Like reading the first few pages of a new book, walking into my apartment in the United States for the first time at eight years old felt disorienting. Little did I know, I would continue to feel perplexed and out of place for the next nine years. This displacement presented itself in many forms: my self-identity, how others perceived me, and the way I was expected to behave. As an immigrant, choosing to abide by traditional values seemed like a...

New York University has been at the forefront of my mind since I was in middle school. The combination of an extended network and the city of New York grants endless opportunity to NYU students. When I went on the New York University tour last summer, my interest was confirmed through a cliche moment of feeling “at home." My tour guide was named Jessica. She was the epitome of what I imagine an NYU student to be. She was born...

Like the Ancient Greek sphinx’s riddle: what child listens to the oldies in the morning of his childhood, classic rock in the afternoon, and classical music in the evening? The answer to this riddle is me. Music is a constant that has followed me throughout my life. When melancholic, music is there to soothe me, and when jovial, music brings my emotion to life. Every object has a sound to it, and music is the sound of my life. ...

Arabic: a language of depth, richness, and grace. Human trafficking: a language of hatred. A mixture of these “languages” pushes me towards leading a career in International Studies. From a combination of my seeking an avenue to improve lives and globalization becoming increasingly distinct, majoring in International Studies allows me to explore fields of social reform that suit my desires. From the day I was born, I was introduced to Arabic’s fluid melodic nature and the outgoing culture of...

What aspect of the Columbia community, outside of the classroom, would you most want to impact and why? (150 words or less) I am originally from Egypt, and very much understand the difficulties of coming to a new country and feeling alienated as well as having difficulties assimilating to a new culture, so when the Syrian refugee crisis occurred and I found out that many refugees lived nearby, I took the opportunity and co-founded a nonprofit organization to assist them. At...

List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less) The Kite Runner The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian Outliers David and Goliath Invisible Man Lolita The Eighth Day A Thousand Splendid Suns The Wasted Vigil The Sirens of Titan The Tao of Pooh

List the titles of the print, electronic publications and websites you read regularly. (150 words or less) The New Yorker Muslim Girl Quora The Huffington Post Reddit The Washington Post NPR CNN Buzzfeed Politico The Wall Street Journal Al Jazeera BBC News Reuters The Guadian

List the titles of the films, concerts, shows, exhibits, lectures and other entertainments you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less) Films: Barry, The Imitation Game, Southside with You, Neruda, Loving, Steve Jobs, Spectre, Furious 7 Shows: Head to Head, How I Met Your Mother, Dexter, Saturday Night Live, Friends Youtube Channels: Peace House, Buzzfeed, AJ+ TEDx Talks: My Body Belongs to Me, Religion, Spirituality, and Ethics, What Really Matters at the End of Life, The Art of Misdirection,...

As a first generation student, finding role models in regards to academia was challenging because the only life most of my relatives knew was that of working after high school. Moreover, in my culture and family in particular, women were often married off at a young age and did not have the opportunity to pursue an education. The only female family members to have pursued post secondary education were my two eldest cousins, both Columbia University graduates. Growing up, I...

Recommendation letters play a crucial role in your application and are a great opportunity to show the admission counselors a different side of you that may not have been transparent in your short answers/personal statement. Personally, I...

Making use of your summers shows that you like to take initiative and that you don't expect everything to be handed to you. I couldn't always afford those summer programs offered by different universities, but...

Applying to college as a first-generation student is by far one of the hardest things I've ever gone through, and at some points, I considered giving up because I simply did not know how to fill out m FAFSA, I didn't know how to write a personal statement, and I definitely wasn't aware of colleges having different deadlines. It...

A majority of my friends applied to their schools Early Decision and were able to hear back very early on in the year which gave me anxiety because here I was...

A majority of schools offer scholarships if you apply by a certain deadline and I am really...