Undergraduate / uPenn essay: just the other day... [10]

any advice is greatly appreciated :)

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)

Just the other day, my mother recounted an instance of when she had bought an, at the time, new computer in 1999. Just as she had finished the setup of the hardware, she stepped out of the room for a few minutes. In the short period of her absence, I had managed to make my way to the computer and turn it on, making it as far as the welcome screen (then again, I was just a mere two years old at the time). I like to acknowledge that event as my first real encounter with a computer, the instance of which my fascination with technology was summoned. Since then, I had developed an infatuation with computers, especially in preschool with all of the alphabet software, the learning-to-type games, the phonics and the elementary math CD's; oh, the good ol' days.

I have held my strong interest in computers for as far back as I can remember, and from then, I have continued to pursue all things computer science. In middle school, I took computer software classes to become computer-savvy. Through my high school years, I was introduced to computer science via my computer programming classes. Encouraged by my hopeful teacher and the lack of females and colored people in the class, I advanced to the point where I had completed all of the programming classes my high school had to offer. I viewed the lack of diversity as a challenge, one that I gladly accepted.

In addition to my passion of computer science, I have also recently developed a passion for psychology. I had enrolled in an AP Psychology course in my junior year of high school and fell in love with the subject. Although it was an acquired taste, I found myself enjoying psychology so much, that I wanted to immediately complete my psychology homework, even before the homework of my other classes. I would analyze my little siblings: taking precise note of every slight reaction they instinctually acted upon. I was my own private investigator: every stutter, hesitation, critical glance and judgmental stare proved crucial to the verdict and continues to send adrenaline rushing through my veins! I needed to know more! This drove me to further my education in psychology by enrolling in an abnormal psychology course offered at the local community college: Montgomery College, Germantown Campus, after my junior year of high school.

An Ivy League education is something only an intellectual few earn the opportunity to experience, something a majority of students can only dream about. However, University of Pennsylvania stands alone from all the other Ivy institutions by priding itself on being a research university, meaning along with its world-class professors and encouraged research programs, the university is fully capable of providing me with an opportunity of which no other school would be able to offer. Attending UPenn would present its academic challenges, those of which I am eager to rise up to exceed, but most importantly, attending UPenn would grant me more insight into my academic passions than any other institution can offer

With my passions and intentions to fulfill them, being contained in an ordinary institution for four years describes a jail sentence. By attending an encouraging institution, as well as my self-motivation and passion in two very different subjects, my years at University of Pennsylvania would be anything but ordinary. Taking advantage of UPenn's research programs and its interdisciplinary education systems, the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Arts and Sciences would be a perfect place to pursue my passions, especially with the Computer and Cognitive Science Program, intertwining both of my academic passions.

Undergraduate / defying the stereotypes or conforming to new ones? [14]

this is about my common app essay. it is not yet complete and I need help on the last part

For the past 17 years, I have fallen victim to wearing the infamous scarlet letter. It stuck to me, made itself presentable to those around me, and for my primary school and secondary school years, even invoked judgment. It has made me fit the parameters for the stereotype of one ethnicity and not another, therefore, because of it, I am Indian and not Caribbean.

According to the majority of people I have encountered, I am an Indian: I get high scores on tests, I take advanced classes, I have a darker-than-tan skin tone, and I fit the facial features of an "Indian" girl (especially the nose, I've been told).

"Are you Indian?" they ask with beaming confidence.
"Nope," I reply with a sheepish smile.
Some then even have the nerve to ask, "Oh, but you're from somewhere around there, right?"
Sure, if the West Indies count as somewhere near India.
Finally, when they give up, or if they give up I should say, since after a few failed attempts some of them remain relentless in bringing to light my supposed "middle-eastern/south Asian" ethnicity, I spill the beans.

"I'm from Trinidad," I reveal.
Some immediately recognize the features, while others continue the interrogation with "What part of India is that in?"
Sigh
When the message finally reaches through, it is faced some with denial, but by all with awe.
It's always a cycle, broken down into four simplistic stages: interrogation, persistence on incorrect assumption, revelation, and then amazement.
More often than not, the once accusatory person then shows understanding.
But, why? Why is there so much misunderstanding for the majority in understanding my background?
Excluding physical features, what else would make them think I am Indian? Is it the advanced placement classes of which I am would not be considered Indian, a member of the small few, or even the only person of color?

The reason of why a plethora of people have questioned my ethnicity, I may never know, especially out of failure on my part to return interrogation. I do know however, that this confusion on the subject of my race has opened many doors, acted as a conversation piece to many people of which I never would have spoken to before. Could a common inquiry intended towards me, once negatively connotated, that once made me cringe have been a blessing in disguise?

Now, rather than dread the inevitable question of the majority, I welcome the once bothersome question. I have realized that there is more than just one way to look at a situation: perception is based on point of view. Not only has this learned concept applied to the previous situation, it teaches me to recognize seemingly unfavorable circumstances as its once-perceived opposite that can be used to my advantage, like a happy accident, creating a serendipitous situation.

Not only do others use my dubious ethnicity as their style of approach, I have learned to use it as my method of striking up a conversation as well... well, not as boldly as confidently assuming the ethnicity of another, but by using one's ethnic background as a justification for a first interaction. By doing so, I have commenced hundreds of conversations, in turn, formulating beneficial relationships with those I would have not spoken to otherwise, whether it be not spoken to sooner or at all.

Although the only listed countries on my birth certificate include the United States of America and Trinidad and Tobago, most likely for the first few seconds before an encounter with someone new, I am Indian.

Undergraduate / Unique integration of a minority female, computer science, and psychology [15]

This is for my common app essay supplement to Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 on a spirit of exploration and discovery. As a result, students can pursue a multi-dimensional undergraduate experience both in and outside of the classroom. Given the opportunities at Hopkins, please discuss your current interests-academic or extracurricular pursuits, personal passions, summer experiences, etc.-and how you will build upon them here.

(300-500 Word limit)

I have yet to finish this essay, but this is what I have so far

Any help whatsoever is appreciated.
Thank you

From a young age, my mother taught me that nothing is ordinary. After learning about how things are made up of bits and pieces, even atoms, on a smaller level, I like to think the same about people. For example, not many people share the same level of curiosity about the world as I do, and even a lesser amount that I have come across share, or the very least express, my same level of interest in both computer science and psychology, while incorporating the sport of Track and Field into their lives.

I have held interest in computer science for as long as I can remember. From when I was two years old and turned on the computer my mother had just set up, to nearly everyday use. Like anything, computers are composed of parts of a whole, but there's an even deeper aspect. What makes a computer do all the things it can do today, from a complicated hundred level game of Tetris to a simple calculator program is its written code.

Computers also move with impressive speeds, depending on the processor, with some even as fast as 3.5 gigahertz. Some computers are even said to have processors as fast as, or, in some rumors, faster than the human brain. The human brain however, I'd like to think, is much more complex. The human brain is composed of parts of a whole, does not require manual input of code, line by line, to process information. Programs with gaps in instruction are likely vulnerable to syntax errors, crashing to program entirely, dooming it to not serve its primary purpose. Nevertheless, both humans and computers are instructed to act certain ways and to do certain things. Many computers lie vulnerable to viruses and complicated botherations, eventually tearing the computer apart. The human brain, if one develops a mental disorder, is at a higher state of vulnerability to damage than at its normal state, especially if left untreated. Is this not like a computer? When time comes to really compare the two, are computer science and psychology really so different?