Undergraduate / The sky is the limit? No, it's just the beginning! University of Illinois Undergraduate Admission [4]

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Q: Explain your interest in the major you selected. Describe an experience related to that area of study, what first introduced you to this field, and/or your future career goals. Limit your response to 300-400 words.

I loathe the phrase 'The sky is the limit', because for me, the sky is just the beginning. My tryst with the heavens began with video games. I had an airplane simulator which I loved to play. Though most 10-year olds would just play the game, I looked to the science and physics beyond it. I became obsessed with heavier-than-air flight, from its modest beginnings at Kitty Hawk to the jumbo jets of today. And not just the planes themselves, but how they flew, their efficiency, usage in WWI and WWII, and the evolution line of different airplanes to their modern day equivalents. The local library quenched my thirst for _____, and the internet helped me uncover the details that I craved for.

From 5th grade onwards, my fascinations about nature started to expand. I came across ornithology, the study of birds; meteorology, the study of weather systems; and cosmology, the study of outer space. I pursued them all with a curiosity my friends found to be dangerously contagious. I taught myself to identify different types of clouds, and what they meant. I spent hours on an end bird watching, with a pair of binoculars behind my house, cataloging different bird species that frolicked in my backyard. Though I never actively pursued stargazing, I loved to study forces of gravitation between planets, and Keplar's Laws of Planetary motion.

When I moved to India for my 6th grade, I was devastated when I found out libraries were scarce, and so I moved completely to online research. I faced my toughest challenge yet: adapting to the Indian culture and coming out with my original aspirations intact. Though After three long years I was changed, I pulled through with most of my passions untouched, and with a few new additions.

It was during my 10th and 11th that my aspirations as an engineer materialized. I excelled at mathematics and physics during these two defining years. The pieces fell neatly into place as I put the only 2 and 2 concerning my future together: I was to become an Aerospace engineer.

Having studied about the advancement of airplanes during WWII, I crave to jumpstart the next era of evolution in the world of aircraft. To do this, I need access to the world-class facilities in University of Illinois. So I look forward to joining you in pursuit of ______.

Undergraduate / US childhood and citizenship, although origins and heritage resides in India - Texas admission essay [6]

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Q: Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience.

I emigrated from the US to India after my 5th grade. Though my citizenship and childhood lie in the US, my origins and heritage resides in India. My parents wanted me to know where I really belong. Little did they know, after I crossed the Atlantic, how much I didn't.

In school, at the mall, even among my own family I was treated like an outsider once my birthplace was revealed. I may look the part of an Indian, but in the end it was always my accent which betrayed me. So much was I alienated, that I adapted to the local dialect to blend in with the crowd. I held on to my American accent, keeping in tune by using it with my close family, but changed styles the minute I stepped onto unfamiliar territory.

I found it nearly hard to make any friends. Nobody seemed to understand my situation, and no one would sit next to me in class. So many of my classmates would doggedly follow religious beliefs I knew nothing about, and would ask me if I was from another religion. At first I would lash out at anyone who would confront me, which made me even more of an outcast. I learned to keep myself in check and be tolerant of other's critical judgmental views. I could do nothing but succumb to the rumors, whispers and echoes that tailed me through the hallways of my school. I became reticent and an introvert, a constant fear of being judged badly crowding my thoughts.

'The only constant is constant change'. I fervently hoped it was true, because I knew that I couldn't resist the changes around me indefiately. The conflict between me and society kept up for three long years, up until high school. I had made all the mistakes I could during this time, and learnt some valuable lessons throughout. What I needed was a new beginning, so that I could put the mistakes I made behind me and the lessons I learnt in front. High school gave me the perfect opportunity to do just that.

My high school experience was even better than I expected. I joined FIITJEE (Forum for Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination), one of the many coaching institutes that populated India. Students are handpicked through rigorous 6-hour long examinations and coached in college-level concepts that are questioned in the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination). The students there were those who were different from the usual lot: they had IQ and problem-solving skill against the orthodox memory and recalling abilities. They were the ones like me who were brought up at home in environments similar to those in IB schools. They were the ones who could join the dots, look at the bigger picture and think out of the box. I acquired completely different paradigms from the friends I made here, adding it to my growing life skills.

It was during my junior year that I solidified my personality into the person I am now. 10th grade was my peak year in terms of both education and personality. I picked up so many characteristics from so many eccentric and unorthodox students. I learnt a lot of skills like negotiational skills, empathy and time management. But the most important one is keeping an open mind. It is the result of all the picking on by others on me. I came to realize that some of them simply believe that the rest of the world is the same as themselves. I know that's wrong, and so will have to keep an open mind to understand other people's outlook.

I believe that the years I have spent in India have transformed me into a hybrid variety: one who holds an American's innovative capability and independancy,and also one who embraces the Indian adaptability and sense of family values. The syllabi during the final two years have been too demanding to allow any character building experiences. But by then, I didn't need any more. I left a bit of my character left to be molded during college, because I believe UT Austin can contribute so much to me as a person. So I look forward to joining the University of Texas.