When asked about their summer vacations, many students would respond with stories of sunbathing on beaches, air-conditioned internships, or touring Europe, but certainly none of my friends would say that they waged a brutal war against the land. My summer was a struggle, a merciless battle up heartbreaking hills, through stifling heat waves, weeks of stiff headwinds, and over thousands of miles of roads. Along the way, many people asked why I was riding a bicycle from the Pacific Ocean...

Question: Academic areas of interest and reasons for applying to Brown I am applying to Brown because it offers excellent academics and tremendous flexibility to take the classes that most appeal to me. During my visit to Brown, I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the professors and students, and I would love to work and learn with them. I believe that I have the ability in math and science to solve problems, produce new ideas, and contribute to...

Question: How did you become interested in Brown? Before starting my college search, I knew that Brown is renowned for offering an exceptional liberal arts education with a strong engineering program. To find out more, I contacted Professor Rick Fleeter, who graduated from Brown, teaches at Brown, and is a long time family friend, in the hope that he could show me why he loves Brown so much. He treated me to an excellent day at Brown. I had the...

Question: What academic experience, class, project, or book that has influenced or inspired you? For my first major physics lab report this year, my partner and I decided to explore the effects of changing cadence of an engine on its overall efficiency. This topic has many practical and immediate applications, and our challenge was to find a relatively simple way for cars to achieve drastically better fuel economy. We discovered that at an extremely high or low cadence, efficiency can...

Question: Many applicants to college are unsure about eventual majors. What factors led you to an interest in Engineering as a major in college? Scientific inquiry has always been something that I have enjoyed and treasured. My grandfather is a research chemist, and some of my fondest childhood memories are of exploding milk cartons and building electrical circuits with him in his garage. Later in physics class, I learned how scientific laws affect everyday life. Exploding a milk carton with...

Why Engineering? Scientific inquiry has always been something that I have enjoyed and treasured. My grandfather is a research chemist, and some of my fondest childhood memories are of exploding milk cartons and building electrical circuits with him in his garage. Later in physics class, I learned how scientific laws affect everyday life. Exploding a milk carton with my grandfather now means a ballet of chemical reactions and energy, not just loud bangs and fire. A simple activity like flying...