Undergraduate / Nanyang: My proudest achievement essay. [9]

As I begin to write this essay on the proudest achievement in my life, there are no doubts in my mind that it can be nothing other than that episode of my life where I played the three hours of my best lawn tennis to land my school a national level lawn tennis championship.

It was the summer of 2005 and ...

It needs to be about 250 words...right now it is about 370. Please help!

Undergraduate / UMich short answer 1 (cultural difference) [3]

Q. Share an experience through which you have gained respect for cultural difference. Comment how your personal experience would contribute to the diversity of Umich.

The Encarta dictionary defines diversity as 'a variety of something such as opinion, color, or style.' To be born and brought up in a country like India teaches you to deeply respect diversity. Here diversity resides not only in respect of religion or race but also in language, culture, practices and lifestyles. This is a country where a Muslim became the head of state where more than 50% population is constituted by Hindus and where a Christian woman gave way to a Sikh to become the Prime Minister. So to share just a single experience through which I gained respect for intellectual, social, or cultural differences is a tad difficult.

However I would like to narrate my experiences at CDLS 2007 and 2008 where I was overawed by how similar yet different, people from all the over the world are.

CDLS stands for Community Development Leadership Summit. It is an annual event hosted by my school where countries from round the globe are represented by school students. It is a week long affair where students indulge in team building activities and to set the ball rolling the students have interactive sessions with eminent political leaders, social workers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, journalists, artists and celebrities. The essence of the event is such that complete strangers from round the globe become lifelong friends. But what really made this experience creditable is the incredible range of students and teachers gathered under the same very roof, all with different backgrounds interests and ideas. From a late night astronomy session to a close seminar setting with the Minister of Science and Technology of India, I reminisce every moment. I believe that education is timeless, values are ageless and all cultures should be mutually respected.

Undergraduate / UT austin, Ms. Sapna Bhargava. [3]

Throughout life, we encounter many different people, however, only a certain few have the ability to make an impact that lasts a lifetime. There is one person that has affected my life the most, and, has helped make me who I am today. This is someone I idolize, somebody who has always been there for me. He has been like the guiding light that helps lost travelers back to their path. Such an influence has been my senior school Physics teacher and Physics Club chief Ms. Sapna Bhargava.

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job. And to excel in this job requires a great amount of talent, affection, understanding, and correlation with the students.

Illuminati- the Physics Club of our school is one of the facets of school life that I will remember forever because this is where I first met Ms. Sapna Bhargava. I genuinely feel that without this facet of my high school, I would have been incomplete. During my penultimate year at school ma'am appointed me the Vice President of the School's Physics Club that I had joined 4 years ago. At that time, I wondered what quality in me compelled her to impart such a responsibility. In the course of our four year relationship she has taught me a lot more than physics and has helped me evolve. The lessons that I learnt on management, interacting with people, meeting deadlines while working under her were something that were new-fangled. The club activities under her supervision taught me lessons that can never be experienced in academic classes and teacher-student setting. I feel amazed when I think how shy, introverted and inexperienced I was before and how I have gradually evolved as an individual.

Her impact on me was such that by the time I entered senior secondary school and she became my Physics teacher, I was already accustomed to her skills as a teacher and experienced no difficulties in adapting to advanced courses in the subject.

The defining moment in our relationship came in grade eleventh when I scored dismally in the final examinations. Being the topper of the class in previous examinations for the past four years, people tend to expect nothing short of greatness from me each time I appear for a test. But going through mood swings characteristic to teenage, matters were worsening. Not only did my grades were affected, my interests in club activities were also on a decline. My attention was diverted. At this crucial juncture it was Sapna ma'am who counseled me and understood my problems. I must admit I felt nothing short of comfortable to confide in her. She addressed my problems as if I was her own child. While talking to her, I realized the solution to my problems lied within me and looked no further.

This is just the beginning of my description of this wonderful lady. I have not even yet started discussing her teaching prowess. She tugs and pushes and leads you to the next level, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." It is this quality of her that never lets students under her lag behind in academics. Terms like 'weaker students' are unheard of in her classes.

She is s an empathizer who has compassion for the child's struggles and anxieties. The ability to see one's own child or kin in other people's children is not impossible. It needs a conscious emotional effort. Empathy then flows and one can see the child as a sensitive and lost little soul who needs reassurance, steps, guidance, support and praise to prosper.

In the end I would like to reinstate that a teacher like her does not come by every day. She is more than just an inspiration; he is a mentor who taught me the importance of education and balance in order to succeed. She has become the person that I most admire outside my family and will always try to remain in touch wherever I go.

Undergraduate / 'A Modern School in New Delhi' - UT Austin Essay 1 [4]

Choose an issue of importance to youïthe issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scopeïand write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.

Getting admission to Modern School, New Delhi in the eighth grade seemed like a huge achievement that time as I hailed from a small sub urban junior high school. It was all very new to me. As the school was very far from where I stayed me and my parents made a decision to enroll me in the Boarding house. As I said I was already overcoming the huge transition from a school of miniscule size as compared to Modern, so moving away from home was not such a great idea. I wouldn't say I behaved delicate because it was the first time I was living without my family.

Each day as I returned from the school tired to the not so hospitable dormitories, I missed all the care that I was used to back home. And we all know the usual stuff where juniors are considered dirt by their seniors. Even worse was that you can retort back to them because firstly, you are miles from home and you cannot do what you just wish to and secondly, these people are supposed to be your new family. I wasn't accustomed to all this and I felt myself isolated in the boarding house. Till the seventh grade I was receiving top grades in all subjects but as soon as I joined the new school my academic records started dipping. I felt lonely even when roaming in school corridors filled with students. It seemed as if happiness had been sapped out of my soul. I didn't really share these emotions with anybody because I felt that it was just temporary I would one day be mix-up with the rest.

This was the time when I used to talk to myself just to fill up my mind and kill boredom. One day I told myself that when I return back to my room after school I must have at least five friends. Well, I didn't actually return with five friends but yes I did chat in the class. Gradually, the situation improved I found new fangled energy and vitality in people around me. I no longer allowed other people's behavior affect my mood. Slowly and steadily, my state improved and I started to take more notice in other things. I realized my interest in lawn tennis and took up the sport as my choice as an after school activity.

I realized that one cannot let time solve your problems. Problems are only resolved when you go out there and fight them yourselves. But one thing is sure, after this incident I have become more mature. I now believe that one should always come out of comfort zones and strive for things that are difficult to achieve. Sitting pretty and reminiscing glories of past only makes you complacent and ignore real problems. Only then one gets to know what real life is all about.

The next time I will definitely be in a better position to deal with such a situation. This incident has definitely shaped me who I am today.

Undergraduate / UIUC essay 2 (Illuminati- the Physics Club) [6]

Kindly review and edit. All suggestions welcome.

Illuminati- the Physics Club of our school is one of the facades of school life that I will remember forever.

I genuinely feel that without this facet of my high school, I would have been incomplete. During my last year at school I was appointed the Vice President of the School's Physics Club that I had joined 4 years ago. At that time, I joined solely to pursue my interest in physics. In the course of our four year relationship it has taught me a lot more than physics. Back then I was new to the club, I used to think that the entire Club functioning was centered on Physics. My participation in the club activities was solely limited to as a member who represented schools in various competitions. But as I joined senior school and became part of an organizing committee of the annual inter school Physics Symposium, I realized what working behind the scenes meant. Subsequently, when I was given the post, I learned how to manage funds and other resources. The picture that I had in the back of my mind about a successful organization working efficiently got another dimension added to it. The lessons that I learnt on management, interacting with people, meeting deadlines were something that were new-fangled. As a junior member I had never even spared a thought on how the club functioned. The club activities taught me lessons that can never be taught in academic classes and teacher-student setting. The group bonding that I shared with my club members whether senior or junior was unique. I feel amazed when I think how shy, introvert and inexperienced I was before and how I have gradually evolved as an individual. For my club and my juniors, the journey would not end here, but for me it would.