Ivy applications were brutal, but I thought some of my essays were pretty fire -or I just really liked the questions and answering them- so here are some of my favorite takes.
Columbia
List a selection of texts, resources, and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums, and other content that you enjoy. (100 words or fewer)*
Garbhsanskar, The West Wing, @infobeautiful, Peg + Cat, The Backyardigans, The Devil Wears Prada, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes A Difference, Circadian Regulation of Mtor Signaling via bmal1 Dependent Mechanism, SIMPLE and IMA by SEVENTEEN, Alice in Borderland, Mahabharata, Inside Out 2, Chaava, National Museum of American History, Attorney General Public Information Handbook, Harry Potter, 21 Notes, Sudoku puzzles, Dallas Morning News Crossword, Age of Empires, Great Big Story, Insider, Architectural Digest, The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Song of the Cell, Radio Lab, This Podcast Will Kill You, and Purple Hibiscus.
Yale
1. What inspires you?* (200 Characters)
The stillness of a dark house early in the morning. Fleeting moments spent by myself, kept to myself, as I am enveloped in my own thoughts, working with the prospect of a brand new day.
2. If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?* (200 Characters)
Publishing my blog post trilogy, “Anatomy of a 32-Hour Day”; a reflection on my struggles and ambitions, depicted through science, imagination, and a desire to stay awake as I navigate high school.
Reflect on how your interests, values, and/or experiences have drawn you to Yale (125 words or fewer)*
Simply put, it’s where I see myself. My parents always said, “If you can see it, you can be it”. For a while, there were several great colleges I would’ve loved to go to, but none were my heart’s desire. Surely enough, my heart started lingering at Yale. Was it because Meryl Streep, an actress I love, or even Joshua Lyman from The West Wing, a character I deeply respect, were both Yale alumni? Or possibly because of Yale’s high esteem, I found myself gravitating to its venerability. I may never know, but at this moment, I know this: Yale has now become my heart’s desire, and if I close my eyes, I see myself rushing to a class across Cross Campus.
Cornell
What brings you joy?* (100)
Simple birthday wishes in Korean from family friends because they know I like K-pop, late evening dinners and frozen yogurt runs with friends, special home-made cupcakes from a friend on their birthday, perfect scores after hours of tiring hard work, rewatching old favorites like The West Wing and How I Met Your Mother, reading history textbooks and old documents, listening to new music from my favorite artists, redying my hair and watching the brown turn into dark red again, weekend lunches and shopping with my mother, evening discussions and debates with my father, writing, and forever, connecting with my culture.
Stanford
Short Questions (50 words)
What is the most significant challenge that society faces today?*
Loneliness. It fuels addiction, burnout, desolation, and everything else, really. It’s human nature to seek companionship. Today, we can’t live without being connected to the world. My generation, ironically, struggles to get off our phones simply because we’re afraid to be disconnected–to be left alone.
How did you spend your last two summers?*
Exploring the world, across America, to South Korea, Japan, Australia, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. Two summers worth of seeing the world for how it truly is–beyond pictures and videos. To experience the differences–and similarities– in cultures, wildlife, and lifestyles, while rebuilding long-lasting bonds with my family and friends.
The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.*
I’ve always been captivated by puzzles. From the subtle click of jigsaw puzzles fitting into place to the rhythmic logic of Sudoku, I find comfort in watching random pieces come together to reveal a larger design hidden within the disorder.
As I grew older, this hobby transitioned from cardboard to coursework. I started to see the familiar patterns I loved in unlikely places: in cell biology with protein synthesis–a predictable sequence and flow of nucleotides and genetic material into something entirely new–and even in law, where the answer to a complicated problem could be found in the smallest subsection of a clause. The missing piece to a complicated problem.
That desire–that itch to find those patterns and solve those problems is what drives me to pursue biomedical law. It’s the thrill of finding the missing piece between these two opposing fields that compels me. To fit the legal construct into the constantly changing premise of biomedical innovation.
At Stanford, I’m ready to look for more than just answers, but find a way to make the pieces click. Whether it’s analyzing genetic sequences or debating bioethics, I’m always going to look for the patterns across the two fields that connect them. I want to spend my life doing something I’ve always loved to do, and that’s completing the big picture. To make a breakthrough of clarity through the complexities of human health and justice by going into it headfirst and solving the puzzle it holds.
