.

The core program keeps the students on their toes, I'm sure, and in the process, it broadens individuals' understanding of a range of seemingly unrelated but certainly linked disciplines. Having tried to read Plato's Republic, Socrates' 'Lysis, and Oscar Wilde's ballads, I am interested in literature and philosophy. The core allows me to major in Economics while ensuring my thirsts are attended to. I love that the core revolves around reading primary texts, as opposed to reading out of a textbook. The prospect of discovery and understanding ideas, firsthand, instead of it being handed on a platter, excites me.

In a constantly evolving world, both technologically as well as socially, very few constants actually exist.
An uncle of mine majored in Biology but now works for 'Spotify', a music-based tech company. Cognizant of the ever-changing nature of the world around me, I believe "learning to learn" is a most important skill.

Besides being knowledgeable on different subjects, the core will ensure I am aware of different approaches I will have to adopt when studying different disciplines.

Since I will be spending four years of my life at university, it is not enough to meet the intellectual needs - a feeling of belonging in the community is important. I would have to feel at 'home' and what better way than by doing the 'chores.' By involving myself in the University Community Service Center in programs such as 'Seeds of Justice', I will understand the issues the community faces and by actively involving myself, I will develop this sense of belonging.

I watched the welcome ceremony for the freshmen class at U-Chicago. Seeing the goofy costumes, the welcoming signs, the shouting and pure excitement on the faces of students already at U-Chicago struck a chord with me. This, the scav hunt, the 10-minutes finals dance party all resonate a homeliness at U-Chicago for me. I find that at U-Chicago I can be the goofy person I am and crack the lame jokes few people seem to understand.

U-Chicago with its people, intellectual environment and homeliness is a phase I can see myself setting the foundations for living the rest of my life.

Undergraduate / 'Growing up, I was a quiet child' - Amherst - Stereotyped Beliefs Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecy [5]

I am slightly over the 300 word limit. Please do tell me where I can cut down and generally, how the essay sounds. Thanks!
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Growing up, I was a quiet child. I would keep to myself, do what the teacher said, and study hard. Gradually, I found myself forced into a box, a box of who I was supposed to be. Based off of my behavior, people expected me to study and be boring. I was labelled an introvert. Having heard Susan Cain speak on 'The Power of Introverts', I realize that introverts play an important role in society. However, my quietness was not because of introvertism but, rather, because I was shy.

I lead two different lives - quiet and reserved at school; fun and outgoing at home. Stepping out of the box was a slow process. Weirdly enough, I felt obligated to conform to other people's expectations of who I was - stepping outside meant I would disappoint them.

Getting involved in activities of interest peeled off the layers of shyness I had clothed myself with. Model UN (MUN) started the process. Discussing matters like that of refugees, in comparison, made the box of who I was, a minor issue. Temporarily leaving the box behind, I thoroughly engaged myself and spoke what I believed should be done. After a conference, though, I would return to the box of expectation.

MUN pointed me to debate. Here, I was introduced to logic, argumentation and the concept of 'purpose.' By assessing the purpose of an institution, one could argue for or against a topic. I began to realize that my purpose - to use my ability to its fullest - whether to speak, to play the drums, or to make people laugh, was restricted by conforming to people's expectation.

Eventually, people's pre-conceived ideas of me stopped mattering and I forgot about the box of expectation. I realize individuals are far too complex to neatly be placed in convenient boxes. Whenever stereotypes do rear its ugly face at me - in conversation or in action- I am quick to point out. Identifying the problem is the first step to healing.

Undergraduate / Unique Flavor to NYU - NYU AD Prompt - What can NYU offer you and what can you offer NYU [7]

NYU is global, urban, inspired, smart, connected and bold. What can NYU offer you, and what can you offer NYU?

Please tell me where I should elaborate more or cut-down. Also, give me your honest opinion on how it sounds. I am sending it out tomorrow. Thank you. Appreciate it.

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Debate is not merely arguments hurled at opposing sides. Understanding, learning and appreciation are at the heart of debate. In my experience as a debater, I have found that often neither side is better but have come to the realization that each perspective has rational justification. In the process, I have become more open-minded to issues I would previously squarely disagree with - immigration laws for instance. Previously a proponent of dismissal of illegal immigrants, the understanding I gained in debate led me to change my opinion - from unambiguous dismissal to better understanding the unique situations for every immigrant.

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