'I always wanted to be someone else' - WHY NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (ABU DHABI/SHANGHAI)

I always wanted to be someone else. I want to be Indian, I want to be Chinese, how come we are not American? I wish I were Nigerian. Phrases and questions that sparked in my head each time I learnt something new about a new country either from the internet or from watching or from reading articles from magazines or from watching documentaries. These findings made me want to be a part of these countries and has beseeched me find out more about them. Not only did I want to learn about them and their culture but also I wanted to experience it for myself. Unfortunately I have not been able to tour the world to have such first hand experience and will be impossible but not improbable to achieve such a feat.

I really love the idea of a being in a diverse environment where everyone is a maverick in terms of how he or she goes about his or her activity. One day in high school the light bulb above my head lit up. Why do I not create my own diverse culture in the school?. So being the Ghana United Nations Student Association President in my school, my team and I organized culture day where students wore attires from their native background and demonstrated how and why they did things in their culture. I myself learnt some values from the cultures of most people which I still keep with me today. Allowing people to show their background and culture differences gave me a joy that was indelible. But no matter how beneficial this programme it was so sad that something as such would only last 24 hours. But I wanted more. After high school I worked as an intern at Sunon Asogli Energy Company - mostly run by Chinese.

There I also had a feel of what Chinese work system was all about - they work with the system of hierarchy. They also seemed happy that a local was so interested in how they carried out their work. But that didn't last long also because their workplace allows an intern no more than 3 weeks when he or she is not coming from a University. This is why I choose NYU Abu Dhabi which has a diverse selectivity of students and picks students from over fifty countries. This cosmopolitan environment will help me draw ideas that are eclectic and will help me appreciate other cultures I have never come in contact with. My appreciation for the liberal arts system in NYU Abu Dhabi will help me explore other disciplines.

Samuel, your essay rambles on for so long without offering any solid reason for your choice if NYU either in Abu Dhabi or Shanghai. The mention at the very end of the essay of highly superficial reasons does not qualify as a thorough discussion that justifies your reason for opting to enroll at this university. The reasons you opt to apply for the university should not be based upon a description of your current school activities. That is not what is being asked by the prompt. You need to revise your essay in order to deliver the expected reasons for your choice of school.

Diversity is a good reason for opting for a university. However, it should not be based upon your UN model nations experience but rather, the true college setting of the school. You can opt to discuss how you are interested in attending an international school because of your desire to experience as much of the world culture and traditions in a single setting for starters.

Then you can move on to the educational opportunities that studying in one of the branches of the university can offer you. Be it in terms of allowing you to experience a culture or tradition different from your own, or the unique curriculum that the branch offers, which is not the same as what is offered at the NYU main campus.

The reasons for your interest in the school need to tie in directly with the school. Do not dwell on your personal questions or your participation in high school activities. If it does not relate directly to the prompt, then you should not include it so that the reviewer's focus will not be distracted from the related information that you may be presenting.