Undergraduate / I consider myself a global citizen. I am fluent in both Chinese and English - NYU application [3]

NYU is global, urban, inspired, smart, connected, and bold. What can NYU offer you, and what can you offer NYU? (200-400 words)

Though my birth certificate is from Hong Kong (the city I inhabited for 15 years), my school ID is from San Francisco (my current city), and I am fluent in both Chinese and English, I consider myself a global citizen. While Western and Asian cultures have been my main influences so far, I seek to expand my worldview and immerse myself among diverse people, which I'll be able to do at the NYU.

I have always been drawn to unique places and people, partly because I've lived in bustling cities and am a complex person. At fifteen, I decided to study abroad in San Francisco, entering a new level of responsibility and independence. I joined the Lowell High Forensics Society, where I researched and debated various issues and current events, from conflicts in the Middle East to campaign finance reform.

But learning about foreign issues wasn't enough, and during the summer after junior year, I embarked on a service trip to Nicaragua, where I was immersed in a different culture and befriended amazing people. The simple lives of the Nicaraguans I met were a stark contrast to the wealth of San Francisco, and put a face to my debates about humanitarian aid and income inequality. I remember talking to one lady Francesca who worked at the dump. She gave a inspiring speech about family and love. It made me realize that you don't need to have acheived great things to change other peoples lives, a simply word or two can do the trick as well. The trip was one month long, but it wasn't enough. It inspired me to continue exploring other cultures and helping others, to expand my horizons and impact the world in a positive way.

When I heard about the abu dabi exchange program from a friend, I was estatic. I would be able to travel open my mind and become one step closer to a global citizen. The thought of living in a foreign country for a whole semester and fully being immersed into another culture excites me. I will gain a broader perstpective.

I hope the next stop on my journey will be for four years at the NYU, where I can contribute my individual experiences and personality to the school and exchange ideas with peers and professors from different countries, cultures, and belief systems. I will cast the light of my knowledge and absorb the light of my classmates and teachers, so that there will be light and diversity all around.

Undergraduate / I value the liveliness of the city but also long for a tight-knit learning environment; WHY BU? [4]

In no more than 250 words, please tell us why BU is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission.

Coming from a big city, I value the liveliness of the city but also long for a tight-knit learning environment. BU is the best of both world, a big city, university but tight-knit campus, where I can pursue both of my passion: Speech, Language and Hearing Science and Law. Ever since I realized the importance of diction and speaking, I aspire to help kids find their own voice and the possibility of being able to do fieldwork in the child language lab excites me. I fell in love with BU because of its debate society. Being in forensics in high school had made me fall in love with debating. I had persisted, improved and earned a supportive family who shares my passion. Forensics has trained me to be a quick thinker. My ability to think and act fast has pervaded every aspect of my educational experience. BU's debate society would allow me to find another family who I can learn from and exchange ideas with peers and professors from different countries, cultures, and belief systems. In a big college like BU with many various clubs and teams, it is a perfect fit for my adventurous and curious personality. I looking forward to trying out new clubs, exploring different courses,meeting new people from all over the world. BU will be my door to self discovery with its many options.

Undergraduate / "oh crap I messed up" - I felt as if a huge stone crushed me on my back, and guilt engulfed me [2]

I feel like I'm walking on risky ground showing my imperfections too much, how should I change it so that it makes me seem like a less irresponsible?

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
"Krista, do you mind looking through this food menu and checking to see if we can go along?" my board mate asked. This was my first major task as Vice President of Kermesse board, our school's spring festival. As an experienced committee member for 2 years, I was elected as Vice President of the board. At first I refused, questioning myself whether I can complete the task. The president saw the hesitant in my eyes and comforted me, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be a great leader if you put your heart to it." With his words in mind, I decided to challenge myself and take on a leadership role this year.

Being Vice President isn't easy. There are many responsibilities that came along with it. For half a year, all I could think about was Kermesse. Everyday after school I would meet up with my co-president and our teacher in charge to discuss about the logistics of Kermesse till dark. We held committee meetings where we fought about which theme to use and which ideas to use. We needed to paint the poster, create advertisements, find teacher sponsors. Accompanied with my co-president, I went up to different clubs and inspected to see if the food that they are selling meet the environmental and safety requirements of our school's policy. Many times, I faced rejection and tons of questions. I had to communicate with the school administration staff and security to ensure all booths are safe and there's no commotion. All these in 3 months! With only the help of 30 other committee members! Not only was I the president of the committee, I also was the head of the game committee of the board. I spent countless hours at home brainstorming different types of games that would incorporate the theme of "worldly culture". I had to ensure everyone on the committee completed their part accurately. Many times, I would have to help my committee member finish their part as they were not able to finish their task by the deadline.

After all the hard work, I thought Kermesse would definitely run smoothly. To my horror, I find out last minute that our school choir was chosen to participate in Chicago's Festival of Gold and would not be able to attend Kermesse. What happens if something went wrong during Kermesse? I panicked. In the end, I informed my teacher in charge and my co-president, ensured that all preparation work was done, informed my game committee members, and appointed a friend to be my substitute for the day of Kermesse. I explained to her my responsibilities at Kermesse, and told her to call me immediately if anything happens. With that, I hopped on the plane, fingers crossed, hoping that Kermesse would be a success.

Oh how wrong I was! When I turned on my phone after I got on the plane, I was shocked to see 10 missed call from my other board members. Frantically, I returned the call to hear my board members yelling at me. "Where are you? We were looking for you! The water balloons of the water balloon game pops too easily!" I apologized fervently, explained the situation to her and promised her I will fix the mess. I felt as if a huge stone crushed me on my back, and guilt engulfed me. I wanted to hop on the next plane and fly back to San Francisco to solve the problem. But I couldn't. Immediately, I called my friend who was my substitute and I gave her instructions. I asked her to raise the requirements of the game so that it will be harder to win, while a game committee member runs to party city to buy balloons that are thicker and harder to burst. During the whole day, I was on my phone, talking to her, giving her instructions while my choir members were playing around in the hotel, enjoying their time.

Fortunately, Kermesse was still a huge success even though there were glitches in it. We received feedback from teachers claiming that we did a great job organizing the performances, food and even games. At the debrief meeting, I sincerely apologized to the team, admitted it was my fault that I was not there on the day of Kermesse. I also made a proposal stating solutions if another situation like this was encountered. My board members were all very understanding and forgave me.

Being an adult is presenting yourself to the world with all of your strengths, and your vulnerabilities, regardless of any insecurities you might feel you have. Being an adult we have set foot on the battlefield of life, and have only our personal resources for defense. Responsibility, and consequence both become a major impetus in most all of our decisions. Being an adult secures us great freedom, and power in this world, but with that power, and freedom we must always assume responsibility for our actions.

Undergraduate / "Krista, look through this performance list and see if its alright" - "Choir? Kermesse? Both?" [4]

I feel like I'm using the the word I too much. Should I cut down my story and focus more on the impact of the story? Another other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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

"Krista, please look through this performance list and see if its alright." my board mate asked. This was my first major task as Vice President of Kermesse committee, our school's spring festival. As an experienced committee member for 2 years, I was elected as president of the board. At first I refused, doubting my ability. The president saw the hesitation in my eyes and comforted me, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be a great leader if you put your heart to it." With his words in mind, I decided to challenge myself and take on the leadership role.

For half a year, my life revolved around Kermesse. Everyday after school I met up with the president and our teacher to discuss about the logistics of festival till dark. Along with the committee, We painted the poster, created advertisements, persuaded teachers to sponsor us. Many times, I faced rejection and tons of questions. I ensured everyone on the committee completed their part accurately and on time. All these in 3 months! With only the help of 30 other committee members!

I was confident all the hard work would pay off and Kermesse would run smoothly. To my horror, I find out last minute that our school choir was chosen to represent San Francisco to participate in Chicago's Festival of Gold and I would not be able to attend Kermesse. My heart sank. Our choir put all our effort in during the year to prepare for the competition. In addition, I was one of the lead singers of the choir. I couldn't let my choir team down. Nor could I let my committee down. I was torn between what to do. To go to choir? or stay for Kermesse?

For days, I felt as if there was a huge rock on my back, weighing me down. I couldn't focus during Kermesse meetings and during choir practice. I changed my choice back and forth, weighing both pros and cons. In the end, I decided to try to look for a flight that would fly off to Chicago after Kermesse. However, flights were very full during that time and I was waitlisted for the late flight.

I needed a backup plan. I informed my teacher in charge and my committee members about the situation at hand; they were all very understanding. I checked that all preparation work was done, went to each sub committee and overlooked their work. I also communicated with the security staffs and ticketing staff to give them instructions and solution to possible problems that might arise. I also ran several rehearsals for performances to guarantee that the performances will be flawless that day. I also appointed a friend to be my substitute for the day of Kermesse. I explained to her my responsibilities at Kermesse, and told her to call me immediately if anything happens.

Fortunately, I was able to take the late flight to travel to Chicago on my own. I run around the campus on the day of Kermesse, monitoring everything. Kermesse was a huge success. We received feedbacks from teachers claiming that we did a great job organizing the performances, food and even games. That night, exhausted, I hopped on the plane alone to join my fellow choir mates in Chicago.

Being an adult is presenting yourself to the world with all of your strengths, and your vulnerabilities, regardless of any insecurities. Responsibility and consequence both become a major impetus in most all of our decisions. Being an adult secures us great freedom and power in this world, but with that power and freedom we must always assume responsibility for our actions.

Undergraduate / Crtl. Del? My finger came to a halt at the delete button. What if colleges read this and dislike me? [2]

Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

Crtl. Del? My finger came to a halt at the delete button. I stared at the screen filled with sentences that recounted my failure and flaw. What if colleges read this and dislike me? Should I risk it?

As an experienced committee member, I was elected as Vice President for our school's spring festival, Kermesse. After all the hard work and preparation, I was confident Kermesse would be a success. To my horror, I find out last minute that our school choir was chosen to represent San Francisco to participate in Chicago's Festival of Gold and I would not be able to attend Kermesse. My heart sank. Even though there wouldn't be a big impact if I didn't go to Chicago, I longed to travel with my team. For days, I debate back and forth as to whether I should leave for Chicago or not.

"What can go wrong during Kermesse? I already prepared everything," I thought. In the end, I chose Chicago. I informed my teacher and the president, ensured that all preparation work was done, and appointed another committee member to be my substitute on the day of Kermesse. I explained to her my job, and told her to call me immediately if anything happens. With that, I hopped on the plane, certain that Kermesse would run smoothly.

Oh how wrong I was! After I got off the plane, I was shocked to see 10 missed call from my other board members. Frantically, I returned the call to hear them yelling at me, "Where are you? We were looking for you! The water balloons of the water balloon game pops too easily!" My defensive instinct immediately kicked in. I blamed my president for not informing the rest of the committee. However, I still explained the situation to her and promised to fix the mess. I called my substitute and gave her instructions. I asked her to raise the requirements of the game so that it will be harder to win, while another member runs to buy balloons that are thicker and harder to burst.

During the whole day, I was on my phone, giving her instructions while touring around the city. My choir members were annoyed at me for always being on my phone. My committee members were mad at me. I was frustrated. That was when a sudden realization hit me. My selfish and irresponsible decision costed the happiness of 3 different groups of people. It wasn't the president's responsibility to tell other committee members. It was mine. Blaming him and making up excuses might lessen the anger towards me, but that does not mean I wasn't guilty. I felt as if a huge stone crushed my back, and guilt slowly suffocated me. I was too ashamed to talk about my decision, but I know I needed to confront my mistake.

First thing after landing, I sincerely apologized to the team. I admitted it was my fault for not informing the whole team of my absence. I also apologized fervently to the president for blaming him. I also wrote a reflection with solutions on what to do if similar situation ever appears. I even proposed to resign my position as Vice President. However, my committee members were all very understanding and forgave me.

This incident made me realize the importance of prioritizing my roles and responsibilities. I had chosen fun and leisure over responsibility. As we set foot on the battlefield of life, we have only our personal resources for defense. Responsibility and consequence both become a major factor in most of our decisions. Being a leader secures us great freedom, and power in this world, but with that power and freedom we must always assume responsibility for our actions.

On the verge of college, I see how this has been true. I lifted my finger from the delete button and instead pressed save. I need to be responsible for my doings. In order to improve, the first step is to acknowledge my own mistake. Situations like this will always happen, but I will flash back to the failure and the victory embraced by this epiphany.