College Admissions Essay

The position of honors is a much valued and highly respected position in which only a select few are chosen for its place. I myself believe that I am a suitable candidate for such a position given the type of person that I am as well as my personal experiences through business.

I am a southern bred leader, pursuer, and helper whos mission is to spread peace, love, unity, and respect among many to create a world of cheerfulness and brotherhood. I am Austin William Carricoand this is my story. All my life I have lived in the small town of Crestview and grew up among the wilderness along with its inhabitants. As the town grew exponentially into a vast city, my heart, my mind, and my soul grew with it, learning the ways to help others and slowly turning from a boy to the young man I am today. I now attend Collegiate High School continuing my journey at the ripe age of fifteen, still promoting peace as a mission for others even when I left my former school, Niceville High.

If someone asked me where I am going to be in ten years, this would be my answer. I will have a great, high-paying job, and beautiful wife and family, and a nice sports car parked in front of my lovely house. When I look into the future, I see myself being successful and happy. Even though I always pictured myself this way, I never worried too much about how I would get there. I feel the Suffolk University can lay the groundwork for making these dreams into reality.

As an avid believer in pushing oneself, both my academic and extra-curricular activities have prepared me for the intense rigor of pursuing a career in Foreign Relations. Throughout my high school experience I have pushed myself to become a better student so I can become successful and fulfill my dreams. The knowledge that my high school activities have imparted me with will transcend my future at the University of Texas at Austin, molding well to situations outside of the merely academic. Academically, I have been enrolled in many AP courses which have held me to a high standard of excellence, both allowing me to absorb valuable information lost in less rigorous classes, as well as inspiring me to become a better student.

“The things you are passionate about are not random; they are your calling.” Finding your calling can be a lifelong journey. I was fortunate enough to find mine at eighteen. My dream is to one day have my own makeup line and this will be made possible by attaining a degree in chemistry from the University of St. Thomas. I plan to participate in studying abroad programs and summer research to gain a deeper understanding of chemistry, and to do this at the school I know deep down in my heart is where I am meant to be is a blessing.

I am a student at Southern University at New Orleans and I major in criminal justice and pursing a minor in psychology, but have more of a stronger preference in psychology. In my years as an undergrad student, like most, I often found myself pondering on the notion of who I am and what’s my passion. After doing research and taking the required psychology courses, I discovered that not only am I curious about the human mind and behavior characteristics, but I have a sense to want to help people in times of distress. Living in the world that we live in today, makes me realize how much help our society needs. Far too many people are suffering from mental health and psychological issues, and are not receiving the treatments that they need.

Academics had always been an important subject matter for me, even early on in my life. I was taught the importance of education and its necessity in order to achieve my future ambitions. Knowing my general field of interest before beginning high school allowed me to have a target to aim towards by selecting and focusing on classes that would lead me to my goals. Taking advanced courses and electing those pertaining to engineering, my field of study, contribute to my pursuit of success in college. Classes such as higher level mathematics, AP Calculus BC, and my third year elective, Computer Science III, both give me strong foundations and a head start in subjects that are critical towards my career in software engineering.

I have a GPA of 18.5 on a 20.0 scale, which means I am a part of the honour roll, and it is unweighted. This is an opportunity for me to expose ideas that I have to help youth, which is something that I'm very interested in; develop potential leadership skills, amongst others; interact with teens and gain a better understanding of not only the realities of my country but of other countries also. It is also of interest to me because of my academic path, I am currently considering choosing International Relations as my college course

At present, my life is the same as the life that wants to live. Studying in the U.S. is one of my goals and a first step toward my dream. However, I struggled to escape from the gap between ideal and reality. When I was high school student, I had a great longing for a certain university in Japan. The university is one of the most famous in Japan.

Education has always been emphasized by parents. After all, they survived the Khmer Rouge, the Cambodian Genocide in the 1960’s. They were robbed of their early adult years, when they were high school students and could have become college students. As a child, I had already inherited the message that the offspring are, implicitly or directly expected, to succeed in whatever the parents’ unfulfilled accomplishments are. I still remember when they old me, “The only thing that no one ever can steal from you is education” and this had a profound effect on me to this day. But I also knew that this was a caveat. Like most parents, my parents believed that education was a product of school. So although they believed in the power of education, they encourage academics, considering that was all they know. For me, these two words have never been synonyms.

I personally decided to study here in the United States because I wanted to discover a new culture, new ways of learning, but most importantly, to study what I truly love and want to do in the future. Thus, I am about to do everything to pursue my goal and graduate; in fact, it is my motivation that keeps me going forward and helps me stay focused. I see myself as a student who gives her whole to achieve what’s on her mind, and who is determined to finish what has been started. Getting a scholarship would without a doubt enable me to reach this goal faster on one hand, and on the other hand, reach it cheaper. Indeed, I’d be able to take more classes per semester which can abbreviate my total years of college studies, yet earning as much knowledge.

As a senior student in the double major program in Electrical-Electronics Engineering and Physics at Bogazici University, I am applying for a PhD ECE degree at the University of Maryland, College Park with an emphasis in Signal Processing and Communications. My main motivation behind the application for a PhD ECE degree is that I would like to become a professor in the area which I intend to study. I expect to graduate in June 2016 with a Bachelor’s of Science degrees in both Physics and Electrical-Electronics Engineering with a specialization option in Communication Systems. I am proud to say that I am ranked among the best students in both of the departments.

Moreover, I like to acquire new knowledge. My desire for learning is tremendous. I have learned languages such as English, Chinese, and Spanish. Learning English aroused enough interest for me to go to the U.S. I had an opportunity to be a foreign Exchange Student by Ayusa Program for a year, which led me to develop myself in many aspects. It got rid of a fear for challenges and gave me confidence in myself.

I spent my childhood in the U.S. for about 8 years due to my father's job, and have experienced what it is like to start a new life at a completely new environment. To be honest, every day was full of worries and anxiety. Of course my family was whom I would turn to when I needed help, but it was my friends that helped me get over those situations. Thanks to them, I was able to overcome my worries and spend an unforgettable time in the U.S. Just like I was facing anxiety back then, I feel that the exchange students are in the same circumstance. When I heard about this buddy program, I decided to apply for it because I sincerely want to help the exchange program students out just like my friends helped me out and make their stay at Keio university

First, I consider my academic background to be indicative that I am a strong candidate for this internship program. I have taken many difficult classes at Macalester, including Organic Chemistry and various biology courses, and yet have maintained almost a 4.0 GPA. However, I realize that grades are not the only mark of whether one is prepared for a research program; I also have a passion for biology and desire to learn that further strengthens my case. Although I am a Biology major, considering focusing on microbiology or immunology, environmental health is very important for both of those fields, as biology and environmental studies go hand in hand with one another in many ways. For example, changes in the environment or exposures to certain substances can alter the microbial ecology of an area, or can lead to more diseases that might affect one’s immune system.