Contrary to popular belief, at least to most adults, a nerd is not necessarily a smart person. They can be any person who is anti-social and happens to like video games, Star Wars, or comic books, but to many people, intelligence is the key indicator that a person is a nerd. Up until ninth grade, I would have been the quintessence of this demographic. My parents grew up as poor farmers in Trinidad and Tobago. They pushed me to succeed...

Diversity is one of the words that best describes me, my ethnicity, cultural practices, and religious observances. I am first generation American born to parents of mixed ancestries and cultures who migrated to the US from Trinidad and Tobago in search of a better life. My parents have made the best that opportunities had to offer and we have moved from Delaware to Pennsylvania and finally to the state of New York. A suburb of Buffalo, my current town of...

There are very few extracurricular activities that youth can participate in that are quite as remarkable as the Boy Scouts of America. I took advantage of all that it offered, and I cannot say that I could have received a similar education and gathered similar experiences in any other extracurricular activity. In order to receive the Eagle Scout award, which I achieved in 2012, I had to earn numerous merit badges certifying that I had completed training in various fields including...

The continuous evolution of technology is resulting in a revolution of values including the definition of privacy and what it means to generations caught in the before and after of technology milestones. The circle within which my parents, who are in their 50’s, would share their intimate moments is much smaller than my cousins who are in their 30’s, and minute compared to my circle. How my parents view privacy is different to the ways privacy is viewed by the...

On a personal note, my family background is diverse both in race and culture. My parents and grandparents are of mixed races and our cultural activities are a blend of a few cultures, including East Indian, Hispanic, and English, and African. My parents grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and migrated to the U.S.A. before I was born. They still maintain many of the customs, religious and cultural, while adapting and assimilating the into the America way of...

For those of you applying to the University of Southern California, they will ask you a series of one-word or short sentence answer questions. Try to be funny and creative with these, they really like that. When they ask something like ,"What is your favorite book?," don't answer with some scientific or sophisticated book to make yourself sound smart, unless you are truly passionate about it and your essays reflect that. USC has a very holistic admissions process and they...

I interviewed with Penn State and USC for scholarships. I thought the one with Penn State went extremely well, however I...

USC's admissions is very holistic. You do not need a 2100+ SAT and a 4.0 to get in. If your scores are in the 1800s or you have a 3.5 you still have a chance to...

Aside from teachers, get a coach...

For schools like NYU,...

I honestly believe that by Eagle Scout set me apart. If any...