Undergraduate / My parents continually pushed me to be the very best - MIT Admissions Essay [NEW]

Describe the world you come from, for example your family, clubs, school, community or town. How has the world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (500 Words)

My parents separated a year after my birth seemed strange to me but I never questioned it. Though I was raised differently by each of my parents, my unique experiences with each of them molded my multifaceted personality from various angles. I grew and expanded my horizons both introspectively and socially with each new interaction with my parents. Their combined efforts are what inspired me to get involved in the world of business.

My mother and father are fundamentally different. While my mother is engaging and outgoing, my father is more of a scholar. As a child every weekend, without fail, I would spend endless hours at my father's apartment which seemed to be worlds away from my home with my mother. As we had our meal together, my father would ask me about my ideas about the future. He never discouraged any of my ideas and would always support my pursuits. As we ate, my father would also teach me little things. "Loyalty, honesty, and self reliance are what you should strive for in life," he would say.

Ironically, unlike stereotypical fathers, he would never help me with my homework, projects, or dilemmas. My father constantly pushed me to think for myself, to evolve my own ideas, insights and opinions of the world around me. Every night, I watched the Russian International News with him and absorbed morsels of information about politics, global economies, and the sciences around me. I didn't understand all that I saw, but each bit of news stimulated my passions and ambitions to experience global cultures for myself.

Unlike my father, my mother introduced me to the world through art and music. I walked through art galleries and museums, sat through dozens of orchestras, operas, and ballets. Although I occasionally resisted in my childish temperament, I never failed to enjoy myself. I was educated in art, chess, acrobatics, Tae Kwon Do, guitar, and much more in my mom's pursuit to enrich my character despite financial difficulties. Regardless of all this leisure my mother harshly taught me the importance of responsibility and discipline.

My parents continually pushed me to be the very best I can be by supporting my individuality and strive for independence. Ultimately I began thinking for myself as a responsible and mature adult that I was molded to be. The trials and obstacles that formed the basis of my childhood developed my aspirations to more clearly understand the interactions in the global community both culturally like my mother, and logically like my father. Furthermore, my upbringing solidified my dreams of connecting society through business and finance. Educating the population to be more responsible and disciplined about their money is an ideal to strive for. Therefore, I find it important to appreciate your roots, since it is my roots that made me who I am and affect who I will be for many years to come.

Undergraduate / University of Pennsylvania: most interest you / favorite Penn professor [2]

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? (7900 Characters)

The world needs leaders and pioneers who are innovative, bold, knowledgeable and confident in their skills and purpose. The programs offered at Wharton mold the future leaders of this nation through its flexible and unique concentrations and stimulating environment. I find the Entrepreneurial and Finance concentrations to be the most interesting and important foundations for the future contributors to the nation. Coupled with the rich and full bodied resources and opportunities, the education I can obtain at Wharton in the field of Finance and Management will enable me to help create a stronger relationship between the business world and the society that it is driven by.

After looking through the immense possibilities offered through more than 18 concentrations found at Wharton, I found Finance to be the most interesting. At first you may think finance is a distant concept to the average American, only necessary in advanced computations of corporate dealing. Financial management is actually a very important skill to have that unfortunately not many have. Especially in today's complex markets, it is important to have your hard earned money working for you and not the other way around. Therefore using the knowledge I can obtain from the finance professors at Wharton, I can consult, not only the elite businesses and corporations in managing f their funds and investments, but also the average citizen or small business struggling to stay afloat. By instilling a better understanding of money in the population, I hope to build a stronger foundation for the economy from the local level to the global arena.

Another field of study that has greatly caught my attention is Entrepreneurial studies. Innovative creativity is the key to the advancement of industry. Channeling courses from both finance and entrepreneurial studies, I hope to create an avante - garde approach to how the population views and utilizes the financial services offered.

Apart from the challenging course offered at Wharton, the college's unique environment, population, and offered programs are also what have drawn me there. Located in a city environment and on a large campus there is never a shortage of things to see and do. Meeting new people from the diverse array of students from different economic and cultural backgrounds intrigues me. Using these opportunities, I look forward to exchanging ideas with my peers to develop a higher understanding of the world around me.

In addition, the closeness and passion of the Wharton professors greatly pleases me. It is important to have educators that are passionate about their field. I look forward for the opportunity in participating in one of Wharton's rich research programs offered to students. Being able to perform in depth analysis and on hands experimentation through the Wharton Research Scholars Program with a professor is a chance for me to challenge myself and my knowledge and concurrently broaden my knowledge base and horizons in the business world.

Furthermore, it is important not only to build your knowledgebase in a classroom environment but to go out into the real world and apply your knowledge. The complementing factor of research component at Wharton, are the assorted once-in-a-lifetime internships offered by company recruiters found on campus. Taking my experience and enthusiasm from the classroom to the work-place environment is the ideal to be striven for. But not only do the educational opportunities appeal to me at Wharton but the innumerable amount of social activities and organizations.

I believe that I was given knowledge in order to use it to give back to the community. Volunteering in one of Wharton's many clubs offers me an opportunity with great incentive to give back what I have gained. Participating in the Penn International Business Volunteers I hope to get a taste of what I hope to do in the future. Traveling to developing countries to help their ailing organizations is an opportunity for not only hand-on learning but also a chance for me to give back what Wharton has taught me. With my enthusiasm for learning and my desire to apply my experience not only to self improvement, but more importantly to overall improvement of society, I would be able to contribute much to Wharton's student life both academically and socially as I hope to uphold, and raise, the high standards of learning and giving back idealized by the Wharton professors and student body.

Therefore, I feel that Wharton will be able to provide me with not only a stellar education through its dynamic courses and programs, but a life experience that I will carry with me as I continue pursuing my interests. Using this valuable opportunity I would use my abilities and strive to become that ideal leader that Wharton aims to mold out of its students and advance and strengthen the ties of the college community and the global community through business and its core principles.

Penn offers its undergraduates an eminent faculty and a wealth of research opportunities. Use the space below to name a Penn professor with whom you would like to study or conduct research and explain why. (1000 Characters)

I would like to study with the renowned Professor of Finance, Richard J. Herring who is currently undergoing studies in the areas of international banking and finance and financial risk management. His studies are of great importance to the current global financial crisis. Herring's article, "International Financial Conglomerates: Implications for the Bank Insolvency Regime" addresses one of the key possible consequences of this economic crisis. Larger, more influential banks become a hassle - their enormity is related to their economic influence and possible failure spurs government intervention. Intervention may temporarily alleviate the bank's immediate problems but does not remove the source of the failure allowing for future problems to occur. The opportunity to conduct research with Professor Herring would give me valuable insight and understanding of the financial sector and its issues. If we are able to understand the shortcomings of our economy then together we can solve them.

Undergraduate / 'the gruesome scene in summer' - Life Experience Common App. Essay [2]

Hello all! I'm rather new here and I just finished writing this essay. I was wondering if any of you could help me correct it/fine tune it before it is submit. Thank you!

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. (500 words)
I have never seen a smile as sincere as that on the worn man's face who lay on his
hospital bed, who only hours before was hanging over the edge of life's abyss. "Thank you", he said repeatedly, "Thank you all, for giving me back my life!" There we stood, the men and women of the Coney Island Beach Ocean Rescue, humbly accepting his graces. After all my training and practice, my job had given me a sense of purpose and fulfillment. The opportunity to give back to the world is a cherished one.

I will never forget that hot and sweltering weekend in mid July. Making my usual
rounds on position from one end of my sector to another, I heard a penetrating shriek whistle signal that indicated an emergency. With adrenaline pumping, I sprinted toward my chair and heard in the distance a second shriek indicating the urgent need for back-stabilizing equipment! Without a moment's thought as to who, what, when or where, I snatched the back-board and dashed towards the victim.

I was stunned by the gruesome scene that unfolded before me as I arrived. Two of my fellow lifeguards were supporting the neck of an elderly man who lay completely naked on the sand, foaming and bleeding at the mouth. My composure was rattled. I had never seen anything so horrid sprawled across the sands of my home beach. At the urging of my coworkers I woke up to my purpose. The counts of CPR chest compressions echoed in my head as the reality of the situation set in. "One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand..." This man could have been dead, but we had to continue. "Four one-thousand, five one-thousand, six one-thousand..." We gather up our equipment and in unison lift the victim onto a stretcher. We ran hastily ï but cautiously ï with our charge across the scorching sand and into the shade of the awaiting ambulance. We gave him up to the capable hands of the Emergency Medical Technicians and to Fate.

As I walked back to my position, I was filled with doubt, regret, and shaken memories about what seemed a distant struggle to find a pulse and breath. If only I had that extra second to think, run, or carry, that man might have lived. If only we could have done something more for our nameless victim. However, when I visited the critical care unit of the hospital, I was elated to find our victim recovering from what seemed to have been a severe stroke. Had we not paid attention, had we not worked together, had we not done our job with the utmost professionalism, this man would have died. I am proud to be part of a lifeguard team that is devoted to saving lives.