question:Please tell us what you find most appealing about Columbia and why. (300 words or less)
Being from Africa I find it fitting that I go to a school that has a lion as its mascot, seeing as that's what many people think of when asked "what does Africa look like?" The lion embodies many of the trait I have, albeit at a lesser degree. Just as lion is fearless in its conquest, so also am I in my acquisition of knowledge. When faced with a foe much larger than it, a lion, like me, must muster all its strength to overcome this adversity. But a lion is never limited in its capabilities and prowess, which leads me to the reason I am attracted to Columbia University, its Core Curriculum.
No school I have heard of allows for such diversity and variability in its academics. And as my interviewer Barry Weinberg will have noted, I love diversity. There is a prototype of the title "Engineer". People see engineers - regardless of specialty- as either nerds, hard workers, or a combination of both. While engineers are hard workers, we unfortunately also fit the second stereotype that accompanies any career in the scientific field: the lack of knowledge in any other subjects. The Core Curriculum combats this problem allowing the most avid engineer to hold his own against the berating of history majors and their like. Apart from genetics, History and the Arts are my next favorite subjects. Going to a school that allows we to pursue my chief objective in life-as a Genetic Engineer- while granting me knowledge on the cultures of other nations, allows me to pursue both interests.
Moreover, Columbia is fantastic at cultivating the minds of its students to better assimilate into society, by placing emphasis on one's career, yet allowing that person to extend their scope of knowledge allowing for seamless interaction with students of other vocations, as opposed to other universities that produce the average student, who is unable to work beyond what they major in.
Being from Africa I find it fitting that I go to a school that has a lion as its mascot, seeing as that's what many people think of when asked "what does Africa look like?" The lion embodies many of the trait I have, albeit at a lesser degree. Just as lion is fearless in its conquest, so also am I in my acquisition of knowledge. When faced with a foe much larger than it, a lion, like me, must muster all its strength to overcome this adversity. But a lion is never limited in its capabilities and prowess, which leads me to the reason I am attracted to Columbia University, its Core Curriculum.
No school I have heard of allows for such diversity and variability in its academics. And as my interviewer Barry Weinberg will have noted, I love diversity. There is a prototype of the title "Engineer". People see engineers - regardless of specialty- as either nerds, hard workers, or a combination of both. While engineers are hard workers, we unfortunately also fit the second stereotype that accompanies any career in the scientific field: the lack of knowledge in any other subjects. The Core Curriculum combats this problem allowing the most avid engineer to hold his own against the berating of history majors and their like. Apart from genetics, History and the Arts are my next favorite subjects. Going to a school that allows we to pursue my chief objective in life-as a Genetic Engineer- while granting me knowledge on the cultures of other nations, allows me to pursue both interests.
Moreover, Columbia is fantastic at cultivating the minds of its students to better assimilate into society, by placing emphasis on one's career, yet allowing that person to extend their scope of knowledge allowing for seamless interaction with students of other vocations, as opposed to other universities that produce the average student, who is unable to work beyond what they major in.