9,000 people stared at the 120 of us sitting on the stage. The concert we were about to play in the Royal Albert Hall was completely sold out. As the audience eagerly awaited our first notes, I drank in the energy of the crowd. At the Proms, every person in the theatre is extremely excited to hear the work of the performers. They nearly strain their necks in an attempt to creep closer towards the music pouring out from the orchestra. As...

“Acquiring preemptive knowledge about emerging technologies is the best way to ensure that we have a say in the making of our future.” --Catarina Mota from openMaterials.org Technology is a limitless opportunity to expand the mind, where the impossible finds possibility. Technology, however, is not built alone; it is a manifestation of many people’s dreams and efforts. I seek to be part of this collective, to advance technology without end. I first joined the conversation when I created...

Tears, spit, and bite marks—yes, bite marks. These are the souvenirs of my foray into the hazardous world of teaching music to children. As the president of the Sharing the Music club and as a private instructor of the violin, I learned early on that the mastery of music is one of delayed gratification—sometimes too delayed for the young ones’ attention spans and sugar-induced frenzies. When I see the turn of the tide and recognize the youthful temperament...

I feel as though a significant portion of my appeal to undergraduate admissions officers came from the fact that I excelled in some things at a national level. For example, participating as a...

When people tell you that Princeton is particularly difficult academically, even among the ivies, there is a reason that they do so. Prior to enrolling in Princeton and being able to experience first-hand the courses at Princeton, I never fully understood why people would tell me such things about Princeton. To tell the truth, a large factor in picking Princeton as my “dream school” came...

The first step of finding someone as a recommender is to scan through all the possible candidates whom might be worth considering. The criteria you should consider as you do this include: (1) how well does this person know you in both an academic and personal setting, (2) will this person be able to assess you in a positive light, or have you left a negative impression on him or...

Princeton's financial aid system is very good in that Princeton gives much aid to...

This advice is the most applicable for those that are under the pressure of a deadline (only a couple months), yet have no one to get a reference from: Early in the...