Undergraduate / Research Application Summary: my Life, Over Flowing with Curiosity [2]

Write a short summary why you are interested in participating in research in physics.

Feel free to criticize!
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My Life: Over Flowing with Curiosity

I was born in India where carries on a tradition that men have to join the family business once they turn 18. Among my extended family of 17 people, I was the only one who had the courage to break that family tradition.

It was in 7th grade when I started to investigate whether it was possible to make a motor with only magnets and no electricity. At that time, I did not have enough knowledge to understand the concept of conservation of energy, but above all, I was powered up to explore the impossible. My friend and I used to sneak by and climb up the school water tower that we used as our "laboratory." In our investigation we tried different, possible arrangement of magnets to get the perpetual motor working. Our work was not successful, but we were able to explore the mechanism of an electric motor. Many experiments that we had done made me appreciate science.

My parents felt an urgent need to find a better educational institution for me in 7th grade since I scored top of the class in my science final exam. Their final decision was to send me to a boarding school. It was upsetting for me that I had to leave my beloved friends, but in the mean time I was excited for the life at boarding school since they provide better facilities and resources than day school.

Mr. Raghavan was one of the most inspiring teachers that I met at the boarding school. Not only was he my physics teacher, but also my mentor. Mr. Raghavan used to sit by me at the dining table, where most of our interesting conversations related to physics took place. We used to talk about various topics like kinematics, lightning, and magnetism, as well as about famous scientists, such as Sir Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla, and James Maxwell. Once I asked him about the possibility of time travel, thus opening doors for myself to the world of modern physics. The topic at our table circled around modern physics from then on. He told me about universal speed limit, the speed of light, which astonished me. Although all the explanations that he gave me were a summary of the hypothesis and theories, they were inspiring enough to spark the curiosity in me for modern physics. Additionally, we discussed about general and special relativity, superstring theory, particle physics, the mysterious Higgs Boson particle, and many more that completely fascinated me. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been if I had not met Mr.Raghavan and discussed about science with him.

After graduating from boarding school, my interest in modern physics did not decline; instead, it kept increasing while I was nourished by lectures and books on physics. My desire to explore the physics world completely took over me. By the beginning of my senior year, I had almost finished watching MIT's 8.01 by Mr. Walter Lewin, which is an introductory physics class. Over the last winter break, I started watching lectures on multivariable calculus by Mr. Auroux from MIT and on modern physics by Mr.Susskind. I also read the book The New World of Mr.Tompkins, written by George Gamov. It gave me a joyful ride of an imaginary universe where the speed of light was 15mph.

Physics, especially modern physics, is something in which I intend to specialize and achieve my goal, and nothing else can be more ideal for me than researching in that field. I used to look out for sources, such as the Internet, to explore the world of modern physics due to unavailability of research programs in India. Now that I am in the U.S., and I am seeking a better opportunity and experience that will enable me to explore modern physics. I believe that Argonne will be able to provide me with the perfect platform where I will work under the guidance of the most respected and professional scientists, and I am also looking forward to working with some advanced scientific equipments such as Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System. Having come this far from my home country after breaking the family tradition there is no turning back.

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Undergraduate / 'preparing for IIT's entrance exam for a long time' -MIT additional information essay [2]

"Over thirty years of IITs, yet, all it does is train some bring kids to work in multinationals. I mean look at MIT in the USA...," it was the first time I had came across 'MIT' in 9th grade when I was reading Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat who himself was an Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) alumni. Later in 10th grade when I was reading Jumpha Lahri's Namesake again I dashed across MIT, this time in a deeper context. I was astonished by knowing that there was something that was even better then IIT, yet even after knowing that fact I was determined to go to IIT. That was the best I could have got in India and may be even in the world.

I had been preparing for IIT's entrance exam since I was in 8th grade. That's how it is in India; bright students spend bulk of their time preparing for the IIT's Joint Entrance Exam (JEE). I wasn't any different, but the only thing that separated me from the others was that I also used to give time to other things in life. I used to exercise daily(Students ignore even health keeping), I was involved in many activities(this is the main thing that Indian students lack), I used to equally pay attention in school(As IIT requires only a minimum of 60% in 12th grade students totally ignore school). Last summer I when I moved to US I realized that I would not be able to go to IIT anymore; my parents are not ready to send me back to India this spring for the IIT test.

When I came here I was amazed by the opportunities this country had for me. I started grabbing all I could and the best one was when I joined Chicago Android Group. At Chicago Android Group I met the best minds from my area including many of the MIT's alumni. I was not ashamed to be the only high school student in the group, but I was proud that even though I was a high school student I was invited to give a presentation. When I joined school I was overwhelmed with the excitement of joining many clubs and contributing to the community. I also have plans to volunteer at a Kinder Care next semester.

Lately I have been thinking how my life would had been like if I were in India. Especially with just few months for JEE I would had been studying day and night for it. Even if I were not destined to come to US I might had given up my position from the board of advisory at the Science Museum due to the pressure from the test.

Please help me correct grammer and let me know about the content of the essay...

Undergraduate / MIT essay about a challenge faced in life..... Grammer correction needed! [4]

Enthusiastically on the breakfast table I said to my dad," Dad I got my results today and I got 91%, toping not only in the school but also in the district. Now I can easily get into KC junior college in Mumbai!"

My father gave me a pat on the back and said,"Manan, but you are too young to go in a city like Mumbai. I know that you have many friends there and we also have many relatives there, but.."

Sadly I interrupted,"But Dad you had assured me that if I get at least 90% you would allow me to go to Mumbai, then why have you changed your mind. Dad, I can do so much over there, I will be able to live independently, and they also have many good classes for the entrance for IIT's entrance test. Going to Mumbai will be the best bet in my career."

Suddenly my Mom jumps in the discussion," Manan these two years are the last few years when you could stay with us. You can go to Mumbai or anywhere you want after 12th grade."

This went on for about couple of hours and finally I had to give in due to my Mom's emotional feelings.

Prior to this conversation of the day of my 10th grade result I had different plans: going to Mumbai for 11th & 12th then going to Indian Institute of Technology. I was sad because I thought I will not be able to follow my dreams anymore. It was very difficult for me to settle in a whole new environment. I used to look for holidays to escape to Mumbai.

After a couple of months I found that slowly my sadness was evaporating, I started getting engaged in extra-curriculum activities. I joined environmental club, I joined the teen club at local library, I also started volunteering at nearby temple and my grades also started going up. Finally I realized that going to a metropolitan city is not necessary to achieve one's dreams. By the end of the year when I was settled in this new environment I had to replan my life- I was destined to move to US by the end of the summer.

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I dont have good english , Please can anyone help me correct any grammatical error if possible... Thanks in advance for you help, I really appreciate your effort

Undergraduate / My family: Truly Utopian: MIT background essay [11]

My family: Truly Utopian

I was brought up in a middle class extended family with two elder siblings, seven first cousins, two uncles and aunts, my parents and grandparents all living under one roof. Middle class in India during the 1990's did not have the lifestyle that the name may suggest, especially if you are living in a large family. However, as with everything, living in a big family, has its pluses and minuses. When clothes did not fit elders they were passed on to young ones. Right from our childhood we were all the kids in the house were taught to use of everything for a given circumstances.

All the schools that I had been in India did not have wide variety of clubs that I could have been part of, but I created ones for my own as per my interest and if conditions would not allow it to grow I would continue to endeavor of exploring my interest on my own. In 9th grade with full support from my best physics teacher I created Electronics club and in 11th grade I started in school recycling program. My father always used to tell me that in a dense jungle one has to find a path or make one! When we moved here to US I started participating in all the activities that interest me. I am secretary of e-club and also technical assistant for website club.

In conclusion, I will never forget my grandpa's quote as he described to my dad: "Do not look at the person who owns a BMW and feel down. Always look at the person riding a bike and feel blessed." My family as a whole provided us a Utopian environment in everyway as they taught us to find an opportunity in adversity.

Undergraduate / MIT spare time essay and appealing major [5]

How do you spend your spare time?

Out of all my hobbies I like reading the most. My father inspired me to read newspaper daily, while today due to environmental concerns I read news online. The best thing I like reading about is technology. I spend at least half an hour everyday by reading RSS feeds of sites by engadget, android community, slashdot, BBC news and Times of India. I like my feeds to be managed so I use google reader to manage them effectively.

What is the major that is most appealing to you right now?
Mechanical Engineering appeals me the most because of the practical challenge that this field poses. Even in future when I will be doing research of job in this field it will be challenging for me and it will keep my mind active. Ever since I was young I used to collect broken toys from my friends and I used to try to fix. Whenever I wasn't able to fix the toys I used to take motors and LEDs from them and I used to play with them. Sometimes I used to make a car of my own, sometimes I used to glue motor to my Lego models. Even today I try to innovate in my spare time.

Undergraduate / 'I successfully founded an electronics club' - MIT creativity essay [4]

Tell us about a time you used your creativity. This could be something you made, a project that you led, an idea that you came up with, or pretty much anything else.

When I was in boarding school my interests in Science grew further. There I encountered one of the best physics teachers, Mr. Raghavan. Through his support I successfully founded an electronics club. Due to the excellent knowledge gained in electronics club, my life and encouragement from my dad, I took initiative to take part in school's science fair. I decided to make a small solar car.First I made a blue print, though when I designed it on paper it was very aerodynamic, but when it came to reality it was not that good looking. As there were only flat photovoltaic plates available in the market I decided to make the car in shape of house roof. When I was done collecting materials, I constructed chassis from pop sticks because their light weight was perfect for construction. In the chassis I planted a motor along with designed axle which rotated with least friction. At that time I was so desperate about testing my car that I went to the extent of using bulb to impart solar energy to the car at night. It didn't run with the energy bulb, I thought it might be able to run in the morning when the sun will shower its light on the panel, but it didn't happen. It turned out that the panels were not creating enough current to drive my car. I went to consult Mr. Raghavan and he suggested that I should out the panels in parallel circuit, instead of connecting them in series, he also gave me low speed high torque motor. The tweaked version of my car actually worked though sometimes I had to give a push to start. I did not abandon researching about solar cars after the fair was over. I get most knowledge from the solar car models that participate in World Solar Challenge. In future I look forward to join MIT's Solar Electric Vehicle Team and contribute to make alternative energy vehicle.