Undergraduate / Qualities of a great teacher - UNC short essay [NEW]

Tell us about your best teacher ever-or your toughest, or your worst. What distinguished this teacher from the others you've known?

A great teacher provides his or her students with more than an education. My 11th grade AP US History and current AP Government teacher, Mrs. Mulhern, has been this figure for me. On the first day of class junior year, she said "Whatever you have heard about this class is true. This will be the most challenging course you will take here at Unionville. Success is not impossible; you will get out what you put in." She promised that she would provide us with the tools we needed to succeed but it was up to us how much we would take from her course. History, a subject I had no interest in previously, quickly became one of my favorite classes simply because Mrs. Mulhern's approach to teaching was so different than any I had experienced before. She gave everyone in the class a personality test and a learning style quiz and to my astonishment, reinvented her curriculum based on our results. When I came to her disappointed with my first test grade she asked "what did you do to study?" I replied that I had read the chapter twice and immediately she retorted that I was tactile-kinesthetic and that my brain would only retain 20% of the information by simply reading. Instead, she suggested that I type, eat, or walk around while I read. Willing to do anything to salvage my failing grade, I tried her seemingly crazy methods and ended up getting a 95% on the following test. While I think all of my teachers are great, I truly appreciate Mrs. Mulhern's efforts to provide me with an education I can use in and out of the classroom.

Undergraduate / Further explain one of your activities - common app short answer [2]

Further explain one of the activities you mentioned

Being asked to represent my school at the National Honor Society Leadership Conference this November is a huge honor. I decided last year that it was time for me to step up as an upperclassman and take a leadership position at my school, so I petitioned to run for National Honor Society president. The election rolled around and, although it was a close race, I lost. I was not so devastated that I would not be NHS president, but rather that I would not have the chance to prove to my school that I was a leader. My efforts did not go unnoticed, however, and I was offered the chance to go to Orlando, Florida to represent my school in the annual NHS Leadership Conference this November. Although this will be the first time I will be among thousands of leaders, it is a great look into my future business career.

Undergraduate / Penn autobiography; Adults and children are nearly two entirely separate species [2]

You have just completed a 300 page autobiography. Submit page 217.

Adults and children are nearly two entirely separate species. Children are intrinsically good people who act badly, while, metaphorically speaking, adults are inherently bad people trying to act as if they are good. Children are blank slates, not yet colored by the corruption of the world. The crossover to adulthood comes when a child loses their naïve state of thinking in exchange for a realistic understanding of the world around them. My parents sent me to a Jewish day school so that I could grow up in an environment where Jewish traditions were encouraged in hopes that I would gain a strong enough religious background to stand strong against the intolerance they experienced growing up and foresaw me experiencing in the future. Their plan worked to some extent. Spending the majority of my time with people just like me did not provide much room for prejudice; however, as my time came to a close at Albert Einstein, I was quickly forced to realize that the world was going to test my Jewish faith.

Over the course of my seven years at Albert Einstein, I learned of countless incidents of Jewish persecution; however, I brushed them off as unimportant, useless information because I thought it was dumb to dwell in the past when I lived in a society so accepting of differences- or so I thought. While vacationing with my family in London several years back, my blank slate was permanently colored, not by beautiful artwork, but by distasteful graffiti. I was well aware that Israel was fighting a war with the Palestinian people; however American media tends to be biased towards the Israelis which is why I was not expecting the experience I received. While walking the streets of London, we came across a huge gathering of people in Trafalgar Square. Curious as to what was going on, we ventured closer to find that it was a protest against Jewish people. This was all in accordance to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon; however, I hardly thought such an occurrence deserved a display charged with so much hatred (the main message being "death to the Jews).

Children are not born with hatred. You can put a hundred kids of all different races, religions, sexes, and sizes in a room together and they will not judge each other or treat each other the way society has directed us to act towards certain groups. It is experiences like this that imprint hatred in our minds as we mature. As I recount my life thus far, my experience in London is definitely what sticks out as the initiation of my transition to adulthood.

Undergraduate / Penn Admissions Essay - having a hard time finishing .. [2]

Prompt : Describe the courses of study and the unique characteristics of the University of Pennsylvania that most interest you. Why do these interests make you a good match for Penn?

As I've spent a nearly obsessive amount of time this past year searching for a "dream" school, I've come across many who have fed me the ever so insightful advice "a school is a school-it doesn't really matter where you go." Sure school is school, just like food is food; however, if engaged in an elementary school lunch trade I would clearly reap higher profits from a New York strip steak than a chicken nugget. The same goes for my education. I could go anywhere to achieve the degree I desire, but hardly any other university offers an education of comparable quality to the University of Pennsylvania.

The thing that attracts me most to Penn is the business program at Wharton. Since I was young I've always had a passion for fashion and dreamed of opening a chain of boutiques. While I have researched many other prestigious business institutions, I have yet to find another school which offers both retailing and entrepreneurship as possible concentrations. In fact, I have found very few contenders offering either one. Wharton obviously encompasses courses for the mathematical side of business; however, what makes it my number one choice is that it also offers concentrations geared towards the creative aspects of business. While a strong basis for mathematics seems to be the favored criteria for acceptance into any Business institution, it is creativity and innovativeness that create the most successful business people.

While studying at Wharton is my number one priority, business is far from being my only interest. Penn's flexible curriculum is something that I fully intend to take advantage of if accepted. The fact that up to 43% of the classes I need to graduate can be taken in schools other than Wharton

... I am having a hard time finishing it. All comments appreciated.

Undergraduate / UF Admissions Essay - Overcoming Rejection [2]

Prompt:Describe a meaningful event, experience or accomplishment in your life and how it will affect your college experience or your contribution to the UF campus community. You may want to reflect on your family, your school or community activities, or your involvement in areas outside of school.

Since I can remember, I have been a dancer. The first gift I remember receiving as a toddler was a teal and purple sequined tutu which I flaunted for a good portion of my early years. I was enrolled in dance classes at the age of 3 and they became my life. When I wasn't in class, I was wearing my sparkly tutu performing for my family and neighbors. As much as I loved dance, after preschool, most of my dance friends began to branch out into various sports as they became available. Feeling like dance was for babies, I too eventually joined a soccer league. My team was horrific; we lost every game we ever played, including the match against our parents. Devastated by my failure, I dabbled in multiple other sports before realizing that athleticism was simply was not going to happen for me. I concealed my true embarrassment of my failures by making jokes about my own lack of athletic coordination and gave up entirely- refocusing my efforts solely towards lyrical and jazz.

Sometime in the middle of my junior year I realized that my fear of failure was inhibiting me from leading a fully satisfying life. I thought back to the days when I was not afraid to try anything and determined that the inception of my self-consciousness was my pride. As ironic as that is, I was too proud to admit that I wasn't the best at something and my jokes ended up defining what I am capable of in the eyes of others. Sickened by my epiphany, I decided it was time to reinvent myself. My first task was to conquer the initial cause of my problem: Sports. Unionville's tennis team is among the best in the area so I decided to go for the challenge. After a summer packed with tennis lesson after tennis lesson, try-outs came around and I made the made the team-bottom tier JV- but the team nonetheless. As small of an accomplishment as this was in the grand scheme of my life, it made a huge difference in my way of thinking.

Since tennis season ended, I have proven to myself that I have successfully made a new name for myself. I decided junior year that it was time for the ultimate test of self confidence so I ran for president of the National Honor Society and, sure enough, was not elected. The proof of my changed image lay in my rejection, however, because even though I was not chosen to lead the club, as a result, I was later rewarded with the opportunity to represent my school at the NHS conference in Orlando, Florida. My newfound realization that it is ok to step away from what you are good at to try something new will provide me with many opportunities at the University of Florida. I am coming in with no inhibitions, ready to try anything and everything, which is the only way to come out a successful, well-rounded member of society.

Undergraduate / the activites you mentioned - Short Answer Common App [2]

Elaborate on one of the activites you mentioned.

Finding something to be passionate about is the greatest gift life can offer. A life without passion is a life without love, meaning, or purpose. My passion lies on the dance floor. Stress melts away, happiness radiates through me as I pirouette around and around, sadness falls like sweat as a sense of relief and rejuvenation consumes me. Dance is an outlet for my emotions, physical discipline for my body, and a means through which I can channel my creative energy. There is so much emphasis placed on kids getting involved in sports that people overlook the importance of the performing arts. Dance is something I can easily make a lifetime commitment to, while most sports are limited in their ability to have any long-term importance.