Undergraduate / umich short answer 1 - "Qi Hui" [5]

Prompt:

"We know that diversity makes us a better university -- better for learning, for teaching, and for conducting research."
(U-M President Mary Sue Coleman)

Share an experience through which you have gained respect for intellectual, social, or cultural differences. Comment on how your personal experiences and achievements would contribute to the diversity of the University of Michigan.

"Qi Hui, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I asked.
"A mother," she replied.
"Why?"
"I want a family."

Qi Hui is my seven-year-old mentee who comes from a dysfunctional family. Her response surprised me simply because it was beyond her age, something that not even I would contemplate. While other children had aspirations to be teachers, lawyers and doctors, all she wanted to be was a mother.

There are so many things people like myself - who have a complete family - desire. Power, wealth and status are a few to name. We need familiar love, but it not something we consciously aspire for, not when we are young and on the go at least. Yet, it is such love that can last us past retirement, when all else does not matter anymore.

This experience made me respect people from less fortunate backgrounds. They are the ones who really know what they need in life, who despite their circumstances, are determined to strive harder rather than engage in self-pity.

Having been active in community service in high school, I have encountered people like Qi Hui. Each person had different stories to tell, stories that I am more than willing to share with others. I want to be in a position to inspire them, just like how I motivated my juniors as an orientation group leader, to follow their hearts and find themselves. This is because besides my ethnicity and nationality that might help color Michigan, I want to be able to add new colors to Michigan and create a more vibrant university life for everyone.

Please help me edit this :)

Undergraduate / umich short essay 2 ("the mahogany chair") [5]

Prompt: College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA): What led you to choose the area(s) of academic interest that you have listed in your application to the University of Michigan? If you are undecided, what areas are you most interested in, and why?

I was ten. Bored, I decided to lay on the mahogany chair in my dining room. My head hung over the side of the chair, and my eyes peered straight through the grilles of the window.

I never viewed the world this way before. It was as though I looking down on the Pacific Ocean from space, mesmerized by the patches of blue and white of the atmosphere. At that moment, I was immersed in the sight before me - just Mother Nature and I. My passion for the environment began there and then.

My interest grew as I traveled to places rich in geography, like Australia. I love the peacefulness that nature offers me, the moments when I can let loose and gaze at the picturesque surroundings. Nature gives me time to engage in self-reflection, time that would otherwise slip away in a hectic modern era.

Geography made me a unique visitor. As I stared at the waves crashing against the limestone of the Twelve Apostles, I was awed at how nature painstakingly crafted such landscapes. I thought about what I had learnt during my Geography lessons and how it had come alive, knowledge that visitors may not grasp just by reading snippets of information on signboards. I was not concerned with snapping as many pictures as possible, but with taking in the view while appreciating the geological history of this feature.

I am eighteen, and my attachment to the environment has only grown stronger over time. I have developed a bond with Mother Nature, and will continue to maintain it as I pursue a major in the environment at Michigan.

Undergraduate / umich essays - "a challenging book you have read" [3]

Prompt #3:
Tell us about a book you have read that you found especially challenging, stimulating, or provocative. Explain why it made an impact on you.

Think, without thinking. Or as Malcolm Gladwell puts it, Blink.

It is not a power exclusive to the elite, but a power everyone - you and I - share. More often than not, we fall prey to our rapid cognition, which lies behind the locked doors of our subconscious mind. Although it is hard to believe that it is conscious reasoning that denies us access to this unchartered territory, this is undeniably true. I cannot help but wonder whether in the midst of progress, we are actually regressing.

Blink set me thinking about life - whether in the midst of progress, we are actually regressing; whether in the pursuit of information and speed, we have neglected the power of our intuition.

We live in a knowledge-based economy, where information is prime in making decisions. Agencies pay for market research, schools bombard students with content, and the Internet brims with data that can occupy us for more than a lifetime. Everyday of our lives, our mind is clouded by the overwhelming information we receive that we fail to function intuitively. Soon enough, we will lose this innate ability.

It is funny how humans pride ourselves for our intelligence, yet not shame ourselves for losing the primal instincts we nurtured to emerge as who we are today. Information is dead, but our mind is alive.

What lies beneath a laugh, a smile, or a frown? Who is blatantly lying, and who is telling the truth? Aren't these the life skills that we genuinely need to read our body language, interpret our minds, and make life more liveable? Perhaps schools should teach students how to make use of their rapid cognition rather than supply them with content that mostly will not be of any use in their future careers.

We have planted too many trees in our forest that we have forgotten what it was like when the land stood bare, except for that lone tree which always guided our path. Instinct should not be only thing we rely on, but we cannot leave it in obscurity too.

Essentially, life has moved on too rapidly for us to slow down and make sense of what we are doing. We are too caught up with wealth, or with knowledge, that we forget to make use of the most fundamental ability we have. Even when we do, we often try to reason out our actions, warping our instincts in the process.

When will we realize that we are actually dehumanizing ourselves in the race to be the best? We say we think, but do we really think?

More is less. There are no three words that can better describe the crisis that has plagued the human race. Save the creature comforts and technology we have, we are no better than a herd of lost sheep wandering aimlessly in the woods.

I Blinked, and I peered into life more critically than I would ever would have.

*end*

Undergraduate / Carnegie Mellon University (the reputation and economics) [3]

I hope it's not too dull. o.o I don't really know how to liven up an essay like this. :S

Prompt: Please submit a one-page, single-spaced essay that explains why you have chosen Carnegie Mellon your particular major(s), department(s) or program(s). This essay should include the reasons why you've chosen the major(s), any goals or relevant work plans and any other information you would like us to know. If you are applying to more than one college or program, please mention each college or program you are applying to. Because our admission committees review applicants by college and programs, your essay can impact our final decision. Please do not exceed one page for this essay.

The first thing that struck me about Carnegie Mellon was the reputation that the university has earned for the courses it offers. The next was the vibrant culture the school has, evident from the traditions it upholds each year. The hardware and software of the school seems to be able to give me the holistic overseas university experience that I am looking for, which is why I choose Carnegie Mellon.

Economics has become increasingly important to me over the years. Having witnessed the mess the global economy is currently in, I realized that the impact of a deteriorating economy is more problematic and immediate than most other crises. When the dust of this global crisis settles, economists worldwide will be playing a whole new ball game. It would be up to the new-age economists then to inject vibrancy into the world's economy. I thrive on challenges, which is why I love and want to pursue economics further.

Though economics boils most things down to logic and numbers, I began to realize that it was not as cold as I thought it to be. When I learned more about it in junior college, I saw that economics has softer edges like achieving social optimality and equity. It takes care of people as much as their nations. Being a person who wants to make a difference in the world, I find that economics suits me.

I chose Carnegie Mellon because it offers me an economics degree jointly offered by the Tepper School of Business and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. This is unlike other schools, which only opens up its school of business to exclusive students. Thus, I feel that Carnegie Mellon would be able to provide and allow its students access to a more extensive database of resources. This will greatly enhance my education there.

Besides, Carnegie Mellon allows me to pursue an additional major in policy and management under the department of decision science. Since Carnegie Mellon is the first university to offer such a major, I believe that the experience the professors have in this field and the improvements that this program has undergone would surpass those of other universities. This is of great significance to me as I plan to work for Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority as a development control urban planner, which requires me to analyze and evaluate development proposals. Hence, by effectively learning about decision-making processes, I would be able to settle in my future career more easily.

Moreover, I like the fact that Carnegie Mellon expresses its concern for the environment. Studying geography in high school has made me feel very strongly for environmentalism. There is so much to be appreciated of our surroundings that I feel the need to protect it. Hence, I am keen on becoming a Carnegie Mellon Eco-Rep to do my part to sustain the environment as best as I can.

Carnegie Mellon also has a wide array of student activities that interest me. I am particularly interested in joining the Activities Board so that I can learn more about event management. Meanwhile, I would like to be in a position that would allow me to be on the frontline of contributing to my school. This is because I spent most of my high school senior years contributing to the community, so I want to achieve a balance between serving my school and my society now.

The sense of belonging and warmth that Carnegie Mellon has established throughout the years is something that I hope to be given to feel, to create, and to maintain as a student there. After all, a school is like a home to me, especially since I am an international student. Quality education aside, I believe that Carnegie Mellon has the makings to be my second home, a home where I wish to spend the next four years of my life in.

Undergraduate / uva - work of math that has challenged me [8]

Hi. I'll just like to know whether my idea's fine. :)

Prompt: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?

I was thinking of talking about the golden ratio and how it occurs so naturally, how it is associated with perfection, how artists / architects have tried to replicate this perfection. Yet, in reality, we know that there's is nothing called perfection. So there's sort of an irony there. People normally want to achieve perfection, yet we know we can't be perfect. Hmm I guess that's the challenging part about the golden ratio.

So I'm intending to use the golden ratio to explore our perception of perfection.

Is that interesting enough haha? Sounds "philosophically dull" in a way hahhaa. XD

Undergraduate / NYU short essays - "to join Gallotone Records" [7]

I only completed one prompt, so here it is.

Prompt: New York City is an essential element of academic and cultural life at NYU. If you could engage in an activity or start a club or service organization at NYU, what would it be and how would you envision it impacting the larger community?

I would like to join Gallotone Records and help extend a new line of albums for charity. The club can work with the handicapped by accepting lyrics, melody, or even vocal contributions from them. The aim would be to produce a series of albums that will feature inspirational songs to instill hope in the handicapped, to prove to people and themselves that they can do something for society, and to build up their self-esteem. After all, there is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.

I don't feel that it addresses the second part of the prompt that well actually. But is it still reasonable?