Undergraduate / Why Colgate - academic programs and diverse community [8]

As always, would appreciate vangiespens' and others' feedback!

In 150-200 words, please tell us what inspired you to apply for admission to Colgate University?

As a likely economics major, I am drawn by the unique courses on offer by Colgate's economics program as they provide an insight to global and modern topics that are of the utmost concern to economists today, such as the study of The Japanese Economy. I am also enthused by the London Economics Study Group program available to Economics majors as this can an opportunity to immerse myself and experience economic forces in another global financial hub, other than New York.

[...]

Undergraduate / Why Yale - Unique student initiatives/ Yale short questions [7]

1.) What in particular about Yale has influenced your decision to apply? (100 words max.)

Besides being an institution with vast academic resources and passionate faculty, the robust spirit of volunteerism in Yale appealed to me. I would like to continue pursuing my interest in community service in college and I am drawn by the multitude of meaningful and unique student-initiated community service efforts. I am particularly interested to contribute to the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action, as it reaches out to the impoverished directly by providing them with food and other basic necessities. This is the most symbolic act of compassion that resonates with my values and I want to surround myself with the equally compassionate participants to provide material and emotional support to the homeless.

Please respond in 250 characters (roughly 40 words) or fewer to each of the questions below:

2a.) What excites you intellectually, really?

The sophisticated functions and workings of each discrete parts of the human brain which in aggregate influence our behaviors and decisions.

2b.) Think about a disappointment you have experienced. What was your response?

Reflect on what caused the disappointment, keep the lesson in mind, and move on.

2c.) Suite-style living - four to six students sharing a set of rooms - may be an integral part of your Yale College experience. What would you contribute to the dynamic of your suite?

I would probably be the clown of our suite. I would also be the cleanliness "advocate" of the suite, but my roommates would ignore me when I nag them to tidy up the room.

2d.) What do you wish you were better at being or doing?

I wish I can be more poised in the face of tough situations.

Undergraduate / You are not here fundamentally for the purpose of completing degree requirements - Why Penn College? [17]

The Admissions Committee would like to learn why you are a good fit for your undergraduate school choice (College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, The Wharton School, or Penn Engineering). Please tell us about specific academic, service, and/or research opportunities at the University of Pennsylvania that resonate with your background, interests, and goals. (400-650 words)

A statement explaining the purpose of the College's curriculum reads: "... you are not here fundamentally for the purpose of completing degree requirements. If you think of your education solely in those terms, the result will be dull and unsatisfying.". As soon as I read this phrase, I knew that pursuing an undergraduate education in Penn's College of Arts and Sciences would be the right choice. At Penn, the reason for pursuing education not just to graduate with a qualification, but for a more meaningful purpose - to harness the education to benefit society - is perfectly consistent with my ideals. Coming from a less privileged background, I want to use education to empower those that like me, come from a low income background, specifically by researching economic policies that can emancipate the poor. My aspiration is to be an Economic Adviser to the Government of Singapore, and as I gain more experience, hopefully contribute to the World Bank as a research economist specializing in economic policies.

Though majoring in economics will certainly pave the road to attaining my goals, a firm foundation in other fields of academia will matter too. I am particularly drawn by the College's General Education curriculum, which allows students the flexibility to explore topics from different disciplines and more importantly witness how knowledge from various disciplines complement each other. A wise policy-maker cannot evaluate a new policy idea from a purely economic standpoint, (s)he needs to be aware of its social implications, as well as any political roadblocks that the new policy could face. Taking courses in the Society sector would help me understand the dynamics of societal behavior and motivation, while courses in the History and Traditions sector would provide me with a reference of how past decision-makers introduced policies and the challenges they faced. General Education from the College's vast catalog of courses from multiple disciplines will complement and enrich my core skills as an economist in my future endeavor.

I strongly believe that theoretical education should be complemented with practical application in order for a learner to achieve a firm grasp of a subject. I am drawn by the College's emphasis and support for undergraduates to engage in research during their four-years in Penn, with the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) and Penn Institute for Economic Research (PIER) fostering a research-friendly environment through providing generous grants and research consultation. I can undertake cutting edge research with some of the country's greatest thinkers and explore the fascinating field of political economics. This will sharpen my insight and enable me to be more well-informed and effective as a prospective future policy maker. I can also attend lectures and workshops by PIER to acquaint myself of the latest development in economics, such as the Quantitative Tools for Macroeconomic Policy Analysis.

The College's resources dedicated to supporting undergraduates through their academic career is the most robust I have seen among all institutions. Support for writing from peer and faculty specialists in the Marks Family Writing Center and public speaking seminars from CWiC will help refine my writing and public speaking skills which will greatly aid me during my undergraduate career and beyond.

Besides academic pursuits, I would like to continue pursuing my passion in community service in college and I am excited to see that there is a robust spirit of volunteerism in UPenn. I am extremely interested in using my experience as a tutor to provide tuition to the less well-off students in Philadelphia, and I will definitely be taking "Tutoring In Urban Public Elementary Schools: A Child Development Perspectives" ABCS course to satiate my curiosity about early childhood development and complement my service experience.

Undergraduate / A time when I had to tutor a teenager of different background [4]

Describe a situation where you had to work or closely associate with someone from a background very different from your own. What challenges did you face and how did you resolve them? (250-1000 words)

Hi, please proofread, comment on my essay response. I wonder if I met the require of the prompt of describing the challenge and if I was being too long-winded, especially in the fourth paragraph. Thank you!

It was an unexpected call from an unexpected person. The secretary of Singapore's most renowned interior design firm just called me, asking if I was able to tutor the director's son, Henry. Henry's full-time tutor had gone on vacation, and his parents urgently needed a replacement tutor to prepare him for the International GCSE. Somehow the secretary chanced upon my number in the classifieds and thought I was a suitable tutor to fill that role. What was different about this teaching "gig" was that the parents requested that the lessons be conducted 5 times a week, compared to 1 time a week for my other students. Of course I jumped on the opportunity without hesitation, as the remuneration was the highest since I started freelancing as a private tutor after graduating from high school.

While reflecting on how lucky I was to score such a high-paying gig, I also began to worry that there were challenges ahead of me during the tuition. Since I come from a low-income family and have hardly encountered people who come from a very privileged background, my mind pictured a spoilt, snobbish and apathetic teenager who had little interest in learning. He was going to give me a hard time by refusing to pay attention and do the assignments I set for him. Bracing myself for such a situation, I was ready to establish myself as a strict teacher from the first lesson.

On the day of the first lesson, I travelled to Henry's house - a three-story detached house. I had never stepped into a detached house before then, and when I entered, it felt like I was in another country. I thought the exterior was impressive, but the interior of the house made me think, you get to live here every day?! As I was being led into the living room by the domestic worker, I was greeted by two friendly huskies, apparently very well-fed. While waiting for Henry, I surveyed the living room, and made a conservative estimate that it alone was twice as large as my house.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, Henry came down the stairs and greeted me. He apologized for the wait, and introduced himself with such friendliness that disarmed the austere demeanor I have been meticulously putting up. During the lessons, he respected me by being very attentive as I explained concepts and clarified his misconceptions. He thanked me every time I corrected his mistakes. Since Henry is a French-American, I occasionally had difficulty deciphering what he had said due to his accent. I would ask him to kindly repeat what he had said more slowly, and he would apologize for being unclear and then patiently repeated what he said.

When the lesson ended, I felt really guilty for having a prejudiced view of Henry even before I met him, just because he comes from a more privileged background than I. He is not spoilt, snobbish and apathetic. He is extremely well-mannered, humble, and even more passionate about learning than I am. I changed my teaching method accordingly - to a more encouraging and probing approach instead of a more authoritative slant that I initially intended. As a result, I enjoyed the teaching process, and look forward to Henry's passionate curiosity every lesson. Our friendship also blossomed through our shared interest in basketball, and till this day, I still keep in contact with him and he would invite me to play basketball every other weekend. The interaction with Henry felt like a slap to my face for being so narrow-minded. Even though I was his teacher, Henry has taught me a more valuable life lesson - to never judge a person from his background.

Undergraduate / Contributing to Macalester community, personally and academically [5]

Macalester is a community that includes people from many different backgrounds, some who have lived around the world and others who have lived in one place their entire lives. Please write an essay about how your background, experiences or outlook might add to the Mac community, academically and personally. (250-1000 words)

I am usually the optimistic one among my friends, and I would do silly stuffs just to cheer them up if they are feeling down as I feel very uncomfortable seeing any of my friends being upset. With a secret desire to be a comedian since young, I want to help the Mac community see the bright side of life by joining Bad Comedy in Macalester. Having been through a tough childhood and battling anxiety during my adolescence, as well as serving as a para-counsellor in volunteer sessions, I can also relate to and provide counselling for my future peers in Macalester when they are going through emotional rough patches. I am eager to participate in the Active Minds at Macaelster to share my experience with other members of the group and contribute to promoting awareness of the reality of mental health issues within the Mac community so they are better able to manage it.

I would like to continue pursuing my interest in community service in college, and having worked as a tutor recently and falling in love with the job, I would like to make use of my experience to initiate a new community service project where Macalester students, faculty and staffs are invited to tutor disadvantaged children in schools near the Saint Paul area at least once a week. This will not only enrich the mind of the children, but bring together the Mac community for a helpful cause, promoting friendships and bringing a sense of fulfillment to the ones who take part, knowing they are empowering the less well-off through education.

I have always felt that in order to learn, one must always be willing to challenge academic assumptions, even if they are already an established fact. This is a lesson I learned while I was tutoring a student in Mathematics. Although I felt that I already had a complete grasp of the problem and the rudimentary equation that would lead to a valid solution, the student I was tutoring showed me that there was actually another way to approach and solve the problem, coming up with the same valid outcome. I believe that by continuing to have the same open minded yet inquisitive attitude about my classes at Macalester, I will be able to strengthen and enrich the learning environment of the institution.

As a prospective economics major, I believe there is still much more empirical research to be done, particularly in the field of macroeconomics and political economics; ones which do not oversimplify the complexity of the state of economies today. Macalester is a platform that will allow me, in collaboration with the characteristically passionate and accessible faculty, to engage in research which will push the frontier of macroeconomics knowledge, and hence better inform policy making.

In all, I am confident my background, experience and outlook will allow me to contribute to the many interesting and meaningful student activities in Macalester and also help me connect with peers who come from diverse cultures and backgrounds in the campus. The accessible faculty and huge library of academic resources makes me well-equipped to engage in research which can not only enrich Macalester's intellectual environment, but also the world's.

Undergraduate / Why Swarthmore - commitment for diversity of opinions [4]

In 150 to 250 words, please write about why you are interested in applying to and attending Swarthmore.

I am drawn by Swarthmore's strong commitment to nurture an environment for a diversity of opinions and perspectives to thrive in the institution. Such environment will enrich me intellectually and provide the impetus to reconcile different aspects of a theoretical idea through thinking critically. It will also implacably push me to look beyond the surface of an issue and delve deeper in order to truly grasp the complex dynamics of issues facing the world.

[...]

Undergraduate / Collaborative Residential Community - how it inspires and draws me to Bates [5]

Prompt:

In addition to the Common Application essay, please select one phrase from the Bates mission statement below and comment on how it inspires you and draws you to Bates. Please upload your 1-2 paragraph response below.

Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion - Amore ac Studio - we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times.

"Collaborative residential community"

At Bates, first-year students will live with an upper-class student. As a foreign student, I naturally have concerns of adapting to a new culture and environment, but having an experienced student as a roommate would greatly quell my anxiety as I have a reliable mentor who can guide me along in the college in my early days as a Bates student. I can see that Bates is extremely committed to providing a great deal of support and resources for new students to assimilate into the college and this has drawn me to the college.

By living together and interacting with peers of diverse backgrounds and cultures, I will also be exposed to and learn from various perspectives, requiring me to think about a topic critically and stretching my intellectual potential. I am inspired by the close-knit relationships the students of Bates enjoy, and I am excited to meet and contribute to such an interesting community of inquisitive people.