Please tell us more about your cultural background and identity in the space below (100 word limit). If you need more than 100 words, please use the Optional section on Part 2. My father moved to New York from Taiwan in 1969 at 15 years old. My mother was born in Maine and both her parents are from French heritage. While I'm Chinese-American, I look predominantly white. As a result, I'm able to gain insightful perspectives on racial privilege and prejudice in teen culture. Growing...

11a) We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. As I clicked "End Turn" it hit me: there must be an algorithm for this. I saw the intersection of statistics and this strategic computer game. Immediately I opened a text file and began typing. I was programming a bot, and I was going to see how well I could...

11b) Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? Tenth grade chemistry blew my mind. The notion that the Universe's infinite types of matter all consist of the same elementary particles both boggles my mind and excites my drive for discovery. In September I accompanied course 10 students to the neurology lab at MIT. I was captivated not only by transparent brains and 3D rendering techniques,...

12a) What attribute of your personality are you most proud of, and how has it impacted your life so far? This could be your creativity, effective leadership, sense of humor, integrity, or anything else you’d like to tell us about. As a child I was notoriously stubborn. Whether refusing to share my Legos with my brother, wanting to play Yu-Gi-Oh with friends before my homework was done, or wanting dessert before dinner, I'd always fight to get my way....

12b) Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? When we were six years old, my twin and I devised a masterful plan. One of us called our mom into the living room and away from the kitchen. While she was distracted, the other ran in and grab the snacks. I grew up with a partner and teammate. We didn't just learn to...

12c) Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? In eighth grade, I found myself six thousand miles from home in a strange classroom filled with rows of students and a teacher I could barely understand. Not long after arriving to Beijing as part of an exchange program, I realized that the Mandarin spoken there was different from the Mandarin I'd learned;...

I don't have very many extracurricular activities. I have piano, which I do recreationally and Crew, which I do religiously. I'd say find something...