Describe your educational path. How did you get to where you are today? What are your educational goals, and how does the University of Michigan fit into them?
I attended a school in Bahrain (a small island country in the Middle East) called The Indian School, where I stayed half way through high school (until the 6th grade). Unfortunately, the school was unable to provide an environment that encouraged learning. I scored good grades for the first three or four years, but grew tired of the moribund, close-minded style of teaching, which mostly involved memorizing texts verbatim, apart from massaging the fractured, yet ever-growing egos of some teachers and administration.
So I decided to quit school and read on my own.
I did not continue any formal education until about 2 years after I arrived in Florida where I got my GED, at a high percentile. I wanted to develop on my interest in psychology (I had done as much reading as possible about the subject during the gap in my education).
I enrolled at Broward College, where I finally got to meet some sincere teachers. These were extraordinary people with profound love for their subjects, from calculus to geology to developmental psychology. I couldn't get enough, often staying as long as I could after class developing on our class discussions. I truly enjoyed my time with them; even the ones I disagreed with vehemently on certain subjects... they always had something unique and useful to teach.
By that point, I knew psychology was what I wanted to do. I looked for good colleges with strong experimental programs, and was astounded by the Labs on offer at the University of Michigan, especially in the cognitive, social and developmental realms. With its' strong undergrad and grad programs, I think UM fits perfectly with my goals to learn more about this deep and fascinating field.
I attended a school in Bahrain (a small island country in the Middle East) called The Indian School, where I stayed half way through high school (until the 6th grade). Unfortunately, the school was unable to provide an environment that encouraged learning. I scored good grades for the first three or four years, but grew tired of the moribund, close-minded style of teaching, which mostly involved memorizing texts verbatim, apart from massaging the fractured, yet ever-growing egos of some teachers and administration.
So I decided to quit school and read on my own.
I did not continue any formal education until about 2 years after I arrived in Florida where I got my GED, at a high percentile. I wanted to develop on my interest in psychology (I had done as much reading as possible about the subject during the gap in my education).
I enrolled at Broward College, where I finally got to meet some sincere teachers. These were extraordinary people with profound love for their subjects, from calculus to geology to developmental psychology. I couldn't get enough, often staying as long as I could after class developing on our class discussions. I truly enjoyed my time with them; even the ones I disagreed with vehemently on certain subjects... they always had something unique and useful to teach.
By that point, I knew psychology was what I wanted to do. I looked for good colleges with strong experimental programs, and was astounded by the Labs on offer at the University of Michigan, especially in the cognitive, social and developmental realms. With its' strong undergrad and grad programs, I think UM fits perfectly with my goals to learn more about this deep and fascinating field.