Carpe Cor “There is a heart in Philadelphia!” my exasperated boss yelled into the phone, “get here in 30 and you can go.” I tumbled out of bed at 11:30pm and was at Columbia –Presbyterian by 11:58. The drive from New Jersey to New York City was exceedingly faster than my morning commute, accentuating the peculiarly exhilarating theme of the evening. During my internship in the cardiothoracic surgical lab at Columbia, I had seen plenty of catheter based cardiac procedures. However, while...

Essay Option 4: "...I [was] eager to escape backward again, to be off to invent a past for the present." -The Rose Rabbi by Daniel Stern Present: pres-ent 1. Something that is offered, presented, or given as a gift Let's stick with this definition. Unusual presents, accidental presents, metaphorical presents, re-gifted presents, etc. - pick any present you have ever received and invent a past for it. Below is my essay, where I wrote a past life for my dog (she was...

She is a contradiction. Even her name, Shanti—meaning “peaceful” in Punjabi—is farcically ironic. Although it’s been nine years, I gaze into her maple-syrup-almond eyes and still see the sickly present I received on my eighth birthday. I recall my trip to the Puppy Palace—the condition of which almost laughably juxtaposes with its name. While all her peers rowdily begged for attention, she was curled up in the corner, quietly wallowing in her kennel cough. So, when...

The core curriculum, size, resources, and values are aspects of The University of Chicago that I find most appealing. To me, the Core seems to provide a common language that unites a unique mixture of students. I enjoy interacting with students who are passionate about subjects that differ from my own interests, so surely Core disciplines would be some of my favorites. Moreover, I admire the...