Undergraduate /
Dan Ariely's book "Predictably Irrational" - UPenn 'interests' essay for college of arts and science [7]
could anyone please advise about my essay and what else can i add to make it better...
essay prompt:
How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying. (400-650 words)
There is a book lying in my cupboard, half yellowed-not because it's been abandoned, but rather because I have kept it safe for years. I remember the day when my economics teacher passed on this treasure as a gift of the sincerest kind. But today I rather recall it as a blessing, because if it weren't for this book, I would likely never have been introduced to behavioral economics.
Dan Ariely's book Predictably Irrational addresses the theories of behavioral economics, which approaches economics from a psychological and sociological perspective. I was very intrigued by Ariely's theories and experiments; the one which I found the most interesting was his "truth about relativity," in which Ariely posits that our decisions are not based on objective matters such as utility (such as is posited by classical economists like Adam Smith), but rather on relative comparisons between the choices available.My father once exhibited this behavior. Before a movie, he went to buy a medium-sized Coke. I recall the transaction: "A medium coke please," my father requested. The salesman replied, "Sir if you add 15 rupees more you can purchase the large one." (I hear that in America, they say "make it large.") My father gave him a "humph" followed by a faux-exasperated "fine!". I found this very peculiar as I wondered why the cinema would keep such a minute difference between large and regular soda. But then it struck me that it was only because of this minute difference that my father ended up buying the large. So the theater was astutely using this small difference to shift the consumer's expenditure, however reluctantly, towards the large size and booking an extra 15 rupees on each sale.
My other intellectual interest is to apply my knowledge to real-life situations; I am always delighted to explore the link between the "dead" text in our textbooks and the world outside. My ultimate aim is to exploit my knowledge to solve economic problems in my home nation, India. I am saddened to see people dying of hunger. If a country with the ninth largest GDP and a significant agricultural produce can't supply the needs of its population, then there's a problem within our monetary system. As, the person living on the streets, is living such a life because he is engulfed in a system that values a piece of paper more than somebody's life.And if we have created such a money-based economy, then we likewise bear the obligation to ensure that everyone feels secure in it. If not, those in power are simply being selfish by intentionally ignoring the facts just so they don't end up altering their luxurious lifestyle (and yes, despite my youth I count myself among those in power because of my privileges). I don't want to fall into that trap; I want to help the poor in India to break the cycle of poverty by providing them sufficient financial opportunities to fulfill their needs-and to incentivize those with greater means to create those opportunities.
It is thus natural that I pursue the study of economics, and I wish to study it at UPenn's school of arts and sciences,in an institution that values the learning received outside the conventional classrooms. UPenn is a place where classes are held in a real-life context and students are given room to research and develop perceptions and theories of their own. UPenn's flexible and broad interdisciplinary courses with an available combination of a double majors in Math and economics is strongly appealing, because I know mathematics underlies all economic fields, even the psychology and sociology-driven field of behavioral economics. Penn's small student-faculty ratio would allow me to connect more with professors and share ideas rigorously with them. Finally, with a very interactive/active community and wide variety of internship programs, I would develop skills necessary to succeed in the workplace-whether that is for a consulting firm, non-profit, or my own think tank.
