I live in Singapore, a highly meritocratic society that places a strong emphasis on academic success. Academic grades are seen as objective measures of a student’s ability and identity; the competitive education system otherwise grants little recognition to success beyond academic performance. In particular, the arts are seen as fields for the “less accomplished” students who do not perform as well in school. In 2007, I was admitted into Raffles Girls’ School (RGS), a prestigious secondary school in Singapore known...

What are the unique qualities of Northwestern – and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying – that make you want to attend the University? In what ways do you hope to take advantage of the qualities you have identified? A few years ago, in my Music Theory class, I learned about the harmonic series – a basic concept in the study of music that essentially explores the multilayered nature of sound produced by a vibrating string. A year later,...