Undergraduate / "From life in Korea to China" - My experience (quality, talent, experience) [3]

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?

Fourteen years of my life in Korea ended when my dad was given an official order to go work in Beijing, China. After my recent family trips to Turkey and Canada, I looked forward to what was ahead of me: Life in China. I became accustomed quite rapidly to its flowing, song-like language, different dialects, and the Chinese people. Above all, it gave me an opportunity to attend an international school, which, in turn, enriched my life with friends from all over the world and activities that kept my school years dynamic.

Sell 100 cookies: my first assignment in the Interact club, a volunteer service organization at my school. Both excited and worried, I thought it seemed too difficult, especially when I had had no experience in business, but I immediately threw myself into the project. I decided to move first and think later. Moving quickly gives me a chance to try out ways that other people may not have and thinking too much sometimes makes a problem even harder than it actually is, and stops me from trying.

I remember I always complained how my school had so many students in such a tiny space. That day, however, it had never been bigger. Hallways felt longer and wider as if they had been recently enlarged, and the school seemed so empty with no potential customers. Also, even when I located little students, I got overly enthusiastic and thrust differently shaped cookies before them. Then, poor year 1 kids would get scared of me, a year 11 giant who was almost forcing them to purchase cookies. As a result, I could not sell any.

I decided to organize the cookies into categories: flavors, shapes, and sizes. I thought if the cookies were more organized, then customers would have less trouble looking them over and would easily select the cookies they wanted to try. This idea was adopted from my experience when I was 7. I had had trouble locating supplies. Since I cleaned my room based on varied categories I came up with, I could find scissors and glue the second I needed them. Now that I gave a new look to my cookie station, all I needed was customers.

I started to recollect some ways I have read or seen to attract people. I got out my guitar. Over the course of four years with my guitar, every time when I had to perform, either as a band or by myself, I felt all ready to go and did not get very nervous. This time, the event was unplanned and I had to improvise, which made me uneasy. I played without considering whether or not I was playing the right chords. Again, I acted without putting enough thought into my actions. I did succeed in drawing public attention, but rather to me, not to the cookies.

I failed to sell all the cookies, and my image passed from a reticent Korean boy to a corridor rocker of 2008. While finishing the remaining ones with my family, I laughed at myself: a quiet Korean guy selling cookies, playing the guitar in the middle of the hallway. I must have seemed erratic to some people. However, unlike before, when I used to have a hard time struggling to make friends with my poor English skills, now I had no difficulty making friends, for my peers accosted me first and talked about my little concert. Even now, I compliment myself on my courage to perform such a show, and appreciate the gift the courage has brought: my enriched life with friends from all over the world.

Is my essay off topic?:( It has been suggested and I am really worried about it.
Thank you very much for your time and help.

Undergraduate / "Economics, math, and playing guitar" - interesting information, HKUST Admission [5]

Topic: Please provide information which you feel will be of interest to the selection panels of the program.

Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

I was introduced to the fundamental concept of Economics as a child, when my father answered my naïve questions, in particular at the time that the price of my favorite sweet spiked. As I have grown older, I have been able to see and understand economic concepts at work in the world around me, which have ignited my passion. Since moving to China from Korea after the age of 13, I have been able to observe the intense economic growth of this country at first hand, witnessing the rise in living standards alongside the polarization of wealth.

I love the euphoria of solving challenging problems, no matter how long they take. I find abstract concepts, such as fractal theories and their uses particularly interesting. Using fractal dimension to achieve maximum efficiency in the antenna industry makes me marvel at the depth of Mathematics required. Attending an international school in China has provided me with great opportunities to deepen and widen my mathematical knowledge. I have participated successfully in Maths competitions, such as AMC and UKMT, hosted by different countries. Preparing for competitions allowed me to face entirely new types of questions and to discover plenty of brilliant ways to approach those problems.

Economists predict how markets will change and how firms will behave in the future. I read about Game Theory and its basic idea: in certain strategic situations, there are a finite number of choices firms can make. As simple as it may sound, economists can infer a lot from one firm's decision. Although I am studying the economy of an ideal world where one factor can change without altering any other variables, I am delighted whenever I read a real world article and apply the economic concepts I have learned. For example, how the tense relationship between South and North Korea is doing damage to their GDP and long-term development.

As an IB Economics and Maths student, I want to take a mathematical economics course at university level because it combines these subjects and offers me understanding of the close relationship between them. Economic theories can be represented and analysed by using various mathematical methods and I aim to understand them more profoundly by studying the maths behind them. For example, by studying complex calculations of the marginal and average costs of goods, I see how firms accurately predict their future prospects.

One of the great merits of attending an international school is that I have friends from many different countries. As a group, we discuss economic issues relevant to our own countries. It is really interesting to see how everyone suggests different approaches to similar problems. The most recent topic was Japan's reaction to the rising Yen. We had a heated debate on the idea of government intervention. Not only did we come up with possible solutions, but we also evaluated one another's ideas. This regular discussion helps me think like an economist and to review what I have learned, and to widen my views of the global economy.

My extracurricular activities also have an educational benefit. Regardless of the amount of homework I receive, I always make time to play my guitar and attend band practice. For me, the best way to relieve occasional stress is to shred some cheerful riffs and liven up my mood. I play in a band that won first place in the Battle of the Bands of my school. Being in a band requires preparation for performances and leadership to motivate everyone involved. Twice a month, I write for the school newspaper and supply some "fun" Maths problems for each issue. I feel my articles are worthwhile whenever I read some comments on them and attempts at the problems.

I am planning to continue these activities at university, for they have now become part of my life. I look forward to studying mathematics at increasingly high levels and believe I can enrich the university community with my contribution.

Is my essay off topic? it has been suggested and I am really worried.
Thank you very much for your time and help.

Undergraduate / "intellectual interests" - Cornell: College of Arts and Sciences. [2]

Topic: Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences to further explore your interests, intended major, or field of study.

I like Math. I love the euphoria of solving challenging problems, no matter how long they take. As a matter of fact, I was once one of the math haters. "Where can I possibly use this complicated mathematics in the future?" was the endless conundrum of my life. The environment of my Korean high school forced me to learn Math in a very demanding way; Teachers did not made a slightest attempt to explain why I should learn math, but only made me memorize everything. Math was merely a requisite for success in exams. One day, my dad was given an official order to go work in Beijing, China. Moving to China brought me the opportunity to study math in a fun way, which drastically changed my mind-set for Mathematics.

The International school I attend in Beijing does not promote meaningless, rote memorization. Instead, math teachers make me see the fun side of how formulas are derived. Classes are no longer only textbook-based. Software is used to display different graphs. I learn how graphs are transformed by drawing a number of graphs using technology, not by memorizing how the graph will move if a part of the equation changes. Mr. Brook, my math teacher, often teach us history and more real world application of a particular topic we learn in class. This makes me see that math is of extensive use. Furthermore, the cultural diversity which exists in the school allows me to participate successfully in Math competitions, such as AMC and UKMT, hosted by different countries. During the preparation, I faced entirely new types of questions and had to discover plenty of brilliant ways to approach those problems. Realizing that Math can be a fun subject, I opened my mind to it.

I was chosen as the acting math teacher for year 5 and 6 students. The main reason why my peers voted for me was that, considering my passion and affection for Mathematics, I should be the right person to enliven little students with fun mathematics. To meet with their expectations, I employed technologies and games to teach different mathematical concepts. I knew by experience that having a board filled with numbers and formulas would not help them learning, but would turn them into math-haters.

With all new experiences, I realized that critical logic, not mere memorization skill, is crucial to my development in Mathematics. By reading news articles, I have been able to see and understand mathematical concepts at work in the world around me, which has ignited my passion. I came to recognize Mathematics as a milestone of various subjects, such as Economics and Physics. This idea led me to pursue those subjects that have mathematics as their essence. Economics taught me how math is used by economists in the market; Physics, how an abstract side of math is used to predict electron movement and the logic behind it. Writing my extended essay on the topic of Fractals strongly widened my view and equipped me with an insight into in-depth math.

Using fractal dimension to achieve maximum efficiency in the antenna industry makes me marvel at the depth of Mathematics required. Sometimes, I even think that the world is run by Mathematics. Now, instead of the old questions I had before, I have a new conundrum to answer: How far does Mathematics reach? I am applying to the College of Arts and Sciences to take the first step. The academic program of the college will widen my knowledge and develop my reasoning ability to help me form a solid foundation for future studies in Mathematics and my career as an applied mathematician.

I am planning on applying for cornell's early admission, but then I am VERY worried about my supplement essay :(. Please, I welcome any critique, advice, or compliment (if you have any..).

Thank you so much