Two broken brushes and an empty spray bottle of water later, I am left with a less than curly, more than straight, brown mane. I turn to my mom’s drawer of worn-away labels of mostly expired, nearly empty bottles of ancient hair products. I conclude that a concoction of “Smoothing Serum,” “3 Minute Miracle Straight,” and a hodgepodge of other nameless formulas will do the trick. I pour the array of styling formulas into an empty bottle and immediately become...

After researching potential college majors, I decided to pursue engineering with a focus on the more creative and human side. While I love math and science, creativity and human interaction are very important to me. When I attended the Northwestern McCormick School of Engineering information session, Dean Holtgreive talked about the Design Thinking and Communication class; it sounded exactly like the course of study I want to pursue. I then visited the McCormick website to learn about the different programs...

I’m planning on pursuing a degree in industrial and design engineering. I believe it best combines my abilities in math and science with a collaborative, creative process and an opportunity to effect social change. I would also like to to supplement this with a focus on design and human factors to amplify the creative and human components. I think this combination will prepare me to do what I want to do with my life. As I researched programs, I...

The one activity that I would continue doing is Mission:Citizen. After teaching my first class I emailed the executive director asking how I could become more involved. Since that class I have been a class leader, a member of a grant writing group, a cinematographer, co-director of a promotional video, and co-chair of the curriculum overhaul committee. After the first class, a student approached me. He had moved from Turkey forty years ago to escape political violence and has...

There are two approaches that one can take when involved in a group like the Lincoln Constitution Team. The first is joining to add it to the activities list on one’s resume. The second is the approach that I took; joining to learn and to be a part of a group that accomplishes an important goal. During the time that I was on the team, I learned about the US Constitution and government, specific laws, court cases around the...

I'm planning on pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering with a focus on product design. I believe it best combines my abilities in math and science with a collaborative, creative process and an opportunity to effect social change. As I researched programs, I looked for schools with a focus on human centered engineering that makes a significant impact on society. I find BU’s focus on “Societal Engineering” and its interdisciplinary approach to teaching particularly attractive. Facilities like EPIC and...

Buzzfeed Life acts as a souvenir shop for the creative. It never fails to provide lists of unnecessary and dumbfoundingly useless DIY projects and gadgets. Buzzfeed Life provides an outlet for creative desires. I’ve only made three or four of the DIY projects and purchased one of the “must have” innovations, but my time spent on the subset of Buzzfeed is no less valuable. I don’t see a “Sticky Note Piggy Bank Storage Container” as something I want,...

I'm planning on pursuing a degree in industrial and systems design engineering. I believe it best combines my abilities in math and science with a collaborative, creative process and an opportunity to effect social change. As I researched programs, I looked for schools with a focus on human-centered engineering that would significantly impact society. Viterbi’s emphasis on innovation and collaboration provides the perfect platform to follow this path. The Viterbi Startup Garage as well as the Digital Imagination Studios...

After teaching my first class for Mission: Citizen, I asked how I could become more involved. Since that class I have been a class leader, a member of a grant writing group, a cinematographer, co-director of a promotional video, and co-chair of the curriculum overhaul committee. I didn’t really understand why I was so affected by teaching until I began filming a promotional video for the program. “What does it mean to be a US citizen?” I press record...

Our society’s Achilles’ heel is the conflict between individual rights and service to the needs of society as a whole. These two philosophies, also known as natural rights and classical republicanism, are what our society was founded upon. Natural rights adherents believe that government should not infringe on the rights of individuals. Individual rights include the right to life, liberty and property. Classical republicanism focuses on service to the whole, civic virtue, to benefit the common good. The two...

I have three main pieces of advice that I think helped me significantly: 1. Don't answer the questions how you think admissions officers want you to answer them. Don's talk about how you went on a volunteer trip and helped children and it changed you. Talk about the tiny anecdote of the trip that you will forever remember. Your personal essay and supplements are about you and the admission officers want to learn about you. They don't want to read the...

There is huge grade...

Approach teachers your...

Reach out to your principal about getting them to...

I used a private admissions counselor...

Show interest! Go to every event your school hosts in...

Go onto the school's website and find specific classes, clubs, study abroad...

I am not a person who thrives in interviews because I get super anxious,...

I have always been very creative and pretty good at math and science, but I did not want to do a hard science...

I love that Northwestern in in a big...

When I toured several schools the summer before my senior year I created a scoring system. This included things...