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Prompt: Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging.
On a free Sunday evening, surfing the internet seemed boring to me. Wondering what I should do, I eventually decided to keep my mind busy by solving math problems. The first problem I got seemed interesting, but I was unsure of how I should begin tackling it. Randomly, I picked a theorem to use. I was worried whether it would be a waste of time trying out the theorem on the problem, but as I reminded myself of my maths teacher's words, "The top mathematicians are never afraid to take risks", I started working on the problem.
A couple of minutes later, I ended up in a dead end. Feeling deceived, I felt like quitting, but I kept my calm. Not afraid to try out another method, I tried again. This time, though, I saw the problem develop, as if I saw light in a dark cave. In joy, I kept continuing with the method until I felt something hard hit my head. It was another dead end. Frustration levels were at peak. All I wanted was time to stabilize my mind. I left the problem for now, but I couldn't really stop thinking about it, even during my sleep.
A couple of days later, I restarted. In search for a solution, I used another theorem. At long last, the answer was within sight. It felt as if I had just completed the difficult parts of my hike up Mount Everest, as if I had just discovered the source of a major epidemic. My jigsaw puzzle was almost complete. As I continued to analyze the question even further, I finally found the answer.
At a university where most students are not afraid to take risks, I hope to learn maths without boundaries of the syllabus, and participate in mathematical Olympiads and contests to sustain my long term interest in math problem solving.
This is a real first draft, because I didn't proofread in detail, so please accept any obvious mistakes. :)
Prompt: Stanford students are widely known to possess a sense of intellectual vitality. Tell us about an idea or an experience you have had that you find intellectually engaging.
On a free Sunday evening, surfing the internet seemed boring to me. Wondering what I should do, I eventually decided to keep my mind busy by solving math problems. The first problem I got seemed interesting, but I was unsure of how I should begin tackling it. Randomly, I picked a theorem to use. I was worried whether it would be a waste of time trying out the theorem on the problem, but as I reminded myself of my maths teacher's words, "The top mathematicians are never afraid to take risks", I started working on the problem.
A couple of minutes later, I ended up in a dead end. Feeling deceived, I felt like quitting, but I kept my calm. Not afraid to try out another method, I tried again. This time, though, I saw the problem develop, as if I saw light in a dark cave. In joy, I kept continuing with the method until I felt something hard hit my head. It was another dead end. Frustration levels were at peak. All I wanted was time to stabilize my mind. I left the problem for now, but I couldn't really stop thinking about it, even during my sleep.
A couple of days later, I restarted. In search for a solution, I used another theorem. At long last, the answer was within sight. It felt as if I had just completed the difficult parts of my hike up Mount Everest, as if I had just discovered the source of a major epidemic. My jigsaw puzzle was almost complete. As I continued to analyze the question even further, I finally found the answer.
At a university where most students are not afraid to take risks, I hope to learn maths without boundaries of the syllabus, and participate in mathematical Olympiads and contests to sustain my long term interest in math problem solving.
This is a real first draft, because I didn't proofread in detail, so please accept any obvious mistakes. :)
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