Debate Girls 2015 Okay, Sarah, breathe. You've done this more than a hundred times before. Notes? Check. Water bottle? Check. Take a sip. Now look up and get ready to launch into your first argument. But wait. Is my skirt too short - will they notice? And is my shirt too low-cut? I should have worn a cardigan. Remember, Sarah, drop your voice down low; no, lower. In ninth grade, I started as a novice in Lincoln Douglas or LD -...

Public Intellectuals and a Metaphysical Joker Through my deep participation in Lincoln Douglas debate, which requires weighing basic philosophical considerations to evaluate contemporary political issues, I have become interested in the study of philosophy. Though some see philosophy as an abstract area of study, I don't. Through debate, which tests philosophical ideas in a contest of opposing positions, I view philosophy as a discipline that requires the formulation and defense of rigorous positions on important public policy issues. As a...

The Vegetarian Odyssey This is my odyssey in becoming a vegetarian. My initial response was visceral. Outraged at age 13 by news stories about the farming of billions of chickens for food by confining them to claustrophobic spaces, I decided to only eat chicken that was ethicallyraised. Later on at age 15 I found that it was the philosophical arguments against speciesism (the favoring of the human species over other animals) that moved me. Persuaded that there is no moral ground upon...

The Great Philosophical Debate Through my deep participation in Lincoln Douglas debate, which focuses on evaluating ethical considerations of key current issues, I have become interested in studying philosophy. One reason that I find the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences to be so appealing is that it sponsors an excellent philosophy department, a number of whose members are public intellectuals who apply philosophy to the most significant issues of the day. The fact that the department also encourages women...

In Praise of PPE Major public policy problems like persistent poverty are not solvable through a quick fix. Penn is particularly attractive to me because it sponsors a world-class PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) program, which affords an interdisciplinary approach to these problems centered on three areas in which I have a deep interest. I first became interested in behavioral economics when I read Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner. Freakonomics demonstrates that the premise of classical economics is often false:...

Donating Daringly: A New Flash Seminar at U. Va. At the end of the year, my parents typically start to consider where they should make their charitable donations. Should they give to the Red Cross or their local synagogue or perhaps somewhere new? They have even asked my opinion. Most people know little about how to give charity well. I think that a Flash Seminar at U. Va. on charitable giving would stimulate students to start to think about this...

The Interview! Overall: Don't stress too much. Being nervous is the one thing that will throw you off. I would highly recommend doing a practice interview and/or schedule your first interview for a school you don't really care about (being honest) just so you have a chance to work through your nerves. My first interview was with William and Mary, and it was by far my worst because I was nervous and had no idea what I was doing. I didn't end up applying to W&M, though, so the interview ended up just serving as a good practice...