Scholarship / Gates - short (little links) and long term goals (graduate from college) [3]

Prompt
Discuss your short and long-term goals. Are some of them related? Which are priorities?

Goals are the stepping stones to a brighter future. Goals encourage people to turn their perspective of the future into reality. Throughout my life I've been setting goals to help organize my time, and to take pride in the achievement of my goals. Each and every one of my goals are dependent on each other, and will help me create the future I imagined.

During my years in high school I've created my own short term goals. My short term goals are little links that will help setup my future. One of my short term goals is to always attain an 85 or higher average. Actions speak louder than words, so instead of just saying I'm going to achieve an 85 or higher I began to work for it. I study long countless hours, and attend tutoring to assure that my work is above average. I also have to have more self-confidence in because without it results in poor grades. Every time I work hard for my grades I always receive my report card, which smiles back at me with above an 85. Another one of my short term goals is to graduate from Bedford Academy High school. Over the years I've pushed myself in each and every one of my classes making sure I won't fail, so I can graduate. I've taken all of my regents that's required for me to graduate plus extra, so I can graduate with an advanced regent's diploma. Each year around the time of the regents my school has Saturday tutoring called "9 to 9", which requires you to stay in school for 12 hours in one class, preparing you on the subject you are taking the regents on. Attending these "9 to 9's" helped me gain knowledge on topics that I forgot, or topics that was unclear to me. Even those these "9 to 9's" were extremely and left me whipped-out I passed all of my regents, which will contribute to me graduated with and advance regents diploma. Another short term goal I have is to attend college. I would like to further my education so I can become a lawyer. I would also like to achieve this goal because no one in my family went to college. Since this my senior year in high school I've been focused on achieving this goal. Instead of hanging out with my friends I decided to stay home and perfect my personal statement. I applied to all of the colleges of my choice, and visited some also. Attending college and getting high grades are priorities. I want to achieve this goal not only for my family but also for me.

Similar to my short term goals, my long term goals are my main priorities. My first long term goal is to graduate from college. I will work hard to achieve this goal because I do not want to sell my self short. Graduating from college will lead me one step closer to my goal of becoming a lawyer. Another one of my goals is to get into a good law school, and graduate from their as well. Many people in my life believe that I will drop out of law school because the work is difficult and I will like to prove them wrong. When times get tough I will push through so I can accomplish this goal. A long term I will also like to achieve is becoming a lawyer. I want to become a lawyer because I've seen a lot of my peers go to jail because of lawyers that were incompetent, and I will like to be lawyer who dedicates herself to her clients, and serve justice. To make sure I achieve this goal I interned at the U.S District Attorney's Office so I can observe the lifestyle of an attorney and get a feel of what it's like. Interning at the U.S District Attorney's office will contribute to turning my dream of becoming a lawyer into reality.

Without setting goals I would seem adrift in the world. I would feel like I'm working hard but not getting anywhere. Each of my goals helped me concentrate on what I want in life. Every one of my goals are priorities in which I take pride in achieving. I continue to have a positive attitude, self-confidence, and the right mentality to push me forward.

Undergraduate / "I've always seemed to transcend in English" - Gates - Subject you exceled in [4]

Prompt
Discuss the subjects in which you excel or have excelled. To what factors do you attribute your success?

Over the years the stress of school work seemed to be unbearable. The class work in all seven of my classes began to become burdensome causing my grades to fluctuate. Even though I struggled in all of my classes I've always seemed to transcend in English. Entering the 9th grade, I still had the mentality of a Junior High school student. I thought that every class including English was going to be easy, and I was mistaken. My English teacher gave my class a book to read and we were told to decipher it, find its underlying themes, and literary elements. All of this appeared to be an abundance of work compared to Junior High school. Instead of thinking negatively about the situation, I thought of it as a way to help improve my writing skills. I did everything that my teacher asked and always received a high grade. It became clear that English was my strongest subject.

Not only did I have to read and analyze books, but I also had to write essays. I was told to write a critical lens essay and it had to be due the next week. I never heard of a critical lens essay so I decided to ask my teacher for assistance. My teacher explained everything that was required for the essay, and I felt relieved because it was not as complicated as it seemed. I turned in my paper nervously hoping that I passed since this was my first time ever writing this type of essay. After my teacher graded everyone's essay I became jittery wondering what I got. My teacher placed my English paper faced town, and as I turned my paper over my face lit up with a smile. I received my first 100 in that class all because of my hard work and determination. I continued to get 100's on all of my essays, quizzes, and exams.

As I entered the 10th grade my English teacher was aware of how well I was doing in her class, and suggested that I help my classmates who were struggling. This was a big compliment to me. I helped students with their writing, corrected their essays, and they were free to come to me for any additional help. Those who received assistance from me began to receive higher grades on their paper and no longer needed my assistance. I felt accomplished because not only did I remain to do well in English, but I helped someone do the same. Having a positive mentality and a tenacious demeanor appeared to contribute to my high grades. Not only did my mentality change but I also changed as a person. I became aware that by helping others do well, I exceeded the boundaries of an average student.

Feel free to comment and make any corrections.

Scholarship / "Growing up math" - Gates Millennum - Subject you had difficulty in [7]

Prompt
Discuss the subjects with which you had difficulty. What factors do you believe contributed to your difficulties? How have you dealt with them so they will not cause problems for you again? In what areas have you experienced the greatest improvement? What problem areas remain?

Growing up math was always a troublesome subject for me. The teacher would put equations on the board that everyone around me seemed to answer quickly, but always left me stuck on one problem, or asking the teacher for help. Everyone would look at me as if I was dumb because I could not seem to grasp the work. The topic that made me struggle the most was word problems, I could never understand how to break the problem down, or solve it correctly. I constantly raised my hand to ask for the help of others. My classmates began to get frustrated with me, and began to pick on me because I could not understand problems that seemed easy to them. I began to struggle and have difficulties on test because I lacked confidence. Every time a test was placed in front of me I told myself that I was going to fail. Having a lack of confidence caused me to fail my test and quizzes, and also caused serious test taking issues. Before every test my teacher would excuse me from the classroom so I could take a minute to pull myself together and breathe.

Noticing that this was becoming too much of a serious problem for me I decided that I had to make a change, so I came to a conclusion that I would attend tutoring. Every day after school I stayed in tutoring to receive extra help. At first I still did not understand how to solve word problems, and I thought I would struggle with this topic throughout my school years. My teacher told me that all I needed to do was apply myself and have confidence. Taking my teacher advice I began applying myself and the word problems began to seem easy to me. I also began a little ritual before taking a test, where I clear my mind and tell myself that I am smart and will past my test. My test scores began to improve and I was no longer failing, in fact I began to have the highest test scores in my class. I still have a slight difficulty when it comes to word problems but I no longer let it get the best of me. Determination and confidence goes a long way.

Feel Free to make corrections

Undergraduate / Beautiful, many majors, convenient: Why is Marist a good match for you essay? [2]

Prompt 400 words max on why marist is a good match for you

In summer 2009, I visited Marist College knowing very little and had low expectations. My perception of Marist changed by the end of my tour. As I began my tour not only was Marist beautiful, but it was also diversified and the students were nice. The tour guide began to lead us to the classrooms, which made me worry a little because I thought the classrooms were going to be auditorium size. I was pleased to find out that the average classroom size was 20 students, which means that the teachers can pay more attention to the students. This also shows that the students can learn more effectively based on the small classroom environment. Marist offers a lot of majors that I have interest in, such as criminal justice. I also like that Marist offers a pre-professional program. Since I am interested in law, the pre-law program will help create me into a well rounded student. I loved that Marist prepared students for life after college by providing internships. The pre-law program and the internship will not only put a foot in the door for me, but it will also create a pathway for me to accomplish my goal of becoming a lawyer. The tour guide explained that Marist has a high employment rate after college, which made me feel secure about not struggling to find a job. Afraid of leaving home, Marist assured me that I would have easy access to New York City. As my tour came to an end I came to an conclusion that Marist is the best college for me, not only because it is beautiful, offers a wide range of majors, but it also convenient to home just in case I miss my family.