If you tremble at the prospect of public speaking, you probably will have been told to picture the audience in their underwear. My advice? Imagine they are loofahs. Showers possess a seemingly magical ability to make any user feel like Beyoncé reincarnated, and, as a result, belting out favorite tunes in the shower is a truly time-honored pastime. This certainly applies to me: the plop-plopping of the water emboldens me to let my vocal cords tingle with freedom. However, I...

How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying. (400-650 words) As I attempted to persuade my classmates to buy copies of our school newspaper, I wondered what great business leaders like Robert Crandall would do in my situation. I longed for his business savvy which enabled him to pioneer the genius frequent flyers initiative at American Airlines, now a staple...

What were your favorite events (e.g. performances, exhibits, competitions, conferences etc.) in recent years? (50 word limit) Debating tournaments are highlights – not just those I compete/judge in, but also university competitions (e.g. Worlds). The level of analysis there is inspirational. Concerts feature prominently in my favorites too. Best I’ve attended: Dariescu’s solo piano performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. My most memorable performance: singing in St Mark’s Basilica.

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit) We see an American soldier mutilated in Mogadishu. We say ‘no more’. Because of one image, Somalia was left in chaos. Rwanda was ignored. Visceral reactions override our rationality. And when we make unfair non-utilitarian judgments, we lose. Today, Islamophobic responses to terrorism mean we risk losing the Muslim community.

How did you spend your last two summers? (50 word limit) Because I love math: UK Olympiad training camp (intensive program of problem-sets and masterclasses), and research placement at UCL (coded MATLAB programs to generate and analyze random graphs) Because I love debate: Debate Academy (essentially non-stop debating – even the camp games were debate-related, e.g. ‘defend the indefensible’, rebuttal games)

What matters to you, and why? (100 to 250 words) I have always been envious of characters in musicals: imagine jiving on the streets to Dancing Queen, or saying goodnight with So Long, Farewell! I, unfortunately, don’t quite have the skills to spontaneously set my feelings to music. I am privileged, however, to have music in my life. Regardless of how my day has gone, my spirits are always lifted when my fingers start dancing along the keys of the piano...

Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. (250 word limit) Eyes still semi-closed, I press my face against the cold bus windows. I’m in a daze; my head is a jumble of weird thoughts. I notice some commuters. All the men are dressed identically, donning monochrome trouser-blazer sets with just their slender ties providing a pop of color. I consider how socially constructed norms dictate our behavior,...

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (100 words or fewer) The flexibility given to Applied Math majors would allow me to immerse myself in the problem-solving aspects of math which I enjoy the most. A MIT student mentioned how he really enjoyed the Introduction to Algorithms course and so took all the pre-requisites to try some graduate-level classes on algorithms. I love how MIT...

At MIT, we seek to develop in each member of our community the ability and passion to work collaboratively for the betterment of humankind. How have you improved the lives of others in your community? (This could be one person or many, at school or at home, in your neighborhood or your state, etc.) (200-250 words) Debating has given me a more nuanced understanding of the world, making me aware of, for example, the shortcomings of the free market in...

Please tell us what you find most appealing about Columbia and why. (300 words or less) I’ve always loved math – I literally filled my high-school timetable with as much math as possible. However, much as I’ve enjoyed immersing myself in Euclidian geometry, I’ve realized my education is incomplete. Studying only Math, Further Math, History and Physics at A Level has left untouched so many areas which I want to explore. I want to hear what world-renowned academics have...

Tried to reveal lots of little details about my personality in order to try and make me more real + human to the admissions officers. But equally I really wanted to hammer home a few traits I had: in particular, my determination, passion for what I do and desire to help others.

Start the essays earlier, and work harder on them! They are so important! The summer before senior year is a good time to complete as many drafts as possible, of both the Common App and the supplements, so that you have plenty of time to refine...

I didn't end up hiring a private counsellor, but I did have some free consultation sessions with them. Advice: 1) unique independent leadership project 2) work really hard on the essays 3) trim...

I interviewed with the following schools I applied to: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UPenn, Columbia, Stanford and MIT (all of them bar UC Berkeley). No questions really caught me off guard because I had prepared roughly what I would say to the standard questions like 'Tell me about yourself', 'Describe your biggest failure and what you learned', 'Why this school...

I would recommend pursuing your extra-curricular activities to a greater depth during the summer. For me, I continued my study of math to a much higher level by attending a training camp,...

I think my national-level awards (especially the quantity) made me very appealing to many admissions officers. Try and enter lots of competitions so that you might win some! I managed to...

Stanford really care about intellectual vitality - a combination of intellectual curiosity, sharp-mindedness and...

Chose Stanford because of 1) quarter system - chance to explore more areas +...

Definitely send in a Letter of Continued Interest, detailing new developments (e.g. new awards won,...

Princeton: grade deflation, not pre-professional at all, climate, semester system MIT: too STEM focussed, really difficult + stressful, less social UC...

Ask early so they have plenty of time to write a really good letter of recommendation. Also provide them with a summary...

You may have noticed that I only applied to 8 'reach' schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UPenn, Columbia, UCBerkeley), which goes against a lot of traditional advice (I was told to apply to 2-3 reaches, 3 matches and 2 safeties). I did have safety/match schools in the UK, so I wasn't being arrogant or anything - I do genuinely think that since admissions is, in many ways, quite random,...