Arvind
Arvind,
Brown
B.S., Computer Science
Student @ Brown with a passion for tech and entrepreneurship
Features Included
26
Essays
12
Schools
12
Scores
11
Advice
5
ECs
1
Sports

Background

Hometown Franklin, Massachusetts
GenderMale
EthnicityAsian
Class of2024
First Gen College StudentNo

Results, Essays, and Advice

Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
  • Brown University (Providence, RI)
  • Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)
  • Tufts University (Medford, MA)
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
  • Columbia University (New York, NY)
  • Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
  • Yale University (New Haven, CT)
  • Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
  • New York University (New York, NY)
  • Boston University (Boston, MA)
  • Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.

Brown University (Providence, RI)

Applied for a B.S. in Computer Science

Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: No

School Specific Essays

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
I inhale deeply and blow harder than I thought possible, pushing the tiny ember from its resting place on the candle out into the air. The room erupts around me, and "Happy Birthday!" cheers echo through the halls. It's time to make a wish. In my mind, that new Limited Edition Deluxe Ben 10 watch will soon be mine. My parents and the aunties and uncles around me attempt to point me in a different direction. "Wish that you get to...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
253 Words
Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about an academic interest (or interests) that excites you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue it. (250 words)



Ever since I first held a small foam Spiderman basketball in my tiny hands and watched my idol Kobe Bryant hit every three-pointer he attempted, I've wanted to understand and replicate his flawless jump shot. As my math education progressed in school, I began to realize I had the tools to create a perfect shot formula. After learning about variables for the first time in 5th grade Algebra, I began to treat each aspect of Kobe's jump shot as a...
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Supplemental Essay: Diversity statement
253 Words
Tell us about a place or community you call home. How has it shaped your perspective? (250 words)
I've been playing the Mridangam since I was five years old. It's a simple instrument: A wood barrel covered on two ends by goatskin with leather straps surrounding the hull. This instrument serves as a connection between me and one of the most beautiful aspects of my culture: Carnatic music. As a young child, I'd be taken to the temple every weekend for three-hour-long Carnatic music concerts, where the most accomplished teenagers and young adults in our local Indian community...
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Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
305 Words
Tell us about something that really sparks your intellectual interest and curiosity and compels you to explore more in the program/area of study that you indicated. It could be an idea, book, project, cultural activity, work of art, start-up, music, movie, research, innovation, question, or other pursuit.
Ever since I first held a small foam Spiderman basketball in my tiny hands and watched my idol Kobe Bryant hit every three-pointer he attempted, I’ve wanted to understand and replicate his flawless jump shot. As my math education progressed in school, I began to realize I had the tools to create a perfect shot formula. After learning about variables for the first time in 5th grade Algebra, I began to treat each aspect of Kobe’s jump shot...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
50 Words
What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit)
It's currently easier than ever to reinforce your opinions through social media or a quick Google search. Relying on a sole source of news, or looking up "cons" instead of "pros and cons" of a policy or ideology, is the difference between experiencing confirmation bias and making informed conclusions.
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
51 Words
What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 word limit)



The live broadcast of the moon landing. The event was the single most impressive feat accomplished to date, with scientists, politicians, and engineers all working side by side to do something previously considered impossible. Regardless of race, gender, or any other identity, we were all united as humans in awe.
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
8 Words
What five words best describe you?
“I want the fairy tale” - Pretty Woman, 1990.
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
51 Words
When the choice is yours, what do you read, listen to, or watch? (50 word limit)
Whenever a new episode of my favorite podcast Hidden Brain is released, I instantly grab a pair of headphones and head outside. While dribbling a basketball, I listen to the rustling of the leaves above in one ear, and jump headfirst into the world of uncommon ideas in the other.
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
252 Words
Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – get to know you better.
What's good, my guy? One quick fact that you should definitely know ahead of time is that if you see me jump out of bed and starting fervently typing on my laptop in the middle of the night, do NOT call 911. I swear I'm not trying to hack the NSA or anything, I just have random business ideas pop into my head all the time and love to keep track of them by writing them down. Here's what you'll quickly...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
239 Words
Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.
At USC, I plan to explore the intersection between Computer Science and Economics, with a focus on Business. I’m excited to take advantage of the robust opportunities offered by the Economics Leadership Council unique to USC. I see myself attending lectures of USC professors and abundant speaker sessions arranged by the council. USC’s mission of creating supporting global individuals deeply resounds with me, which is why I’d be excited to explore the Economics Study Abroad opportunities, interacting...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
254 Words
While the world as a whole may be more technologically advanced than ever before, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has outlined 14 Grand Challenges that engineers should focus on to improve life on the planet. Learn about the Grand Challenges at www.engineeringchallenges.org and tell us which challenge is most important, and why. (250-word limit)



The Grand Challenges outlined by the NAE all have significant ramifications for the future of humanity and the future of the planet. In terms of pure importance, being able to harness energy from nuclear fusion is the single most critical challenge of the ones outlined. Humanity is currently experiencing a phase of technological adolescence, and the development of a sustainable, clean, efficient form of energy that could power the world going forward would lead to a plethora of innovative possibilities....
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
115 Words
List a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community.(150 words or less)*



Accepting of asking questions; Entrepreneurial community tackling real-world problems; Highly motivated students that I can learn from; Exposure to parts of the world I’d not otherwise have access to; Musical; Filled with community-based traditions; The magic of winter and snow; Not assuming current ideas to be gospel; Quirky roommates; Resources devoted to just tinkering; Having enough students so that I can constantly meet new people and be impressed by them; Professors who encourage after-class discussions; Fitness resources; Basketball court;...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
77 Words
List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)
Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon; The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald; Beloved - Toni Morrison; Hamlet - William Shakespeare; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick; The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner; Richard III - William Shakespeare; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave - Frederick Douglass; Their Eyes Were Watching God- Zora Neale Hurston
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
51 Words
List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year.
How Google Works- Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg; The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri; Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News - Kevin Young; Knowledge is Beautiful - David McCandless; A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking; Educated - Tara Westover; The Selfish Gene- Richard Dawkins.
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
275 Words
Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why.
I deeply enjoy involving myself in entrepreneurship. [Redacted]. In order to push for social change myself, I have enrolled in some national and international entrepreneurship competitions. I wanted to use the competitions as a medium to develop my ideas and projects and produce tangible results. In the wake of the Parkland shooting, my partner and I designed and pitched Sentinel- an app concept that provided increased campus security through a mobile format. The following year, after realizing how long we...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
359 Words
Successful students at Johns Hopkins make the biggest impact by collaborating with others, including peers, mentors, and professors. Talk about a time, in or outside the classroom, when you worked with others and what you learned from the experience. (300-400 words)



It wasn't until I interned with [Redacted], an immigration tech startup, that I realized how drastically the decisions made by lawmakers impacted people. [Redacted] aims to simplify the application process for US asylum seekers by translating and contextualizing US Immigration forms into multiple languages. Working with a company that seeks to make asylum applications more accessible, I heard and witnessed the stories of people who were fighting for their lives, and for hope. I remember working with a group of...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
156 Words
Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your application? In short, ‘Why Tufts?’
The Tufts curriculum allows me to explore my different interests while simultaneously teaching me how to approach a problem from all different angles with a well rounded education. I look forward to giving back to Medford and the Boston Area by tackling local problems, from the notorious red line delays through UEP 0294 - Sharing Cities, Smart Cities, to the income inequality present in many nearby neighborhoods through SOC 0013 - Urban Sociology. It’s comforting to know that on weekends if...
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Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
110 Words
Why do these areas appeal to you?
Chosen: Ethics, Politics and Economics / Applied Mathematics / Mathematics and Philosophy It wasn’t until I interned with [Redacted], an immigration tech startup, that I realized how drastically the decisions made by lawmakers impacted people. Working with a company that sought to make asylum applications more accessible, I heard and witnessed the stories of people who were fighting for their lives, and for hope. I also developed an interest in exploring the economics behind policy decisions. I hope to combine mathematics,...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
127 Words
What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?
At Yale, I’m not just looking to make new friends and foster new connections. I’m looking to add to my family. I hope to create bonds that go deeper than friendship, using academics as a platform through which I can meet people who are incredibly different from me yet also share my love of learning. I look forward to grabbing snacks with my new family members in our local buttery, frantically searching for cheap apartments in New Haven...
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Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
51 Words
What inspires you?
Whenever a new episode of my favorite podcast Hidden Brain is released, I instantly grab a pair of headphones and head outside. While dribbling a basketball, I listen to the rustling of the leaves above in one ear, and jump headfirst into the world of uncommon ideas in the other.
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
48 Words
Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask?
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, a name buried in the trenches of NBA history, was the Kaepernick before Kaepernick, one of the first athletes to refuse to stand for the national anthem. I would ask Adbul-Rauf about the parallels between his experience and reactions to similar protests from athletes today.
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
51 Words
Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six people. What do you hope to add to your suitemates' experience? What do you hope they will add to yours?
I plan to be the student who initiates late-night conversations with my suitemates. Whether those conversations are about the myriad of possibilities of the shape of the universe, or freestyle sessions where they rap and I beatbox for them, I hope to be exposed to new perspectives through my peers.
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
401 Words
We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand - Why NYU? (400 words)
Ever since I first held a small foam Spiderman basketball in my tiny hands and watched my idol Kobe Bryant hit every three-pointer he attempted, I’ve wanted to understand and replicate his flawless jump shot. As my math education progressed in school, I began to realize I had the tools to create a perfect shot formula. After learning about variables for the first time in 5th grade Algebra, I began to treat each aspect of Kobe’s jump shot...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
242 Words
What about being a student at Boston University most excites you?
During a STEM Entrepreneurship camp that I attended in the summer of my freshman year, I had the unique opportunity to visit the BUild Lab IDG Capital Student Innovation Center. I was immediately fascinated by the innovative applications of technology that were taking place in the lab. I could see myself tinkering with all the machinery, trying out a variety of ideas and running different simulations for the sake of inventing. I'm someone who loves to explore different interests intensively...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
496 Words
If you could create a new Kilachand course, what would it be? How would your imagined course align with the core values of Kilachand?
The Arvind Kilachand Honors College and I share more than just a name. We share an insistence on asking questions, accepting and engaging in diverse thoughts, and a mission of taking on global challenges. Given the opportunity to teach a class at Kilachand, I would be excited to lead discussions in Entrepreneurship Ethics 101: The Art of Growing and Maintaining a Socially-Conscious Organization. As someone who has always been interested in the interdisciplinary intersection of Business, Psychology, and Economics, I’d...
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Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
561 Words
School can often seem like work: a set of responsibilities, obligations, and tasks to be completed. But Trustee Scholars are creative and curious, rather than merely dutiful. Give us a glimpse of an intellectual pursuit or challenge that absorbs you, gives you joy, or provokes your curiosity, and tell us why. (600 words or less)
“What if I flick my wrist harder to spin the ball more?” CLANK - the ball hits the rim. “What if I adjust my launch angle to make my shot more parabolic?” CLANK. “What if I jump higher by widening my stance to increase my distribution of kinetic energy?” CLANK. Ever since I first held a small foam Spiderman basketball in my tiny hands and watched my idol Kobe Bryant hit every three-pointer he attempted, I’ve wanted to understand...
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School Specific Advice

Why I ultimately chose my school
106 Words
The open curriculum is the name of the game. As somebody interested in CS and business, two often related fields, Brown CS and entrepreneurship programs are incredibly strong, some of the best...
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5 adjectives that describe a typical student at my school (Feel free to elaborate!)
5 Words
Curious, Passionate,...
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How to increase chances at my school
88 Words
I was lucky enough to get the full merit scholarship for USC, but ultimately turned it down in favor of Brown. USC is a fantastic school,...
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How to increase chances at my school
70 Words
I was lucky enough to be awarded the Trustee scholarship at BU, which I declined in favor of Brown. The same...
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How I would describe the wider community surrounding campus
83 Words
I've had the chance to spend a lot of time on college hill and in Providence, and I could not love it more. Providence is...
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More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

General Admissions Advice

How I narrowed down my essay topics
187 Words
I honestly had no idea what to talk about in my essay. Everyone here will give you the advice "Start as early as possible" and while that is true, I want to add to that in saying that the reason for starting earlier is not so that you have a full, completed personal essay 5 months before...
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Recommended summer activities during high school and college
140 Words
You don't need to start a $100,000 startup to make "use of your summers." The trick to this is knowing how to frame what you do in a positive manner. Let's say you don't do any traditional resume-boosting activities in the summer but...
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What set me apart from other applicants
145 Words
I think I had pretty good standardized test scores, but I honestly feel like that didn't play too much of a role in my admissions. Instead, I think what set me apart and got me into some great schools/got me scholarships at good...
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How to deal with the stress of applying to college
159 Words
A lot of people recommend setting time towards college every day, but that really didn't work for me. The fact of the matter is some days I was feeling creative and most days I was not. My advice is to not force yourself to answer questions if you...
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My advice about getting recommenders
154 Words
The first tip is an obvious one, ask early. Like spring of junior year early. Even earlier if you like. The second tip is not as obvious. A lot of people recommend giving your recommender a "Resume" of sorts highlighting your achievements and everything, but to...
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My insights about AP (Advanced Placement) courses and exams
138 Words
AP exams, AP courses, and standardized testing scores as a whole are becoming more and more obsolete in college admissions. I would not recommend stuffing your courseload with AP courses, especially ones that make no sense in the context of your...
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High School Performance

Unweighted GPA
4.00
 
Rank
Top 1%
 
College Classes In High School
Academic Performance in High School Steady

Test Scores

Highest ACT
36
 
ACT Score Details
 
Other ACT Scores
ACT Prep
PSAT Scores

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details10 classes and scores

Sports

SportsBasketball

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesDebate Club/Team, Music: Vocal, Student Council / Government, Tutoring/Mentoring, Other Club/Activity
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work

Experience & Awards

Awards Received

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