Undergraduate / 'my grandfather's bicycle' - COMMON APP ESSAY [6]

Pens, books of medicine, piles and piles of notepads, an old and battered pair of glasses; these were the numerous things that were always present on his bed, aligned neatly on the right side. Anyone who saw this strange sight would offer to help him move these things to the side table that was present right beside his bed, but he wouldn't budge. "Does it bother me to sleep beside all this clutter? Pish posh!", he would always say. Now that I pass by his bed, covered with freshly laundered sheets, I could just feel the amount of irritation he would've felt seeing all his beloved things removed from their rightful places.

My grandfather remains to this day the most unique and wonderful person I have ever met in my life. People say that their grandmother is the best cook in the world, but I consider myself lucky to be able to say that my grandfather is the best cook in the world. He would always make me and my sister's favorite dishes and send them over to our house. If anyone of us ever fell sick, even a slight head cold, we would be sure to see him come and visit us. Of course it was always funny to see him and my mother together. He was always under the impression that my mother didn't feed me properly as I'm quite thin, hence all the food sent to our house. And as for his relationship with my dad, well that is something I cannot put into words. They were more than just a son and a father, they were best friends.

I t was a cold and gloomy morning, November rain pattering against the windows. Running my hands over my grandfather's bicycle I was inundated with a flood of memories. 5:30 a.m. This was the exact time he would reach home from the hospital where he worked and then would give my sister and I individual rides on his bicycle. We would sit at the back while he rode once all around the whole neighborhood. This memory is one of my most cherished memories of my childhood. Regardless of how tired he was after work, he would be sure to give us rides on his bicycle just to see the smiles on our faces. Everyone in our neighborhood looked up to him; whether they needed a doctor's opinion on something, or whether they needed a cup of sugar, my grandfather would always be the first person they would turn to.

My grandfather may be a lot of things, having many qualities which I sadly do not have, but he has managed to teach me a few crucial lessons in life. Being diagnosed at the last stage of his lung-cancer, he tried to be as modicum dependent on others as he could. Dignity; this is the word that perfectly describes my grandfather and the thing that he managed to uphold till the day he died. I learned from him the acts of generosity and respect, things which will ultimately help us leave a mark behind in this world and that is exactly what he did. It's been months since he has died and even now his presence is felt in the everyday lives of all the people he has ever touched.

Undergraduate / 'House Rules / Childhood fantasies' - COLUMBIA SHORT ANSWER [8]

1.Please tell us what you found meaningful about one of the above mentioned books, publications or cultural events.
The book House Rules has had a big impact on my perspective of the world.It is about a boy who has Asperger's syndrome and is convicted of murder.I for one had no idea whatsoever about this type of autism prior to reading this book and as mentioned in it,neither do a lot of people.This book helps the reader delve deep into the mind of an autistic kid.The more I read the more I understood how the mind of a kid with Asperger's worked.What separates kids with Asperger's syndrome from those with other types of autism is that they are fully aware that they are not normal.They want to fit into this world but due to their mental limitations are unable to do so and thus are increasingly frustrated by that.With incredibly high IQs they probably know as much as an erudite professor.The only problem is that they lack the ability to socially interact with other people,mostly coming off as aloof and rude to those who do not know of their disorder.This lack of social awareness has only made their lives harder.Everywhere they go,they are misunderstood,looked down upon and are shunned to one side due to their strange quirkiness making them feel even more out of place in this world.After reading this book I set up my mind that I am going to change how the world saw them one day.By raising social awareness,increasing their rights and making more allowances for their limitations,I intend to make an improvement in their tough lives regardless of how small it may be.

2.Please tell us what you find most appealing about Columbia and why.

Situated in the eventful city of New York, and having been ranked as one of the top 20 universities in the United States, it is of no doubt that Columbia would be appealing to any student wishing to get a higher degree of education. For me the most appealing thing about Columbia would be its financial economics department. This is the subject that I plan on studying in Columbia and this school is widely recognized as having one of the best departments for it. Besides that, the ambience and liveliness of the university's campus coupled with its extensive and thorough core curriculum has made me see this as the perfect school for me. I love to write, in fact it is one of the things I love to do in my free time. All the focus and emphasis on writing and literary practices will, I hope, help me to develop my skills further as a writer. Columbia has long held a place of fascination in my head. Ever since I had seen Blair Warldorf from Gossip Girl ascend the steps of Hamilton Hall I began to fantasize about attending this prestigious university. So if I do get a chance to study at this university one of my childhood fantasies will finally come true.