Ah, so I just finished two essays for the University of Virginia, and I've love some fine-tuning or even general comments on ideas I should add/remove. I really want to know if they make sense, and if they would tell the admissions officer enough about me!
[ prompt 1 ]
We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer the question that corresponds to the school you selected above. Limit your answer to a half page or roughly 250 words.
Engineering: Discuss experiences that led you to choose an engineering education at U.Va. and the role that scientific curiosity plays in your life.
Splitting up Ampere's Law into four separate integrals to determine the magnetic field around a solenoid - easy, right? Each new problem my physics teacher introduces seems like an unsurpassable monolith to me, but they are nothing to him. With masterful strokes, he chips away at them with logic and basic equations until a solution presents itself from the rubble. I am always thoroughly intrigued by how the simple concepts he uses can solve such seemingly complex problems. Sitting at home, I struggle to figure out the same types of questions my teacher so elegantly solves in class, even armed with the same standard arsenal of equations.
But that's the beauty of a eureka moment. After long attempts at a problem, when it feels as if vectors of frustration are jabbing my gray matter into submission, I close my eyes. With time, the throbbing in my mind invariably subsides to clarity, and I wake up from my physics-induced coma with a start. Upon discovering a new angle to the problem, a rush of adrenaline courses through my body, and I quickly scribble down my thoughts. Suddenly, all of the elements fall into place. Eureka!
It is the sheer nerdy ecstasy of finding solutions that draws me to engineering. Presented with any problem, whether a textbook question or a real-world situation, I feel a relentless urge to find the answer. Even if I fail, each failure brings a new opportunity to learn. The University of Virginia's biomedical engineering program drew me in through its sheer dedication to integrating undergraduate research and design in both engineering and medicine, but after I chanced upon a collection of posters about discoveries made by the department, I knew I had to be part of a future team. The name of this series of posters?
"Eureka!"
(299 words)
(276 words)
[ prompt 2 ]
Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 250 words:
Discuss something you secretly like but pretend not to, or vice versa.
My mother pulls up into the Home Depot parking lot, and I shudder at the disproportionate number of heavy-duty trucks in the spaces around me. I feel as if I'm entering an alternate dimension reeking of elbow grease, whereas my natural universe revolves around dainty watercolor brushes.
Trudging past the automatic doors, I drag my shoes on the slate-gray concrete floors while my mother urges me to walk faster. As a proud member of the female gender, I should turn up my nose at the endless rows of hardware, gag at the atmosphere of unfettered virility, and run screaming in the opposite direction, but something about Home Depot fascinates me.
It's beautiful.
Even out of my comfort zone, I tend to view the world around me as an artist. Home Depot serves as an unlikely muse, stocked with vast arrays of forms and surfaces. As we pass doorknobs and two-by-fours, I consider how to capture textures of metal and wood in graphite on paper. Walking past a display of paint cards, I quickly slip a few swatches of color into my pocket to paste in my sketchbook later for inspiration. I may not show any love for Home Depot's wares, but I still secretly appreciate the everyday beauty hidden behind its rugged veneer.
(213 words)
I'd be happy to read over your essays in return, although I'll be leaving my computer now for a bit. Thank you!
[ prompt 1 ]
We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer the question that corresponds to the school you selected above. Limit your answer to a half page or roughly 250 words.
Engineering: Discuss experiences that led you to choose an engineering education at U.Va. and the role that scientific curiosity plays in your life.
Splitting up Ampere's Law into four separate integrals to determine the magnetic field around a solenoid - easy, right? Each new problem my physics teacher introduces seems like an unsurpassable monolith to me, but they are nothing to him. With masterful strokes, he chips away at them with logic and basic equations until a solution presents itself from the rubble. I am always thoroughly intrigued by how the simple concepts he uses can solve such seemingly complex problems. Sitting at home, I struggle to figure out the same types of questions my teacher so elegantly solves in class, even armed with the same standard arsenal of equations.
But that's the beauty of a eureka moment. After long attempts at a problem, when it feels as if vectors of frustration are jabbing my gray matter into submission, I close my eyes. With time, the throbbing in my mind invariably subsides to clarity, and I wake up from my physics-induced coma with a start. Upon discovering a new angle to the problem, a rush of adrenaline courses through my body, and I quickly scribble down my thoughts. Suddenly, all of the elements fall into place. Eureka!
It is the sheer nerdy ecstasy of finding solutions that draws me to engineering. Presented with any problem, whether a textbook question or a real-world situation, I feel a relentless urge to find the answer. Even if I fail, each failure brings a new opportunity to learn. The University of Virginia's biomedical engineering program drew me in through its sheer dedication to integrating undergraduate research and design in both engineering and medicine, but after I chanced upon a collection of posters about discoveries made by the department, I knew I had to be part of a future team. The name of this series of posters?
"Eureka!"
(299 words)
(276 words)
[ prompt 2 ]
Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 250 words:
Discuss something you secretly like but pretend not to, or vice versa.
My mother pulls up into the Home Depot parking lot, and I shudder at the disproportionate number of heavy-duty trucks in the spaces around me. I feel as if I'm entering an alternate dimension reeking of elbow grease, whereas my natural universe revolves around dainty watercolor brushes.
Trudging past the automatic doors, I drag my shoes on the slate-gray concrete floors while my mother urges me to walk faster. As a proud member of the female gender, I should turn up my nose at the endless rows of hardware, gag at the atmosphere of unfettered virility, and run screaming in the opposite direction, but something about Home Depot fascinates me.
It's beautiful.
Even out of my comfort zone, I tend to view the world around me as an artist. Home Depot serves as an unlikely muse, stocked with vast arrays of forms and surfaces. As we pass doorknobs and two-by-fours, I consider how to capture textures of metal and wood in graphite on paper. Walking past a display of paint cards, I quickly slip a few swatches of color into my pocket to paste in my sketchbook later for inspiration. I may not show any love for Home Depot's wares, but I still secretly appreciate the everyday beauty hidden behind its rugged veneer.
(213 words)
I'd be happy to read over your essays in return, although I'll be leaving my computer now for a bit. Thank you!