Undergraduate / "Presidential Scandal" - Common App Essay [2]

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

Since I was elected president of my third grade class, I knew I wanted to be a part of student government. I wanted to be a leader and to make decisions that would benefit my classmates. I was fortunate enough to be repeatedly elected president throughout high school, winning by "landslides" as my advisor had told me. However, being labeled a president did not make me a true leader.Through facing my failures and conquering my shortcomings as president, I was able to realize what a true leader must be.

I was in charge of the steering committee, an elected group of students who represent our class. After being the uncontested figurehead of Hempfield High School's Class of 2013, I happily took the responsibility for granted. Over the years, I did not meet the expectations the elected members of my cabinet had for me. They became my adversaries, and all had their minds set on removing me from my position.. They decided to scavenge an old school rule to "impeach" me through a steering-committee only vote, which did not involve the entire student body.

Up to this point, I acknowledged I was not showing my full potential. I had depreciated the admirable position of being class president. I believed other issues, such as my dad's sudden stroke midway through my junior year, justified showing up late a few times and slowing down productivity. I was naĂŻve to think my minor shortcomings didn't matter. These "conspirators" were actually beneficial to me, for they gave me an epiphany: I currently was not the president I dreamed to be in third grade. I decided to stay calm but make active decisions. Typical high school rumors, ridden with political slander, began to arise. I did not respond with equally negative feedback, although it was difficult to remain outwardly passive.

I knew I had to seek help from those who put me in my position: the student body. If they believed in my strength as a leader, like I now did, I could turn to them. Thus, my response was a facts-only facebook status for everyone in my class to see, emphasizing how the student body's voice was lost in the steering committee vote. In one night, more than 150 people responded to it, a fourth of my class, in full support for me and my plan to be a better president. It was not enough, however, to save me from impeachment.

I had lost and my childhood dream was shattered. However, those 150 people put the matter into their own hands. The school witnessed the accelerated madness of a dissatisfied population through modern social media. By the next day after the results were made public, civil disobedience had ensued; there were petitions filed, formal letters to my class advisor, and people disrupting his classes to voice their opinion.

He urgently contacted me after one class period. I was unaware of the public uproar, and once it was revealed to me, I was humbled by the support and realized the massive responsibility I had undertaken to gain their trust. This effect on me was incendiary. An idea sprung into my mind to have a dual presidency, between me and the newly elected president of steering committee. This idea was agreed to be the greatest compromise, by attaining to. I had made mistakes, but I acknowledged these mistakes. I chose the best way to defend myself and I discovered how to be a true leader.

Undergraduate / Best ranked liberal arts college/Swarthmore needs me; Why Swarthmore? [5]

topic
Why Swarthmore?
Please write a brief statement telling us why you have decided to apply to Swarthmore in particular. <2000 characters

It is a pretty well known fact that Swarthmore is one of the top ranked liberal arts colleges in the nation. So instead of answering why I need Swarthmore, I will discuss why Swarthmore needs ME.

Too many students are living in the future, they see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they do not take the time to admire the tunnel itself. I once sat in my father's psychologist office, while my father was recovering from a recent stroke, and he said "At times, it isn't worth it to focus only on your future, your dreams, your ambitions; you need to live in your present, for right now, at this very moment, you are the best that you can possibly be." Once a student at your college, instead of only focusing only on my future, I will take the time to live in the now and add my input to Swarthmore College, participating in organizations such as Terpsichore/Rhythm-N-Motion to student government clubs. Instead of using your college as just tunnel from point A to point B, I will stop once in a while to appreciate and cherish the tunnel, viewing it as a temporary home of sorts.

Some might say that being Asian had put me at a disadvantage when applying to colleges. I am not the smartest, or the most talented Asian that will ever apply to your school. I am not going to lie to your admissions officers explaining how I am deeply in love with your arboretum and read every professors' theses about how they are changing the world. I am an individual who breaks barriers, and I am doing just that.

Undergraduate / My father suffered from a stroke ; Johns Hopkins "Something about yourself?" [5]

ummm, my dad told me to write about this, is it weak?

Tell us something about yourself or your interests that we wouldn't learn by looking at the rest of your application materials. (While you should still pay attention to sentence structure and grammar, your response is meant as a way for us to get to know you, rather than a formal essay.) 250 w

2012 was the most important and influential year of my entire life. The most challenging, yet beneficial event in my life happened when my father suffered from a stroke in early February. My father's entire right side was paralyzed. He was overseas for business in Beijing, and I was informed of it through an unexpected wake-up call. I heard the news, and could not react properly. Emotions and worries went surging through my head as I sat next to my mother, who was overwhelmed with tears.

The process of coping with such a traumatic event is difficult to describe. It really awakened me that events like this can happen anytime, and to anyone. My father was hospitalized for several weeks and my mother left me home by myself for a month. During this time, I took the time to reflect upon myself. I learned to cherish what I had and matured into a more family-oriented child. Not only did I need to help care for my father, I wanted to.

After a heartfelt reunion after weeks of reflection, I strived to be the best son I could for my dad. Through countless days of struggle to accomplish everyday tasks, I was there for him to persevere and get through the tough times. Even now, my father is still recovering, but we are working together towards a full recovery, as well as an even greater relationship.