Graduate / Keep fighting, don't step down and cower, step up and shine - your hard work will pay off eventually [3]

PROMPT: Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how?

Seventy years. Seven decades, seven-tenth of a century. This was the length of my beloved grandfather's life. When I came into this world, he already retired from his job of being a principal for children of poor tribal backgrounds in a small village in India. He witnessed sixteen years of my life including the day I was born. He was my hero, my guardian angel and most importantly my best friend as a child. He taught me always to respect others regardless of social background, to have a kind heart, to always listen to others in need. Sadly, approximately twenty of his seventy years were spent suffering from diabetes and the final two years of my grandfather's life was spent bed-ridden.

It was a chilly November Friday evening last year, I was out with my friends playing a grueling three hours of soccer. Unbeknownst to me, my phone was ringing continuously for five minutes. When I finally answered my sister, in a somber mood, told me in an unclear voice that my pet rabbit passed away. Atleast that was what I heard her saying, so I immediately contacted my father who seemed to be in a big hurry as if something was bothering him. But I do vividly recount those three words he told me which were "Come Home Now". I ran home afterwards, and saw several cars, belonging to close family friends, parked in front of my house. I thought to myself, are all these people here for the funeral of my pet or is there something more sinister? Something was boiling beneath the surface, I had a feeling of uncertainty as if some major event just occurred. My suspicions were confirmed when one of my closest family friends broke the news to me. Your grandfather has passed. It took me ten minutes to process it, my super-hero, my guardian angel, is gone. How is this even possible?

Literally five minutes after I returned home, my parents and my sister were stepping out of the house. I knew they were leaving to India for the funeral, so I asked my father when he will be back. He replied simply by saying "I don't know", then he vanished into thin air along with the rest of my family. Then an eerie silence took over my house as I finally realized that I'm going to be home alone for an indefinite time. Luckily I had enough money to last the week, but what if my family was gone for longer? How would I cope with that?

Above all, my grandfather's passing took place at the worst possible time imaginable. I was set to take almost two tests per day from all my classes and write a long essay for English class; all in the matter of a week. Part of me wanted to inform my teachers and let them know of the bleak news so that they could be more lenient towards me. But the better part of me wanted to do only one thing, and that was to rise up and take up the challenge of being the "man of the house" in short notice. A day after the terrible news, I immediately set out to work through the large collection work that needed to be completed, and prepare for the endless rounds of tests I had to take. Even on the weekend, I woke up at 6 am every day and worked until 9 pm. I was determined to not let this major setback in my life take control of me and make me weak. While I toiled endlessly the wise words of my grandfather always filled my head, "whenever you get knocked down, you come back up, when you get knocked down again, you came back up again and if you keep repeating this, eventually you'll win."

But another tragedy struck, my Internet was shut down. I couldn't resolve it as my Internet provider needed personal information from my father to allow a reconnection. But he was out of the country and was in an area where telecommunications was limited. This was the breaking point for me, even though I found out that my family was coming back in a few days, I honestly thought I'd give up. But I wasn't done yet; I just stepped up a notch and pushed harder to finish all of my work and to study for the flood of my exams.

In the end, I managed to survive setback after setback without a scratch. Well emotionally speaking I was scarred, but my physical well-being was unaffected. I scored decently well on the exams I was supposed to take, I managed to finish the boatload of work due. In a way this tragedy prepared in me in some way for the rigors of college as I will be without my parents and I have to put in several hours into course-work every day. Through this experience, I learned that no matter what happens, no matter what obstacle is thrown at you in life, you keep fighting, you don't step down and cower, you step up and shine, eventually you're hard work will pay off in terms of personal satisfaction or even school-grades.

Undergraduate / A setting in which I have collaborated or interacted with people whose beliefs differ from mine [3]

PROMPT: Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience.

During the month of March this year, I traveled to a school, known as Robert College, for a Model United Nations conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The very purpose of Model United Nations is to provide an educational simulation where students can learn about diplomacy, international relations and the inner-workings of the "real" Model United Nations. I was a part of the Environmental Committee, whose topics included the heavily debated issue of fracking and safe disposal of e-waste. I researched the benefits of fracking and was prepared to defend it in front of an international audience representing several countries around the globe. Representing tiny-little Guatemala, an ally of the United States, I immediately came under fire from delegates who despised fracking itself. Although this is a "mock" United Nations each person's duty was to represent his or her nation's policy towards an issue and not their personal beliefs; therefore, they believed the fracking was a dangerous activity that must be banned. This was where I had to interact with people of different beliefs, and through his process I was able to meet people whose lives are actually being affected by the issues discussed in the conference and change my personal views on fracking.

In the caucus session, where delegates discuss ideas on how to tackle a particular issue, I came in contact with people representing Italy, Russia, and Spain. Each of them believed that fracking causes numerous problems such as water droughts, use of harmful chemicals and increase in amount of carcinogens. For several hours, I countered by mentioning how these problems could be negated by using special chemicals, recycled water and special chemical treatments to purify the liquids used in the process of fracking. Yet to no avail, my opponents kept repeating their same statements and refused to look into my solutions. In the process, I met a boy, representing Spain but originally from Florida, he claimed that fracking in his hometown caused earthquakes, severe water pollution to name a few problems. I was a loss for words, as I never expected anyone to have personal insight on the issue of fracking. Nevertheless, I continued to support fracking and create safer, more viable ways to make fracking less dangerous.

When my resolution, a document containing solutions to a problem, was complete; I stepped onto the podium and contributed several elucidations in order to make fracking more environmentally feasible and economically practical. Unsurprisingly, the delegate from Spain, stepped up and kept speaking against my ideas as if it was a personal upfront to his beliefs. He was not representing his country, Spain, but more of himself. I countered by mentioning specific points in my resolution which nullified his arguments but still he was adamant in his opposition. The battle raged on back and forth for two days until eventually the whole house, all the delegations in the committee, voted on whether to pass my resolution or not. Sadly my resolution did not pass, as the Spanish delegation's emotions won over the audience.

Afterwards, the Floridian boy came up to me and admitted that my resolution had the perfect solutions and should have been passed. Although I was pleased at his kindness, I told him how I changed my own personal beliefs towards fracking because of his personal experiences. Although I never saw him again, I finally believed that it is a dangerous environmentally unfriendly practice that can ruin lives and destroy nature.

Undergraduate / Northwestern Supplemental Essay Personal Statement, unique qualities of NU-Chemical Engineering [11]

I will soon write up a 300 word max essay on this topic. Any help is appreciated. Thank you all in advance :)

Although Northwestern University's acceptance rate hovers around 14 percent, why would I consider applying? The answer lies in the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. The pupil to professor ratio is remarkably seven to one, which would allow for more productive interactions with a faculty member in terms of coursework and even assistance in challenging material.

As an undergraduate student interested in pursuing a major in Chemical Engineering, I keenly look forward to take advantage of the possible internship openings from world class corporations like IBM and Sonoco to name a few; I can gain valuable experience.

Any engineer requires three foremost qualities and these include sound logic, deep analysis, and mathematics. But to produce a successful engineer, intuition, metaphorical thinking skills and creativity make an enormous impact. Northwestern offers a unique approach to achieving the qualities mentioned above, by the "Whole-Brain" concept. I do believe that I can succeed under the "Whole-Brain" concept as I can think outside the box, dig deeper into complex problems and spend hours on a single problem if needed in order for me to become an enhanced engineer.

Spending three weeks during the summer in the residential hall known as Elder Hall, I felt what it is like to be a student of Northwestern through the enriching Center for Talent Development's Equinox program. A few of the counselors, or Residential Teaching Assistants, were recent graduates of Northwestern and truly demonstrated to me what Northwestern instilled into them. Each of these polished individuals displayed a unique attitude which emphasized to work hard, yet at the same time "play hard". Four words can sum up the student experience in Northwestern, "Work hard, play hard". This type of outlook appeals to me greatly, as I do enjoy spending hours if needed on any school assignment yet at the same time I'd like to go outside and socialize.

Through Northwestern University's high repute, it attracts a wide diverse collection of students of various ethnicities. I will feel ecstatic with joy if I can live and attend such a world class educational institution.

It would be a dream come true for me to attend Northwestern University.