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'Student's freedom to own curriculum' - Duke Supplement: Why Trinity College?



yuanyuan3045 6 / 23  
Dec 28, 2011   #1
If you are applying to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular at Duke that attracts you? Please limit your response to one or two paragraphs.

o be honest, when my uncle first mentioned Duke University to me in my sophomore year, I had not given it much thought then. An Exploring College Options conference changed all that. I was invited in email to the program in downtown Los Angeles in October of my junior year, and I have been interested in Duke since. U Penn, "a Benjamin Franklin themed park (the admission officer's words, not mine)" did not appeal to me; Duke alone captured most of my interest. As I sipped my complimentary Starbucks coffee and assessed my competition, the representative admission officer introduced his presentation: "Last year, Duke fully funded an undergraduate to the World Cup in Africa because he wanted 'to study the effect the world soccer championship had on international relations.' True Story." To me, this conveyed a lot. The degree of intellectual freedom and encouragement for creativity supported by Duke is remarkable, and exactly what I am seeking: a chance for young minds to design their own education and study the matters important to them. I'm excited to jump into the myriad of opportunities available to me at Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Science and take advantage of its double major and minor programs (Psychology, Neuroscience, Economics and perhaps French Studies). The problem at Duke is not the lack of research programs, fields of studies or award-winning faculties, but too many options for one to hope to absorb them all.

I'm interested in Duke not only because of its prestigious national ranking, its stunning Gothic architecture, or its low faculty-to-student ratio, although those are a given. I'm interested in Duke because of the freedom it gives students to design their own curriculum, exemplified by the fact that at Trinity College of Arts and Science, the only requirement for freshmen is a Writing 20 course and a First-Year Seminar. Finally! A chance to learn what I want and everything I want. I can't wait to join the InCubers and start on my entrepreneurship as well as take advantage of the DukeEngage program to expose myself to the outside world and learn new languages and cultures alongside my education. Not to mention that the general education requirements is both definitive and liberal, with broad guidelines set up for five areas of knowledge, but ultimately leaves the students to decide the courses they want to pursue. I love that the Trinity College do not simply feed its students textbook material but challenges students to approach and analyze life from a global perspective with its Modes of Inquiry. Duke fosters a curious breed of intellectuals and what attracts me most at Duke's Trinity College of Arts and Science is a chance to explore, everything.

Any suggestions , ANY is welcome and greatly appreciated.

sarahbee 1 / 49  
Dec 28, 2011   #2
It's very good. my only suggestion would be not to use abbreviations ( e.g. U Penn --> University of Pennsylvania )
Strawberry78 4 / 51  
Dec 28, 2011   #3
Try not to mention UPenn directly. Try saying The other colleges at the conference did not grasp my interest like Duke did. Also take out True Story." To me, this conveyed a lot. Its is repetitive. Change and exactly what I am seeking to and this is exactly what I am seeking. Take out the first sentence of your second paragraph. Its generic unless you can incorporate why those things are important to you.

(Trinity College does not simply.) To the closing of your essay you do not directly mention why those things are important to you. Try to incorporate why they are mention-able qualities of Trinity College. Overall it is good.
deremifri 9 / 135  
Dec 28, 2011   #4
you mention several times that you like the freedom and you want to learn. it gets a little repetitive.
The paragraphs should be linked.
singh955 7 / 35  
Dec 28, 2011   #5
Your use of examples is really good. I think your essay is also very well written.
OP yuanyuan3045 6 / 23  
Dec 28, 2011   #6
Thank you everyone for your comments, I will make changes as suggested.


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