It all happened within a split second. I held the orange leather ball firmly between my hands as steaming droplets of sweat ran from my forehead to the tips of my fingers. My lungs desperately begged for oxygen as I stood right before the maroon line fifteen feet away from the basket, crouched into my shooting stance that had been perfected through the hours of repetition spent on this very spot. Despite the meticulous preparation, my knees trembled out of...

Few weeks ago, I put the final touches on this “Why Harvard for Engineering?” essay and saved the Word document onto my USB drive. I had written about my innate interest in engineering that was evident in my love for Lego building from a young age. I had shared my unforgettable memory of getting lost in the maze-like halls of the engineering building named Pierce Hall as a child during a family visit to the university. I had boasted my...

I essentially spoke about how I was fascinated with the ever-growing nature of engineering. It was "nice" that Hurricane Sandy hit my home area during this time and I witnessed a news broadcast of a New York City crane dangling from the top of a skyscraper, endangering many lives. It was interesting for me to see that the "best" engineers of the time could not solve the issue quickly enough, as the news reported a 7-day estimation for recovery. So,...

I did send in new information and showed interest through short emails to the schools that I had been...

Nope! You don't have to either. Just do a lot of research and ask around, especially if you...

Remember that for most interviews, the schools are trying to sell themselves to you as much as you want to sell yourself to them. So,...

Ok, I won't be able to give great advice for this one because my family is in a quite a tough financial situation that I knew that...

First and foremost, check to see that they have the program for the field of study you...

Really, the best thing to do is to maintain great scores and GPA. It's an unfortunate reality that grades are...

Currently, I'm in the Harvard Glee Club which is a men's choir and a small accapella group. Also, I'm part of...

It's too soon! I really have no idea...

I've never done this and really don't know...

It's okay if you don't do anything in the summer, really....

Make sure to give some specifics about the school. You're not going to know about every...

I made sure that I received my recommendations from various personalities. The most vital one is the one that relates strongly to your area of interest, which in my case, was...

Well, I don't think I'll need to write why I declined other schools if I'm doing this one. I chose Harvard because well, it's Harvard. It's a typical answer but...

I think this would have to CS50: Intro to Computer Science I. I was set on going into mechanical engineering ever since I came into Harvard, but I found out that the long hours in the lab, waiting...