College Admissions Essay: An Engineering Mind

Seconds gave birth to minutes and minutes to hours, yet my concentration remained resolute. Despite the daunting nature of the task, I remained determined in what I had to achieve. For the first time applying some rudimentary scientific ideas I managed to build an intricate model of a toy car. “You shall grow up to become an Engineer one day,” my father exclaimed gazing at my laudable piece of creativity. I was only eleven and yet those prophetic words unknowingly chartered my future course for me.

In December 2014, The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education published “Rethinking the Admission Process.” This article was written by Frank DiMaria, who takes a look at the research of the former president of the University of Wyoming, Robert Sternberg. DiMaria explains Sternberg’s stance against the current admissions process. Sternberg has research that depicts, “GPA, standardized tests, and essays do not successfully measure the true talent of a college applicant.” He believes that the policies need to change. Sternberg offers an alternative to the current process. Sternberg has been a part of a new admissions policy testing students not just on their memorization and analytical skills, but on their creative, practical, and wisdom-based skills as well. Sternberg’s ideas stem from his experience with disadvantaged youth and their ability to adapt and overcome obstacles. Sternberg claims that students who grow up in the upper middle class tend to have an environment which better values the analytical skills that the current tests measure. He argues that, because of this, colleges may not be getting the most creative and adaptable students. He shows that some of these less privileged students are capable of handling a college workload even though they may not have been able to score as high on the SAT or other tests. DiMaria believes that through Sternberg’s Kaleidoscope policy may be a solution. The Kaleidoscope way of admissions administers tests which ask open ended

While participating in the robotics competitions, I discovered my passion for robotics. Even after the initial team separated, I continued helping new members, based on my previous experience and new-found knowledge. In the future, I want to continue the legacy my grandmother and mother have given me and continue to strive for excellence, helping my country and the rest of the world by the hand of technology and

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” Albert Einstein, famous physicist, had once said this. It’s true, as when others are producing ideas or creating solutions to things, you in turn start to think of your own. Yet, a lot of the times when I think of this statement, it reminds me of myself and art. In my free time, I love to look at other’s art and see their reasoning behind the picture – and then find myself start drawing the next second, feeling inspired by that particular artists reasoning. Every day if I can, I’ll look at all sorts of works by artists – sculptures, paintings, sometimes even dolls! Weirdly, I find myself always going back to the simple drawings on a paper and then making a few drawings of my own. Thus bringing a

As a member of Madison West Rocketry, I participated in two main competitions. The first was the Team America Rocketry Challenge, where teams must build a rocket that flies to 800 feet within 42-45 seconds and safely returns an egg to the ground. My team placed 32nd out of more than 700 teams across the nation. The second was the NASA Student Launch program, where teams must build a rocket around a science or engineering payload, safely fly to a one-mile altitude, and write and present several pieces of design documentation. Last year our project centered on the effects of extreme gravitational on plants, while this year we are building a smart-lander device that adjusts our rocket’s descent rate based on live image analysis of the ground

I've been interested in technological things for as long as I can remember. Not things like the new iPhone or The Apple Watch, but things like coding and programming. It's crazy how you can type in a seemingly meaningless jumbles of letters and symbols and what comes out is something beautiful. During the summer of 7th grade, I took a robotics class, and we went to visit the Cedar Falls High School's First Robotics club, and see the facility that they worked in. I was the only girl that took the class, and I think I was the most intrigued with the inner workings of the club and everything that went into building that robot. Ever since that day, I've always dreamed of being the girl outsmarting all the boys on my robotics team, showing my intelligence

Once I have my degrees in my hand then the fun begins, by thinking where this career and knowledge can really take me. If everything goes according to plan by the year 2020 I will be a graduated software engineer, then what? That’s the question that I hear constantly from friends and family members. As of right now I have a plan in mind, once graduated I’m planning to get a temporary job in any software developing firm, or any company hiring for software engineers, the good thing is that there are thousands of jobs for this position but not enough people with the knowledge. So I think that finding my first job will be the easiest part. Once I find the job, the savings begin, being a salesman for 4 years and taking home roughly $60,000 a year on a good year gave me a good advantage.

Although the programs were not easy, I could let loose and let my imagination in addition to my creativity take control of myself. Throughout my high school years, I have gone through some challenges such as depression among others, but they were never the types of challenges that I was provoked by until it came to the task being computer science. Computer science caused me to struggle while enjoying it at the same time; Subsequently, I was able to program the way my heart desired to program. All throughout my earlier life, I was always told how to complete tasks such as with math, English, even down to the manner of coloring; Nevertheless, computer science was different as I could develop a program in a million different ways with a million different lines of code. In a way, programming granted me the freedom that I had secretly sought after without even realizing that I sought after it myself. Computer science allows me to let loose and be myself, which is the reason that I want to become a software engineer after I graduate from

The power of self-doubt and self-confidence is equal as compelling in strength. It’s just a matter of which force has the stronger pull on one’s mind. Throughout high school, I’ve always doubted my abilities and intelligence by comparing myself to others. They must’ve been born with the gift of ingenuity, while I born with a deficit of it. Eventually, the envy of how some peoples’ brains acquired knowledge boiled and poisoned my thoughts. My mind was polluted with the idea that I was not capable of such gift. However, that all changed because of one woman who poured all of her encouragement and faith into me. She was the panacea of my toxic conviction and taught me that it was a matter of perception and hard work and self-confidence.

I am interested in computer engineering as my majors. I have decided to learn computer engineering since I was at middle school. When I got a new computer device each time, my enthusiasm was igniting. I specifically want to learn design operating system of computer because I think those existed commercial operations systems of computer are not humanized enough. Even though my peers, teachers and I have no problem with using the operation systems of computer, many of my grandparents are not able to use it. So I want to learn more knowledge of computer so that I can design a convenient operation system which is open to each one.

Ever since I was able to think creatively, I asked myself, “What’s out there?” Humans have explored virtually every nook and cranny of this planet, and now our final frontier has been pushed to the vast enigma of space. It is my dream to help humanity conquer the current limits of science and technology to continue pushing the limits of exploration and discovery. To achieve this, I’ve studied relentlessly my whole life to maximize my knowledge, because I know that through hard work I can get into college and pursue my dreams of being an astronautical engineer. A few weeks ago, I was accepted into Princeton University, and I intend to make the most of my resources there to get a dual-degree in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. The most vital components of success reside in how passionate you are about what you’re doing and the amount of dedication you commit to it. Thus, I believe that my hardworking nature and immeasurable fervor towards advancing mankind will propel me towards

I have always wondered how the world works and who thinks of ways to do something easier. Mechanical engineering is a very hands on field of designing to building to installing. Mechanical engineers do it all and then some. The possibilities are endless when it comes to mechanical engineering. I can work in an office all day or on a boat 3000 miles away or I can be in Oregon one day and Florida the next. What interests me the most are all the possibilities that can come from engineering? Engineers have a unique job. I would like to find out what a normal day would consist of. The first place I looked for information about my career was the MS Choices website. Next, I searched the Occupational Outlook Handbook website. Finally, I conducted a job shadow with Richard Schmidt. By using MS Choices, The Occupational Outlook

Finally after waiting a very long time, the LEGO robotics season had started. I wasthrilled, because this year, I would be building and programming robots. When my dad had told me about the program a week ago, I immediately responded yes, because I loved building LEGOs so much. I remembered spending hours on end wearing out my fingers from snapping together LEGO bricks. It was amazing to think that I would be able to actually build a robot out of LEGOs. LEGO robotics was a popular activity all around the world, and it spread to many countries, two being the U.S and Japan. My dad had said he found it extraordinary because it taught kids about structure, programming, and teamwork. The program was divided into two age groups,one would be the

Take a look around yourself. What do you see? Maybe books, chairs, a television, or even your clothes. All the day to day things that are man-made, you can be sure that an engineer helped make it. Engineers have shaped our world as we know it. There are many different kinds of engineers from chemical, mechanical, textile, civil, agricultural and structural engineers. Our civilization would be as advanced as the Stone Age without these people. This career demands a wide education of math and science. It is an ever-changing career with new advances in materials and the way products are produced. Engineering careers are very secure with respect to compensation. Regardless of this, it does have it’s disadvantages

I have graduated in Jan 2014 from Pakistan Navy Engineering College which is recognized as best institute of Pakistan as it is the very first Pakistani institute which got ISO certification and is a constituent college of National University of Sciences and Technology. It is the highest ranked university of Pakistan in engineering and also in all other disciplines of study by QS world university rankings. Now I am planning to get admissions in master’s program to continue seeking knowledge. My focus was attracted to power engineering due to its versatility, interdisciplinary nature, and its need in my country. Power Crisis in Pakistan is one of the biggest problem that Pakistan is facing these days. So I made my aim to do something in