For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. (300 words or less)
[Non English speaker, any grammatical suggestion would be great]
As an introvert, I always needed something to be obsessed with. But all of those obsessions fainted with time, with just one exception. From my childhood I loved mathematics. I loved how both abstract and rigorously structured it is. I couldn't think anything but to be a mathematician. I studied anything I could find and in 2007 I finished learning all grade 12 level mathematics. But then, suddenly I ground to a halt as I didn't know what to do next. None of my parents attended college, nor did I have any teacher, so I had no one to help me. I couldn't bear the idea that it was a dead end. But then, in 2008, something happened that changed everything, I came to know about Mathematical Olympiad. I participated in the National Mathematical Olympiad that year and somehow, became the national champion. That gave me the opportunity to be the youngest member of the national mathematical training camp that summer. That camp was the best experience I've ever had in my life, those two weeks were more than magical. It was so exiting to meet so many kids who shared the same interest as me. Also, we had some finest trainers to introduce us to various beautiful branches of modern mathematics. I was so surprised (and maybe happy too) to find that most of the mathematics I knew so far were invented ~2000 years ago except for calculus and probability theory, even which are 200-300 years old. I learned so many things in that camp, but most importantly, I knew that was not the end, I knew how to make my transition from simple calculus to complex analysis, group theory or topology. That camp helped me to understand how much I want to be a mathematician, more than ever.
[Non English speaker, any grammatical suggestion would be great]
As an introvert, I always needed something to be obsessed with. But all of those obsessions fainted with time, with just one exception. From my childhood I loved mathematics. I loved how both abstract and rigorously structured it is. I couldn't think anything but to be a mathematician. I studied anything I could find and in 2007 I finished learning all grade 12 level mathematics. But then, suddenly I ground to a halt as I didn't know what to do next. None of my parents attended college, nor did I have any teacher, so I had no one to help me. I couldn't bear the idea that it was a dead end. But then, in 2008, something happened that changed everything, I came to know about Mathematical Olympiad. I participated in the National Mathematical Olympiad that year and somehow, became the national champion. That gave me the opportunity to be the youngest member of the national mathematical training camp that summer. That camp was the best experience I've ever had in my life, those two weeks were more than magical. It was so exiting to meet so many kids who shared the same interest as me. Also, we had some finest trainers to introduce us to various beautiful branches of modern mathematics. I was so surprised (and maybe happy too) to find that most of the mathematics I knew so far were invented ~2000 years ago except for calculus and probability theory, even which are 200-300 years old. I learned so many things in that camp, but most importantly, I knew that was not the end, I knew how to make my transition from simple calculus to complex analysis, group theory or topology. That camp helped me to understand how much I want to be a mathematician, more than ever.
