“Cookies?” she offered and smiled brightly at me. Irritated, I dodged her and glared at my phone screen…still no text?! “Grandson, you know you can tell me everything, right?” a gentle voice came from outside. I ignored her and blasted my music, trying to relieve my loneliness. Through my adolescence, my grandmother raised me while my parents toiled away in their careers. One August afternoon after my parents cancelled yet another visit, I finally broke down. My grandmother tried...

As a child, I observed washing machines for hours, determined to unravel the secret of the hypnotizing, spinning barrel. Now I strive to investigate how trillions of intricate transistors work together in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to emulate human intelligence and imagination. It is my fascination and passion for technology that drives me to pursue a career in engineering. After engineering many projects throughout the years, I have discovered the critical role entrepreneurship plays in technological innovation. Fortunately at USC, I...

“Stocks? What are stocks?” I asked as my dad handed me his Scottrade account in June 2012. I anxiously logged in and stared at the green $5,000 sitting in the corner—five thousand dollars to invest in any company of my choice. Of course building success entails turmoil. One week after I bought shares of Caterpillar and Intel, the market tanked. I panicked, and sold my shares after watching my balance diminish to $3000. However, my interest in finance did not end there,...

TOPIC: How do you plan to use your engineering degree to benefit society? (250 word limit) It is widely accepted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can give machines the ability to think analytically and thereby enhance the human condition. With my engineering degree, I will devote myself and my accomplishments to altruistic progress—that is progress for the purpose of establishing, sustaining, and perpetuating the well-being of others. When my grandfather suffered a massive stroke and was confined to a bed, I...

TOPIC: Some people categorize engineers as geeks or nerds. Are you a geek, nerd, or neither? Why? (250 word limit) A nerd… a geek… how about a parent? Only a parent would understand the complicated, harmonious-but-also-full-of-obstruction relationship between my projects and me. Parenting is a difficult task. Not only do parents feed, house, and love their children perpetually, they must also teach and raise them to have intellect and integrity. Thereby there’s probably nothing more satisfying than watching your children...

Technology has always fascinated me. As a child I remember staring at the riding lawn mower, puzzled over the difference in size between the front and rear wheels, and observing washing machines in action, wondering how the barrels spun. Although I have sharpened my analytical skills through internships thus far, I believe Georgia Tech will provide me the practical experience I need to prepare me for my future career as an engineer. The Work-Abroad Program will allow me to resolve...

My undergraduate essay experience was difficult, testing, and annoying—probably the same as yours is going to be. At times, I was totally lost in the multitudes of reworks that were needed to polish and rework each and every single essay. I totally understand if you think the workload is overwhelming, especially since you have to prepare for the SAT’s and worry about perfecting your activity list. Trust me, it’s totally normal to feel like giving up after...

I attend a very competitive international school, and many here is good at academics, have good sports achievements, and many excellent students have leadership of top clubs (NHS, Roots and Shoots, etc.). I can also imagine at your school (especially if you go to a large public school), you’ll also always find someone that leads better than you, that debates better than you, or someone that builds robots better than you. The important things I learned was to never fear commitment and competition in school, because if you can only lead anything once you’ve conquered those fears. I�...

I picked schools to apply to mainly based on my intended major and how hard they were on average to get in (acceptance rate). I went for a mix of easier, medium, and harder schools. Of course, they also had to be excellent in engineering, because I feel that although “having a life” is an important part of college, at the end of the day academics is really what gets the dollars in the door after you graduate. If you truly love your major, you’ll find that most of the extracurricular activities you’re interested in revolves around your...

I chose the school I did because of my interest in business. All the schools I applied to excelled in engineering (my...

Recommenders should be easy for those of you that speak regularly during and after school with your teachers. Remember that they are there to help you, so always go to them if you have any questions! Also, that will help...

Look through the college's website. You'll be surprised how many students fail to do this. Invest about two hours on their website, checking out resources related to things you like (internships? Studying abroad?). Look...

Summer is about relaxing, yes, but what better way to relax than to do something you love doing? Whether that's building a model airplane and flying it every day or taking a class in biology at your local college, do it! Camps like EPGY and SIG are...

“Dog meat?! I thought dogs were our friends!” I exclaimed to my uncle, who was busy trying to scoop portions of “dog meat hot-pot” from a steaming communal pot into everyones’ bowls. I was surrounded by big round tables covered with bright yellow tablecloth with a glass “turn-table” in the middle—Chinese New Year lunch in my uncle’s “szu-ho-yuan,” a traditional Chinese building with an interior courtyard. “Just try it, It’ll make you strong! Come on, all the boys here eat it!” my uncle replied in a thick dialect that I could barely understand. This was six months...