Undergraduate / Favourite book, teacher and subject (really short answers). [3]

Could you please tell me what do you think about these short answers? Thanks for your help; I'll make sure to help you back. :)

- Name the secondary school teacher who has most influenced you and briefly explain why. (200)
Name (Literature)
She fostered me with passion. Deeply loving her profession, she inspired me to immerse in the beauty of Arts. Her insight pushed me towards deeper layers and helped me open new doors to my horizon.

- What subjects most interest you and why? (Note: This is not a commitment to major in this area.) Characters available 400
The perfection of nature has always been object of observation and amazement to me. In Biology, my imagination found freedom and my innate curiosity led me into infinite series of why-s, which I could not always answer. Yet, this has not held me back, on the contrary, it has motivated me to expand my limits, trying to reach for depths that have not yet been discovered. I have thirst for knowledge.

- Do you have a tentative (or firm) career plan (or dream)? Please describe it. (400)
My immutable attraction to Biology makes me consider Neuroscience a great possibility for my future. Neuroscience is compatible with my passions, since it blends both humanity and science, both brains and emotions. In a field as Neuroscience, where many potentially life-revolutionizing questions are still unanswered, I am thrilled by the possibility to discover and to make a change.

- Why are you interested in Carleton College and how did this interest develop? (300)
Carleton amazes me with the freedom it radiates. I do not want to simply learn; I want to experience, to share my unusual ideas with unique, diverse people. I want to explore, to stroll down the Carleton Arb and lay in (is it lay in or lay on?) the green of the Lyman Lakes. As Carletonians say "I want to embrace life fully".

-From your reading, whether children's books or classics, what books or authors have particularly impressed you and why? (500)

The place of honor in my bookshelf and in my art-loving heart belongs to Remarque. As I walk through his lines, I feel the innermost importance that humanity has in shaping a person. I love the sensitivity, passion, and philosophies of life of his characters. They all live under the pressure of war and in this atmosphere of anxiety, insecurity, impotence to change the present and to predict the future, they taught me that the only way to live is by loving and being loved.

To the moderators: please do not merge this post with my "why brown" post like you did last time, they are completely different things!

Undergraduate / Why Brown - poetic, maybe too much? [4]

Please tell us more about your interest in Brown: Why does Brown appeal to you as a college option? Who or what has influenced your decision to apply? (1000 characters)

Because my most treasured possessions: favorite sweater, stuffed friend and chocolate are brown. Because I adore the sight of the Wayland Tower under a white veil. Because brown.edu is my homepage. Because the mentoring of a Nobel prize winner, Leon Cooper, and an overall brilliant faculty would make my academic experience unparalleled. Because I look forward to satisfying my restless desire for exploration through the vast opportunities of Independent Neuroscience Research. Because I see in Brown a globalized environment whose diversity I can yet foster - I crave for Albania to join the countries represented in Brown's student body. Because Brown means freedom to both concentrate in Neuroscience and fully experience my passion for theater. Because I want to share my unusual ideas with unique, diverse people. Because I want to emerge in the vibrant student life by becoming an emPOWER activist and adopting a grandparent.

And because I want to embrace life fully, I already feel a brunonian.
(this is 1003 char.)

Why are you drawn to the academic fields you indicated in the Anticipated Degree and Academic Interest questions above?
Today I understand what Einstein meant when he said that everything is relative. 45 minutes practically seem years when I have to solve relativity problems, while they pass as a brain-refreshing breeze when I am emerged in those beautiful class discussions in Biology. During 4 years of Biology classes throughout high-school, I have experienced the excitement of discovering things that hooked me, the possibility to provide answers to many questions and a natural curiosity to find out more. However, many "why"s are still unanswered. "Why do we dream? What are the emotions? How are the memories stored?" It is surprising that science, with its galloping advance, has no answer to these questions. I am drawn to Neuroscience because I want to find the answers, to expand my limits, to reach for depths which have not yet been discovered. In a field where many potentially life-revolutionizing questions are still unanswered, I am thrilled by the possibility to discover and to make a change.

How do you find them? Any suggestions (both grammar and content)? Thank you a lot. :)

Undergraduate / Columbia short answers - books, shows, and why Columbia [6]

Guys I'd love if you could help me with these. I'm international and I dont know if some books are cliche in USA. So please give me your opinions and suggestions on these answers (esp. on the why Columbia). Thanks a lot :)

1- List the books you read for pleasure in the past year:
"The Arch of Triumph" - Erich Maria Remarque,
"The Shadow of the Wind" - Carlos Ruiz Zafón,
"Rule by Secrecy" - Jim Marrs,
"My Name is Red" - Orhan Pamuk,
"Love In The Time Of Cholera" - Gabriel García Márquez,
"The Alchemist" - Paolo Coelho
"Memoirs Of A Geisha" - Arthur Golden

2- List the required readings you enjoyed most in the past year:
"Anna Karenina" - Leo Tolstoy
"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl",
"Madame Bovary" - Gustave Flaubert
"Three Comrades" - Erich Maria Remarque
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" - Victor Hugo
"Father Goriot" - Honore de Balzac

3- List the print and/or electronic publications you read regularly:
sciencedaily.com,
nature.com,
bbc.co.uk
"Volleyworld" magazine

4- List the films, performances, exhibits, concerts, shows, etc. you enjoyed most in the past year:
2012 (directed by Roland Emmerich)
FIVB World Cup
"Salome" (opera by R. Strauss)

5- Please tell us what you find most appealing about Columbia and why:
Why Columbia? Because I love blue. Because I adore the sight of the Alma Mater statue under a cover of whiteness. Because columbia.edu is my homepage. Because the mentoring of two Nobel prize winners, Eric Kandel and Richard Axel, would make my academic experience unparalleled. Because I am looking forward to diving in the SURF program and to exploring through vast opportunities of independent study and undergraduate Neuroscience research. Because I see in Columbia a globalized environment whose diversity I can yet foster. Because I want excellence. Because I am not afraid to fly higher.

Undergraduate / Why Duke?- excellent academics and vibrant community. [6]

Why Duke?

Duke has aced my two evaluation tests: the test of fondness and the test of academic excellence. I want to be part of Duke because I think we two can make up a great symbiosis together.

My immutable attraction to Biology makes me consider Neuroscience a great possibility for my future. Undeniably, Duke has been a perfect architect
for medical futures; this is why it has remained on the top of my college list. Neuroscience in Duke, as a thoroughly interdisciplinary major with emphasis on research and discovery, is the perfect fit for me. In such a field, where many potentially life-revolutionizing questions are still unanswered, I am thrilled by the possibility to discover and to make a change. The possibilities for internships, independent studies, labs and Research Practicum that Duke offers represent to me unique experiences that I would not let slip.

In Duke I really feel that I can embrace life fully. I want to share my unusual ideas with unique, diverse people. I want to be part of an amazingly diverse environment as that of Duke. As an international student, I feel I have so much to share with the other students, may it be a bit of Albanian language or the Albanian traditional curd pie, as well as my dreams and my windows to the world. I want to emerge in the vivacious student life by joining the Duke's women club volleyball and volunteering in the DukeEngage to continue the exciting experience of community service in a larger scale. I don't want to simply learn, I want to explore and experience beyond the classroom. Always in my life I have pursued challenges aiming for excellence: that's why I am now knocking in the doors of Duke University, hoping to make it my future home.

Undergraduate / Short, funny Yale responses [4]

Could you give me some advice on these responses in Yale's supplement?

-What would you do with a free afternoon?
A hectic time of applications has unfortunately forced me to limit the time I spend with my friends. I wish I could dedicate them some time, maybe cycling in park.

- Recall a compliment you received that you especially value. What was it? From whom did it come?
"I have heard that eyes are the mirror of the soul. You must have beautiful eyes." - my best friend (I don't know how appropriate that is)

- What two qualities do you admire most in other people?
Humanity and courage. (am i supposed to expand on these?)
- What do you wish you were better at being or doing?
I wish I could get enough of few hours of sleep. There are so many things to do in a day, so sleep is my most prosecuted activity.

- If you were choosing students to form a Yale class, what question would you ask here that we have not?
Which is your favorite line of a song?

-What in particular about Yale has influenced your decision to apply? Please limit your response to the space provided. (500 CHAR.)
I have two versions:
1 -To me, Yale epitomizes the golden balance. The combination between specialized knowledge and broad liberal arts background is the most apt for my intended career: Neuroscience, which blends both biology and psychology. Yale will give me the opportunity to gain an excellent education, without having to give up my passions, as theater and volleyball. I want to embrace life fully: that's why I see Yale as the perfect architect of my future.

2 - Why Yale? Because I love blue. Because I adore the sight of the Harkness Tower under a cover of whiteness. Because yale.edu is my homepage. Because I love the balance of breadth and depth the distributional requirements system offers. Because I see in Yale a globalized environment whose diversity I can yet foster. Because I enjoy exploring and discovering through the limitless opportunities of independent study. Because I want excellence. Because I am not afraid to fly higher.

I feel the 1st is more apt, any suggestions to make it better?

Thank you a lot guys! I'll return the favor! :)

Undergraduate / "A shepherd's dream" The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. [6]

YALE AND BROWN ESSAY.
Please read it and advice me. Also, suggest me a good title. I'll be happy to help you with yours as well. :)

A shepherd's dream

My fingertip slips slowly, lovingly on their backs. My eyes run passionately over them - how beautiful they are! How many times have I touched them, held them in my hands and in my heart? Countless. Yet, I hesitate. I have to choose one, one only. My hand lingers on them for a tiny last moment, and then finally reaches to embrace my soul mate.

When I run through the pages of "The alchemist", I do not simply wander my eyes along the lines. I live. My soul mate is a shepherd. We have the same ingredients and share the same, simple recipe: mix passion, dreams, and guts, and cook in slow flame for seventeen years. Santiago taught me how arduous and challenging following one's path can be - and how beautifully rewarding nonetheless.

I have a passion and I have a dream. Enchanted by the perfection of life, my mind has always lingered upon question marks that I craved to dissolve. "How do I dream, how am I able to remember?" Infinite obstacles and dilemmas challenge my hunger for answers. Biology and Psychology have not reached this depth of understanding yet, so how will I, a single individual, compose the revolutionizing turn? Besides, my country doesn't offer me the chance to deepen my knowledge in the field I am most passionate about. A Neuroscience major, which I am likely to pursue, is still unfortunately a missing concept in the (name of country) Universities' curriculum. Will I leave everything to follow my dream?

Santiago's path answered my dilemmas. He chose to follow his vision and start his journey. Nothing was easy, on the contrary: he faced thieves, he faced disappointment, he faced the temptation of a comfortable, common life. It is not difficult to fall into these temptations, as he did, but he also found the strength to continue his journey despite the difficulties and the vicissitude he faced in his way. Santiago's journey is, in my eyes, the journey of the soul towards happiness.

I have loved to see that part of Santiago that lies within me and within every other human that has dreams, and wishes for a voice to shout at him/her: "You can make it!". As Coelho says "There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." This book fills me with power, optimism and confidence in taking steps towards my dream. And the amazing thing is that it does this, not by telling me that life and dream fulfillment is easy (Santiago passed through so many difficulties and barriers to achieve happiness), but it makes me strong enough to believe that if I really want, I can. I can win them - the difficulties, the defeats, the temptations, the fear of failure. I can cross the boundaries and find the answers to my questions.

All the raw material to achieve my dream is inside me. Now I need an architect to help me make a masterpiece out of it. I am not afraid to start my journey; I am excited. Because now I understand what William James once said:

"The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."