Dear Future Roommate, Follow my commands: Disobey every command I ever give you. Argue with every word I ever utter. If I say that the sky is blue, tell me that in three hours, the sky will be pitch black. Just know that I’ll respond with the idea that the concept of a singular ‘sky’ is ridiculous. I’m just fooling around with you. Truly, though, I made some of my best friends at debate camp, a place where...

There are two types of people in this world: those who argue and those who agree. You can always find someone who will agree with everything you say. Always agreeable, but never interesting. Through debate, I have realized that the people I want to be around contradict every word I say, every idea I have, and every plan I make, never allowing me to go unchallenged. The opportunity to defend your perspective enhances learning, and the challenging of ideas leads...

I look at my completed math assignment, and realize that there isn’t a single number on the entire page. Greek letters, brackets and parentheses, and diagrams abound, but not a single numeral. The page is beautiful, and I simply sit back and admire it. While it means little to most, I appreciate what I have created. For art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and my math assignment is truly a work of art, exemplifying the beauty...

At another camp, we would have bonded over video games and bonfires. Not at debate camp. We stayed up all night, arguing over everything from In-N-Out versus Chick-fil-A to the best pizza toppings to the correct use of quantitative easing in the Greek economic crisis. We bonded over our differences and disagreements. Debate itself allows me the same experiences, as every round is different. From debates over the best superhero to debates over proposed US wars against ISIS, every round...

I have always wanted to create, to invent, and to produce. These goals compel me to pursue an education in both making and selling, a combination of engineering and business. The unique opportunity to study both engineering and business at USC will allow me to take control of every part of the design process, from creating a product to manufacturing and marketing it. The commitment to practical experience within the USC engineering program will offer me the opportunity to apply...

By the middle of my freshman year, Netflix had swallowed me whole. The “Suggested for You” menu dispensed TV show after TV show, film after film, fueling my procrastination with Biographical Tortured-Genius movies, Controversial Courtroom Dramas, and Paradoxical Time Travel movies. But suddenly it hit me. How does Netflix know what I enjoy? The curiosity ate at me until I finally interrupted my Netflix binge with a quick Google search. In three hours, I learned that Netflix monitored my every...

In my first meeting with my mobile application economics research group at Stanford, I felt completely out of place. Surrounded by professionals at least four years my senior, most of them PhDs, I wondered how I would contribute anything of value. Yet in my first few weeks working with them, I was able to prove through hard work that I belonged. My supervisor began to assign me the same tasks he assigned to the team’s graduate students. Now, I...

With Chris, the unusual becomes the usual. He notices the slightly different shade of the freshly painted walls. He attempts backflips in the middle of karate class. He follows me around whenever he has the chance, always with a new request: a fist bump, a Hollywood-style choreographed fight, or a frontflip demonstration. I look forward to his quirkiness and spontaneity when I teach martial arts on Mondays and Wednesdays. The moment Chris cartwheels through the door, the studio becomes a...

By the middle of my freshman year, Netflix had swallowed me whole. The “Suggested for You” menu dispensed TV show after TV show, movie after movie, fueling my procrastination with Biographical Tortured-Genius movies, controversial courtroom dramas, and paradoxical time travel movies. But suddenly it hit me. How does Netflix know what I enjoy? The curiosity ate at me until I finally interrupted my Netflix binge with a quick Google search. In three hours, I learned that Netflix monitored my every...

“Nahi, nahi. You are not Indian. You are an Amrican!” In India, my American accent and branded clothing makes me stand out. “Wow! You speak English really well!” In America, it is the color of my skin. As a child of immigrants and a second-generation immigrant myself, who looks foreign but dresses and sounds like an American, questions abound. When I visit family in India, I am the Amrican of the family, and in America I am the Indian. I...

Effective leadership can transform society. As an aspiring leader, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business can help me develop my leadership skills so that I can be a catalyst for change. The mission of the Ross School appeals to my desire to help others through leadership. I believe that the determination to improve the lives of others can fuel success, a sentiment that is strongly reflected in the Ross School’s core values of empathy, drive, integrity,...

At another camp, we would have bonded over video games and bonfires. Not at debate camp. We stayed up all night, arguing over everything from In-N-Out versus Chick-fil-A to the best pizza toppings to the correct use of quantitative easing in the Greek economic crisis. We bonded over our differences and disagreements. Debate offers me the opportunity to defend my perspective, enhancing my worldview and challenging me to consider new ideas. I believe that the best way to cultivate lasting...

Yale’s focus on a rigorous, theoretical education is unparalleled. At Yale I can learn why things work, rather than merely how. With knowledge of theory, I can learn practical skills; without it, I cannot understand the reasoning behind those skills. At Yale, I can do research, take internships, and study abroad to appreciate the why’s in my field of study. The difference is that with the why, the how becomes much more interesting.

I view every field as an application of mathematics. All of my interests align on the perfect combination of computer science, mathematics, economics, and engineering. Math provides the foundation for all thought and knowledge, economics explores and describes the world, engineering creates an understanding of designing and building, and computer science supplies the specific blueprints to create technology. These four fields form the perfect union for someone like me, who wants to understand how to create successfully.

The December 2nd shooting in San Bernadino was the 353rd mass shooting in the United States this year, but it was different. The names are more foreign; the perpetrators are a different color. This time, we can blame our usual scapegoat: Islam and terrorism. From Ben Carson’s declaration that a Muslim would not make a good president, to Donald Trump’s plan to force all Muslims to wear ID Cards, we as a country love to point at Islam...

During the both of the last two summers, I practiced for varsity football and worked as a researcher at Stanford University. As a rising junior, I attended a residential debate camp at Stanford. There I learned from some of the best coaches and debaters in the country, and I attribute much of my success in debate to this camp. At the camp’s concluding tournament, I finished in 2nd place overall. The following summer I volunteered for Solar Solutions Central...

Street performers breathing fire. Vendors selling dim sum right next to those selling hot dogs, all in Central Park. And towering above, the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline. Only Columbia creates the distinct and unique combination of culture that is New York City and academics within the College. Despite its location in the most vibrant city in the world, Columbia maintains its own identity: an independent, lively community that supports students academically and socially. No other school has the unique...

Effective leadership can transform society. As an aspiring leader, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania can help me develop my leadership skills so that I can be a catalyst for change. Wharton places a premium on education that is able to create leaders that can change the world in a positive way, not just education for education’s sake. There is a unique focus on real world impacts within the methods of teaching at Wharton. An example of...

I have always wanted to create, to invent, and to produce. These goals compel me to pursue an education in both making and selling, a combination of engineering and business. The unique opportunity to study both engineering and business at Penn will allow me to take control of every part of the design process, from creating a product to manufacturing and marketing it, allowing me to actualize my desire to create in the pursuit of benefiting society. Currently, Silicon Valley...

Our debate team had always had an adult leader: a coach, a teacher advisor, or a parent. This year was different. Our coach had left the area, our teacher was busy, and the parents that had organized the team had left when their children graduated. The responsibility for running the entire team fell on my shoulders. As the president of the team, I knew I had to take initiative. I walked into the first practice of the year knowing that...

I have always wanted to create, to invent, and to produce. These goals compel me to pursue an education in both making and selling, a combination of engineering and business. One of the unique opportunities UCLA presents to its student creators is the course Management 163: Entrepreneurship and New Product Development. Unlike most other courses, Management 163 is special in that it allows students to gain real-world experience in creation by assuming the role of a product manager in order to create...

Currently, Silicon Valley suffers from a startling lack of leadership. Companies focus on simply getting venture capital funding and making their app into the next big thing, the next ‘Flappy Bird’ or ‘Angry Birds’ without any consideration into why the next big app would help people. The majority of the industry lacks the vision to see beyond the next big startup going public, to the true potential of technology. There have been isolated examples of this vision. Mark Zuckerberg and...

I wake to the sound of a garbage truck roaring past my house. I rifle through my backpack, searching for a certain three pound, five hundred page notebook. I grab a pen from my nightstand and race to the four hundred and thirty-second page, clinging to the remnants of my dream. I scribble down my revelation, the fact that I should write my “What matters to you, and why?” Stanford essay about said notebook, before falling back asleep. This has...