nritya
Dec 29, 2010
Undergraduate / Why Columbia: A Unique but Unusual Approach. Is it too Wierd? [14]
The question is essentially "Why Columbia?" Please point out parts that are too vague, awkward, wierd or poorly stated. Also, please tell me which parts are good or need to be expanded on. That's helpful too. Considering the selectivity of Columbia, the essay has to be very good. At this point, I know its passably decent, but I want it to be "perfect," at the risk of sounding obsessed.
"It's dying," the whispers surrounding me hiss, ever louder as the impending end looms closer. The newspapers, suave anchormen, angry pundits, and defeated academics - the whole of practical society - all declare in one discordant condemnation: the liberal arts education is no more.
I know the truth though. Such hysteria and rumor mongering is put to a triumphant rest by Columbia, a large research university at the heart of throbbing NYC that provides all the practical advantages of modernity and progress yet preserves the ideal of broad based study with its unmatched Core Curriculum. Columbia's dedication to the pursuit of knowledge solely for the sake of becoming knowledgeable has made it my top choice. Bread based education I like that line, a degree good only for a comfortable desk job and a neat house in Suburbia with two cars on the driveway, isn't a fate I care to surrender myself to. I want to immerse myself: test the limits of my mind and stretch its imagination into every area of study, to walk into a dinner party and converse with the musician and the scientist with equal dexterity, to marinate in the atmosphere of knowledge and exploration that is so palpable at Columbia's campus. At Columbia, I can go from Ancient Greece to Microbiology to Music Theory. To do this amidst the smoke and lights of the most cosmopolitan city in the world brings together education and opportunity in an explosively perfect combination.
Thank you! Impressions? Errors? Comments?
The question is essentially "Why Columbia?" Please point out parts that are too vague, awkward, wierd or poorly stated. Also, please tell me which parts are good or need to be expanded on. That's helpful too. Considering the selectivity of Columbia, the essay has to be very good. At this point, I know its passably decent, but I want it to be "perfect," at the risk of sounding obsessed.
"It's dying," the whispers surrounding me hiss, ever louder as the impending end looms closer. The newspapers, suave anchormen, angry pundits, and defeated academics - the whole of practical society - all declare in one discordant condemnation: the liberal arts education is no more.
I know the truth though. Such hysteria and rumor mongering is put to a triumphant rest by Columbia, a large research university at the heart of throbbing NYC that provides all the practical advantages of modernity and progress yet preserves the ideal of broad based study with its unmatched Core Curriculum. Columbia's dedication to the pursuit of knowledge solely for the sake of becoming knowledgeable has made it my top choice. Bread based education I like that line, a degree good only for a comfortable desk job and a neat house in Suburbia with two cars on the driveway, isn't a fate I care to surrender myself to. I want to immerse myself: test the limits of my mind and stretch its imagination into every area of study, to walk into a dinner party and converse with the musician and the scientist with equal dexterity, to marinate in the atmosphere of knowledge and exploration that is so palpable at Columbia's campus. At Columbia, I can go from Ancient Greece to Microbiology to Music Theory. To do this amidst the smoke and lights of the most cosmopolitan city in the world brings together education and opportunity in an explosively perfect combination.
Thank you! Impressions? Errors? Comments?