Jay Koo Academy College Application Essay Service
Pre-Essay Worksheet
As you answer the following questions, allow your mind to wander to other questions. The point is to let your imagination
go free and not to eliminate anything. Also enlist the help of parents and friends in the brainstorming process because they
may remember something that has slipped your mind.
When you run out of ideas, take a break and do something else. You will be surprised at how often ideas come when you
least expect them. Don’t try to complete this worksheet in one sitting. Revisit it several times and make additions as
necessary.
1. What are your favorite activities and hobbies? Why do you enjoy them?
My favorite activity for the past nine years has been playing soccer. I enjoy soccer because it is a complex sport; there are
so many intricate moves to keep my attention on, from doing step-overs to get around defenders to making an
accurate shot on the goal. My mind wanders and I forget about everything else going on in my life. Any boy or family
or school matters going on at the time completely vanish from my mind as I try to keep my mind on the game. It’s
almost like a mind game as well, as you have to find holes in the field to be open for passes or shots on the goal.
Soccer is a team sport, so everyone on the field depends on each other, and one has to look out for the good of the
team instead of just for him/herself. I can’t be selfish on the field like I can in real life, so soccer helps keep me in
check. The game provides me with a way to keep myself in shape without even noticing all the hard work I put in
because I enjoy myself at the same time.
I enjoy reading in my free time because it’s interesting to read about others’ lives. Not only is it beneficial in helping me
forget about my problems, but also reading is a way for me to gain insight on how to solve problems or prevent
certain things from happening by learning from others’ mistakes and experiences. At the young age of five years old,
reading allowed me to let my imagination go wild and envision myself in worlds unlike my own. Today, reading still
allows my mind to wander and I love getting engrossed in a good book and stepping back from my own life for a little
bit.
Running is another one of my favorite pastimes. Many people complain about running, saying that you get too tired and
overheated and out of breath. But for me, running makes me feel free. Just whizzing by nature makes me feel as if I’m
running away from my problems. After running I always feel exhausted, but in a good way because I know that I have
accomplished something. Any little distance I run is an accomplishment, knowing that I made the effort to even get
out of bed and run in the first place. Running is an activity that helps me relax because I get rid of all my nervous
energy and just free my mind.
Scrapbooking is one of my favorite hobbies because I love doing and making things for my friends and family and it’s a
way to get my creative energy out and put my mind to a specific task. I like that it involves pictures, because it’s a
sentimental present for anyone since pictures bring out all sorts of memories you may not remember otherwise.
Scrapbooks are an unforgettable token of affection and they’re a fun way to make people you love happy. My sister went
to India for a month and I made her a mini scrapbook just so that she would have something to remind her of home while
she was gone, and she said it did help her homesickness. I even use scrapbooks when I’m making projects for school
because it’s aesthetically pleasing and is an interesting way to analyze even school readings.
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2. Do you have any special talents or skills?
My leadership is a special skill of mine. Even in insignificant situations, such as group projects, I find myself stepping up
to become the group leader and taking charge of the situation. I always need structure and a plan, and usually no one else
steps up to the plate so I decide to take the lead. For example, for a project in my history class last year, we had to do a
presentation on Greek philosophers in groups of 4-5 people. As soon as we assembled into our groups, I saw that all my
group members just began texting and said we would “figure things out later”, though the project was due in one measly
week. I knew that without a plan we would be unorganized and unpolished on our presentation date, so I devised a plan
for our group and scheduled meeting times when everyone was free so that no one person would have the burden of doing
all the work. I realized that my leadership aspect has partly been drawn out because so many times I have been the one
who has been left alone to finish a project or presentation the night before it is due. During my freshman and sophomore
years in high school, I let people walk all over me and leave me to do all the work at the last minute. At the time I was
okay with it because a part of me liked doing the entire project all my own way, without anyone else to disrupt my
creativity. But come junior year, I had no time to complete these projects all on my own anymore, and I finally just took
charge to delegate tasks to make it so that everyone had to work and not just any one person. Similarly, I realized during
the planning Homecoming this year how necessary it is for someone to take charge to prevent havoc. Since I was vice
president of my class, me, and the other class officers, had the difficult task of trying to organize our class of 300 students
to come together and put together a decorated hallway and quad day performance. The past two years, homecoming for
our grade had been a complete failure due to lack of organization and student participation, so we had a lot of work to do
to pull everyone together and show the rest of the school that we did have spirit after all. Thus, at the beginning of the
year I spent hours on end out of the house at meetings with the other student council members, practices for the quad day,
and decoration days where we spent all day at someone’s house making decorations to put up at our designated hallway at
school. Our class president was unorganized and unrealistic, believing our class could accomplish tasks much beyond our
abilities and time restraints. She was too afraid to be strict out of fear that people would think she was being mean. At the
onset of our preparations, there was no structure or organization and people were always confused about what was going
on, when to meet, where to go, etc. Another student council member and I decided to take charge, and we created a group
on Facebook, developed a schedule, set up sign-up lists for volunteering, and brainstormed plots for our quad day
performance. As soon as the infrastructure was set in place, the large task we had at hand became more manageable and
uncomplicated. I became the one to oversee all the practices and decoration meetings, send out messages and reminders to
everyone, and I devoted a majority of my time to making our homecoming successful. The two months in which I was
involved in homecoming did take a toll on my sleep hours and schoolwork, but homecoming brought out my controlling
side and I realized how much leadership has become a part of my personality.
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What makes you special or unique?
One aspect of my personality that makes me unique is that I’m somewhat two-sided. When I’m out with my friends I
become ebullient and spontaneous. I’m thought of as the childish one in my group of friends because I’m always so
energetic and loud and up to try new things. Even at family parties, when I split apart from my parents, I become a
more outgoing version of myself, more enthusiastic to meet new people and start new relationships. My personality
becomes a However when I’m home and around my family I assume a more responsible and subdued role. I don’t talk
as much, I take more care to be responsible, and I spend a majority of my time at home holed up in my room doing
work. I’m the older sibling out of me and my sister, and from the day she was born I have always had to fend for
myself and be independent at home. I also do so because at home I have the responsibility of being a model for my
sister to look up to and follow, so at home a different side of my personality comes out. It’s not that either persona is
more or less “me” than the other, but they’re just two different sides of me that come out at different times depending
on the people I’m with. I also believe that the constant energy I have makes me unique. When I was younger I used to
be so shy and I hated meeting new people and I would rather spend time alone than take the risk of getting out of my
comfort zone. However, recently my social skills have blossomed and I’ve learned to love meeting new people.
Sometimes I get so stuck in my little Saratoga bubble that I forget that there are such intriguing and amusing people
who go to other schools as well. I began accompanying my parents to all our family friends’ parties and I realized that
it’s so interesting to meet new people and hear about their stories and experiences, since they’re different from those
of the people I already know so well. I have an ability to relate to people and I always try to find something in
common with people I meet and I think it helps me get along with people I’ve never met before because having
something in common makes things more interesting. I’m always full of energy, even if I’m on only a few hours of
sleep, because I feel like if one person has enough energy, it makes everyone else more energetic and entertaining as
well. I’m not someone who is awkward around other people, because I hate when people can’t keep a conversation
going, so I bring out a lot of energy when I’m talking to people, no matter what my mood is. Even after break-ups or
bad test scores, I try my best to remain upbeat because I know there’s nothing else I can do at that point and acting
happy usually ends up making me happy. I used to tell my friends that my motto is “Let it go and smile” because
that’s what I try to do when I’m down.
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3. What is your strongest quality?
My strongest quality is my independence. From as long as I remember, my parents have spent a good majority of their
time and energy giving my younger sister all of their attention. I used to get jealous and cause tantrums, but over time
I realized that that wasn’t the way to go. I became more independent at home instead. I stopped relying on my parents
for every little problem. Instead of running to my parents to cry about drama happening with my friends, I was upfront
and sorted out the problems with my friends themselves. I began choosing my own clothes instead of making my
mom do it every day. I began setting an alarm clock to wake up in the mornings, and even began waking up my sister
so that my mom didn’t have to. I didn’t study with my dad every night anymore, and instead I developed a study
routine of my own and only asked him for help if I really felt I needed it. Once I reached high school, I spread my
wings even more. For driving lessons, SAT tutors, summer classes, and anything else I needed to register for, I
became the one who did all the research and calling and registering. I went to a camp at Stanford last summer for
three weeks, and realized that I had practically stopped depending on my parents altogether. At first I was terrified of
being on my own, without my parents there with me every day, with no one to rely on but the camp counselors. But
once I was at camp I realized that I had been mentally independent for a long time. The only difference was not seeing
my parents every day, but other than that I felt at home after the first day. Of course I enjoy spending time with my
parents and I do still need them for many things, but I have gradually been becoming independent from them for quite
some time and it’s made high school so much easier for me because the only person I really depend on now is myself.
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4. What accomplishment are you proudest of?
The accomplishment I’m proudest of is my success in juggling all my activities during my past three years in high school,
but especially during the second semester of my junior year. During freshman year, I played three sports: soccer,
track, and volleyball. At one point, I was playing all three sports simultaneously during the school year. I was able to
survive that year, but I quit volleyball because I didn’t believe I’d be able to handle three sports during the rest of my
high school career. Sophomore year I only participated in soccer and track (also simultaneously), and I was convinced
that during junior year I would be forced to quit one sport in order to still do well in school. However, I ended up
continuing to play both sports. During second semester I participated in student council, club soccer, school track, and
clubs at school, all on top of my normal school work. When I didn’t make the cut for the varsity soccer team at
school, I was determined to better myself and join a more serious club team so that I would be able to improve and
make varsity next year. My parents were strongly against this idea, and they believed that I should just quit soccer
altogether and focus more on my schoolwork, since I was already participating in school track as well. However, I
decided to go to just one tryout for a higher level soccer team, just to see if I even had a chance anymore. I told my
parents I would tell the coach I wasn’t interested after the one tryout and that would be the end of it. However, I did
exceptionally well at the tryout, and when I emailed the coach to tell him that I would not be able to play, he seemed
reluctant to let me go that easily. After begging and pleading my parents to let me continue playing, I finally gained
myself a spot on the team, under the condition that my grades would not go down despite my participation in two
sports. That same week, I dedicated more time than usual to improving my track times, and the coaches appointed me
as one of the team captains. With track practices every day of the week, soccer practices twice a week, and meetings
almost every day for all my other involvements, I thought I would be in over my head and that I would surely have to
drop one of my activities to survive. With SAT subject tests and AP exams approaching, I was unsure if I would be
able to handle all the stress. However, that span of time actually turned into a reflective period, where I was able to
discover a few things about myself. I learned that I love soccer more than anything, and that though I enjoy running,
competitive running is too much pressure for me to handle. I also learned that even though I was involved in so many
activities, I enjoyed myself in everything I did because I love keeping myself busy. I’m not the type of person who
will stay home all day just to watch TV and lay around the house. I would much rather be out all day, keeping myself
busy and doing productive work so that I feel accomplished at the end of the day. So even though I was spread fairly
thin during second semester, I was able to alter my routine so that I managed my time better and was able to survive
second semester. I came home around 8 or 9 P.M. every day and was always so exhausted, pulling back to back track
and soccer practices before attending meetings or meeting up with people for group projects. But I’m so glad I
convinced my parents to let me participate in such a vast variety of activities, because at the end of the semester I was
so proud of myself for accomplishing so much in just a single semester.
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5. What is a strong belief or philosophy that you hold?
A belief that I hold is that it’s okay if you have enemies because that means you once stood up for something you believed
in. I strongly believe in standing up for what you believe in, and there are obviously consequences that come with
voicing your beliefs. I’ve been involved in my school’s Indian Club since freshman year and have actively
participated in all the events, including the biggest one of the year, Bombay in the Bay. I’ve always been hopeful that
someday I would be able to be president of Indian Club because it’s the one club at school I’ve consistently been
involved in and enjoy participating in. However, this year the Indian Club presidents and officers decided to change
the format of the show, making it so that instead of each grade doing a dance, the grades would be split and mixed in
the hopes of creating a more unified show, instead of one with class rivalries. Half of the juniors were put with the
freshman, and the other half were put with the seniors. There were many problems with the new system, the biggest
one being that there were scheduling conflicts with people of other grades and that many people were no longer
serious about the show since it was no longer fun since many were split from their friends. Everyone voiced concern
and disapproval and the juniors threatened to drop out of the show. I was one of the main people who disagreed with
the new system because it was supposed to create unity, but if anything it was splitting everybody apart and making
the whole show less enjoyable to participate in. I spent a lot of time with a few other juniors and with the Indian Club
student officers and the assistant principal of the school, trying to compromise and work out a system so that people
would be more serious about the show. However, since I was one of the main opponents of their system, many of the
Indian Club officers began to dislike me, and I may have ruined my chances at becoming Indian Club president since
I lost the election at the end of the year. However, I have no regrets because I stood up against a system that I didn’t
think was fair to everyone and I was honestly looking out for the show as a whole, not just for myself. Though I’ve
told the officers that, many of them still have personal problems with me because of the whole incident, but there is
really nothing I can do about that because I was only voicing my concern.
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6. Who have been the most influential people in your life? The most memorable? The most interesting?
My mentor at Pediatric Associates, Dr. Jerina Kapoor, is one of the most interesting people in my life. She has been my
pediatrician since I was born, and this summer I developed an interest in going into medicine as my career path, and
specifically pediatrics. When I asked her if she had any openings during my sister’s yearly checkup, she was so
enthusiastic and eager to let me shadow her so that I, too, could follow in her footsteps. In the days that followed she
let me shadow her in all her appointments, help her with paperwork, discuss any questions I had about medicine, and
basically she took me under her wing and shared everything with me. I realized just how much more there really is to
pediatrics since I was now on the other end of the appointments. Dr. Kapoor had to patiently deal with parents who
understood hardly any English. She was understanding towards those who simply brought their children in because of
minor injuries like paper cuts and bruises. She sympathized with teens who were overweight and had depression
problems. She was the one that other doctors at the office went to for advice or help in diagnosing. But the part about
her that made her most memorable to me was her versatility. She is the mother of two children who have successful
completed their college education and are working already. She is involved in grass-roots fundraisers, and even
founded her own organization called Pallium to fight for the needs of the millions of suffering people in India who are
in need of pain relief and palliative care. Dr. Kapoor even invited me and my family to one of their fundraisers, a
marathon called Sevathon, during which time I got to see her outside of the doctor’s office. She is one of the most
friendly people I’ve ever met and she is so cordial to anyone who approaches her. I also saw just what a passion she
really had for the Pallium cause, since she must have told me at least ten times that the winner of the marathon was a
Pallium runner. She sends me emails and updates about Pallium and convinced me to sign up to join their volunteer
crew. I realized that Dr. Kapoor is so much more than just a pediatrician, and that she is an actual person with actual
passions and interests and she inspired me to become as caring and well-rounded as her someday. She exposed me to
a cause that is actually interesting to me and I now hope to incorporate her cause into my club at school.
My dad is and has always been the most influential person in my life. He has trained me to become everything that I am
today. The first word he ever taught me and my sister was “no”, and though this may seem pessimistic to some, I
think that was one of the most influential things he’s ever done. Just that one simple word taught me discipline and
not to fall into any peer pressure. My dad is one of those people who graduated early from IIT, top of his class, and
then attended Wharton at UPenn, so from day one I’ve had a lot of pressure on me to do well and live up to his
expectations. At times I sincerely believe he’s the most strict parent I know, with all his rules about no boyfriends,
family first, schoolwork is the most important, and the list goes on. Sometimes I get so exasperated with his constant
nagging and questioning about my schoolwork and life. I become dramatic when he prevents me from going out and
seeing my friendss when I have to study for a test. But in reality my dad is the one person who has always kept me
grounded. He’s the person that shaped my dreams and made me able to aspire to be as successful as him someday. He
doesn’t take any of my crap and he deals with all my moods and fusses and is still always there for me to give me
advice on what’s really important in life. He drives me to be successful in everything I do and I always hope to gain
his approval. He goes to every single one of my soccer games to cheer me on. He calls every day when he’s out of
town, traveling for business. He’s the first one I tell every time a test score or some grade comes out. But most of all,
through this college search process I’ve realized that my dad is the one who has done all the hard work for me. He
researches colleges every night, staying up till 3 or 4 A.M. to do so. He’s taking time off work just to help me with my
applications and attend college tours with me. My mom may be the one who will be more emotional about me leaving
home, but my dad is the one who is helping me in every step to send me off to a school that fits me and in which I will
do well.
One of my former friends Manish Raghavan is one of the most memorable people I’ve ever met. People say it’s not
possible for a boy and girl to be best friends without falling in love, but I genuinely felt like Manish was my brother.
Manish was always there to give me advice and help, just like any other friend. But I think what made him different
from my other friends was how real he was. Manish kept me more grounded that anyone else in my life, and he didn’t
simply agree with everything I said or support me in all my decisions. He made sure that what I was doing was
reasonable and responsible, no matter how badly I wanted to do it. Manish was the person I turned to when I wanted
the truth, when I didn’t need anything to be sugar-coated. I strongly disliked this one girl in my grade because of some
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previous drama we had gotten into, but Manish helped me to get past my feelings and to look at things from the other
person’s place. I realized she actually had many family problems and a more complicated life than anyone really knew
about, and this realization helped me put my selfish feelings aside and be more mature about the situation. I had a bad
break up with a boyfriend and Manish was the only person who could easily make me feel better with his words of
advice of what to do in the future to make things work out. He opened my eyes and made me realize that I shouldn’t
be so dependent on another person to survive and that I would be completely fine on my own. We went to a camp
together for three weeks and spent hours just talking about everything in life since I was so comfortable talking to him
about anything. Even if we don’t talk for months we still pick up right where we left off and it feels like we never
stopped talking in the first place. But he’s also memorable to me because he never takes his own advice. He was so
academically smart, but was not so wise in his own decisions at times, often getting hurt by the same girl time and
again and causing himself emotional distress. He got into trouble with the cops for speeding with friends in the car
when he was trying too hard to impress others. But even though he may have made some mistakes and we don’t talk
as much anymore, Manish is the most genuine person I’ve ever met and he’s helped me realize that I can’t be so
selfish and shown me that there is so much more in the world.
My math teacher from this year, Mr. Yim, is also one of the most memorable people I have met. (SEE OTHER PROMPT
BELOW)
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7. How have you changed in the past four years?
In the past four years, the biggest change in my personality has been my ability to prioritize. I’ve realized what is really
important and what isn’t in the long run. I used to allow myself to be affected by break-ups, school drama, and other
outside activities. But one of the biggest changes I’ve made is separating work and play. After my SAT tutor Jay Koo
explained to me that separating work and play would be the most efficient way to get my work done, I really took the
advice to heart. I stopped listening to music while doing my homework, I stopped watching TV while studying, I
stopped talking on the phone while working on projects. When I came home from school, I would put all my
electronics away and complete my homework and only bring out my laptop if needed. I took short breaks in between
to check Facebook and Tumblr and my texts, but I stopped trying to multitask. This also helped me with my time
management skills. I had so much more time on my hands since I wasn’t trying to do multiple things at once, so I
began making schedules and trying to get my work done by a certain time so I wouldn’t simply drag it out and remain
up all night. I also began prioritizing what was important to me in life outside of school .When I didn’t make the
varsity soccer team (I only made JV), it was a struggle for me to decide whether I should drop out of soccer altogether
or if I should bear the embarrassment and just keep playing in the hopes of getting moved up to varsity eventually. At
first I was so concerned with what other people would think of me that I was positive I would just stop playing and
would focus on schoolwork and my other activities. But after just a week of not playing soccer, I was uncomfortable
in everything else I did. As hard as I tried, I could not get my mind off the game and focus on school. I just kept
thinking that I was missing out on the field, that I was missing a possible opportunity to show myself and get moved
up to varsity. So after all my internal struggles, I decided to play after all, leaving myself at risk of not getting moved
up to varsity at all and getting made fun of by all my friends and others who found out I hadn’t made the team. But I
decided that I loved the game more than anything and was willing to put myself through that just to play. I was put in
a similar situation during my freshman year, when I was playing soccer and volleyball and running track all in the
same season. After much thought I decided to give up volleyball, even though I had just begun playing and really
enjoyed it. I realized that soccer and track were more important to me, and my schoolwork was most important of all
so I knew I had to give up something in order to be successful in school and my other activities.
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8. What is the most difficult or challenging thing you have done?
The most challenging thing I’ve done is playing on JV soccer during my junior year. I’ve been playing soccer
competitively and in school since 4th grade. I was captain of the JV team last year, so I thought I was guaranteed a spot on
varsity when I was trying out last November. I was involved in a lot of class office business while soccer try outs were
going on, so I know I wasn’t able to play my best game the week of try outs, and the coaches were able to see that too.
Seeing the other players so confident and skilled made my confidence go down even more, and the day that the teams
were posted, I was devastated to see that I had only made JV. I was, in a sense, expecting it since I hadn’t put my best foot
forward during tryouts (no pun intended), but a part of me hoped that the coaches would see some of my skill and finesse
through my nervousness and would put me through. When I saw on the list that I had made JV, I was determined to quit
soccer altogether and make the coaches regret their decision. I was so afraid of telling all my friends, who play on varsity
teams, that I was only on the JV team as a junior. I was mortified and embarrassed that I hadn’t been able to make it to the
next level after already spending two years on the JV team. I talked to the varsity coach, who told me that I should
continue playing in case people on varsity got injured and I would be able to get moved up. After a week of pondering
what to do, I decided to try playing on JV and decided that if I didn’t make it to varsity after four weeks, I would quit
school soccer for the year and focus on my schoolwork. Playing on JV was the hardest thing to do, not only because I had
to tell everyone that I hadn’t made varsity, but also because the coach was not at all what I had expected. I had expected
him to be someone I could rely on to help me make it to the next level. But Javier (the coach) turned out to be quite the
opposite. He did not understand English, and clearly played favorites and paid no attention to anyone except his one
favorite player. The first four games I wasn’t even a starting player, even though I was a captain and was clearly pushing
myself. I asked him for constructive criticism, and he simply told me I “wasn’t trying hard enough”. How was I supposed
to show him that I was trying harder than ever to get his attention but everything I was trying wasn’t working? We played
useless games during practices and he regularly cancelled practices since our team was good enough to beat the other
teams by at least six goals. There was no real challenge during the season, so I didn’t feel myself improving at all. A few
times I practiced with the varsity team to show the coach how badly I wanted to play on a higher level, and those were the
times that I felt myself playing better than ever because I was challenging myself by going up against players who were
better than I was. Unfortunately though, the varsity coaches rarely watched the JV team and I wasn’t able to move up as I
wanted. But I ended up staying on the JV team the entire season, even though I told myself I wouldn’t, so that I could stay
in shape for club soccer and work hard to make the varsity team next year. It was so difficult to stay on the team all
season, not only because I felt ashamed to be on JV, but also because it was taking up so much of my time and I wasn’t
even playing at the level I wanted to be on. But I realized that it was only my fault for not showing my best game the
week of tryouts, and I had to pay the price for the rest of the season, at which point the only thing I could do was work
hard to improve myself for the next season. It stopped mattering to me what people thought when they heard that I was on
JV, because I realized that I loved soccer enough to endure the gossip and my real friends wouldn’t care what team I was
on no matter what.
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9. What have you done during the past four summers?
This summer (2011):
This summer my biggest commitment was my 6 week course in Biology which I took at De Anza College. The class was
Monday-Thursday, for 2 hours on Tuesday/Thursday and 5 hours on Monday/Wednesday. I just completed the course
last week with an A+ in the class. I also took an online class on the subject of History of Rock n’ Roll at West Valley
College to complete my Visual/Performing Arts credits that are required for me to graduate. I completed the course
with an A in the class. I also had a weekly internship at Pediatric Associates (a private practice office by Good
Samaritan Hospital) with Dr. Jerina Kapoor, where I was able to shadow Dr. Kapoor through all her appointments and
her morning routine for about 4 hours every Wednesday. I also worked a bit for my grandpa, who works at Farmers
Insurance, just to help him around the office with some tedious typing work and answering phone calls. I also began
babysitting regularly for a family who is one of my mom’s clients (she’s a realtor) almost on a weekly basis to earn
money. I’ve also been keeping up with my regular club soccer practices which are 2-3 times a week.
Last Summer (2010):
Last summer my main involvement was in Stanford’s EPGY progrram, in which I took a three week course in
psychology. It was such an amazing experience because not only did I learn a lot in my daily four hour class, but also the
class wasn’t for credit or a grade so I was able to learn without the pressure of testing or earning an A. I simply learned for
the pleasure of learning, and got to participate in some really interesting projects in which we got to devise plans for
expirements to test certain psychological traits, such as how individuals sleep time affects their daily routine. Not only did
I get the opportunity to learn in a more relaxed environment, but I was also able to meet people from all around the world
and establish lasting friendships with the people I lived with. EPGY was one of the best and most interesting experiences
of my life because of how much fun it was and because it was a great way for me to experience what living away from
home will be like. When I returned after the three weeks, I continued my regular soccer and track practice routines for the
rest of the summer and took a short course in preparation for the SAT.
Summer of 2008 & 2009:
During the summers of 2008 and 2009 I traveled with my family to Europe for a couple weeks just to do sightseeing (I
don't remember most of is though...) and when we returned I had practices for soccer, track, and volleyball.
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10. What was your best day/experience? Worst? Funniest?
My funniest experience was the day of my first driving lesson, only a few days after passing the test to get my permit.
I asked my best friend Olivia which agency she had used for her lessons, and once I got the name and number, I
simply called them up and set up an appointment without doing any real research. We had to drop off some papers
before beginning my lessons, and when we did I realized that their “office” was actually some acupuncture condo that
doubled up as the office for the driving lesson agency. I was a bit skeptical at first, but then I figured that first
impressions didn’t matter that much since Olivia had told me that her driving instructor had been acceptable. On the
day of my first lesson, I expected to find a car with a dignified sign on top saying “learning driver” on top like I had
seen so many on the road for other driving agencies. Instead though, I walked out to my driveway only to find a beat
up White Toyota on the road, with a Chinese driver who was reclining in the passenger seat and seemingly half
asleep. I asked the driver if he was my instructor, Allen, there for my driving lesson. To my mortification, it was
indeed Allen. I stepped into the driver seat of the car, which I quickly found out smelled strongly of cigarettes, and
Allen briefed me on the basics of driving, from the gas and brake pedals to the button for the yield light. As we drove
on, I right away realized that I had difficulty making left turns and slowing down when I saw a yellow light, since I
would much rather speed through instead. In my defense, the stench of cigarettes was hindering my ability to drive
well. About half an hour into the lesson, Allen took me through some inner streets, and we soon arrived in front of a
house, where he said, “I’ll be right back, I have to drop something off”. I was left waiting in the car for a good 15
minutes, at which point he returned and told me that was his house. I thought that was a bit strange that I was driving
him to and fro his house, but we continued driving. Ten minutes later we arrived in front of Monta Vista High School.
Allen made me go through the drive-through, and I thought it was just part of my learning experience, until he told me
to stop and let his daughter and her friend into the car...on my first driving lesson. I was already a nervous wreck, but
knowing that I had two teenagers in the car made my hands clammy and I became even more jittery. However, I
successfully dropped the two teens off at their respective houses and went home, so shocked that I had practically run
my instructor’s errands as he was “teaching me” how to drive, but now it’s an experience I look back on and laugh at.
My worst experience was losing one of my best friends because of a petty incident at a dance. He was one of my best
friends, named Manish. He and I had been close only for about a year, but I talked to him about everything and
anything. People always bothered us about being “more than friends”, but we both knew that we were just two friends
who were close and could talk about anything. However, after the Sadies Hawkins dance, which I asked him to, we
almost became romantically involved and things soon became complicated. He ended up falling for someone else, and
we soon lost touch. It didn’t happen right away though, since we attended a summer camp together and became closer
than ever as we spent three weeks on the same college campus and spending time together on a daily basis. But after
the incident at the school dance, things were never the same and I lost a best friend. The boy I could depend on for
anything and call up at 3 A.M. for advice had fallen out of my life. The experience also made me more guarded and
cautious with the people I trust. He was the one person I thought would never hurt me or cause me pain, but in the end
he did, and I’ve never been the same around anyone, boys and friends. I’m not as open and it’s more difficult for me
to trust all the people in my life knowing that sometimes the people you would least expect to cause you pain can hurt
you more than ever.
My best experience was when I went to Stanford for the three week EPGY camp last summer to take a course in
psychology (elaborated in another prompt above).
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11. What was the most memorable experience you have had with your parents? Brother or sister? Best friend? Teacher?
My most memorable experience with my parents was the period of time when we were planning my 16th birthday party. I
wanted to have it at a venue outside of my house for once, since for the past 15 years I had had a giant
summer/birthday party in my backyard for all my and my parents’ friends to enjoy. Most places we looked at were
outrageously expensive, and I had almost given up hope of having a Sweet Sixteen anywhere but home. One day
while I was at school though, I received a text from my mom saying “Booked Hotel Valencia for my baby’s Sweet
Sixteen!!! Love you so much!” I was so excited and we began planning as soon as I got home that day. My mom and I
went to the hotel almost every week for the rest of the month until the party to attend consultations with the planner
and decide decorations and food and all the details. We spent hours at home putting together handmade invitations for
the party. But the best part of it all was at the actual party, when all my family members made speeches. My dad gave
a funny speech, about all my silly habits like shopping and Facebook stalking and he basically embarrassed me in
front of all my friends. My mom gave a short and sweet speech about how I was growing up too fast and told me to
always be her little girl. And even though my dad was completely caught off-guard in terms of the price of the whole
party, he was still supportive and I realized that my parents are the two people who would truly do anything to see me
happy, even if it’s extravagant and selfish. But specifically with my mom, our best experiences have been our late
night trips to downtown Los Gatos to walk the dog. I only go with her occasionally, since it’s around 11 P.M. by the
time she goes and often I have work to do, but I love spending time alone with my mom. Whenever we go downtown
she never pressures me to tell her anything about my life, but I always feel like I can trust her with anything. I end up
pouring my heart out to her and telling her about everything going on in my life, from friends who are experimenting
with drugs to any boy problems I’m having. I usually don’t open up to my mom too often since I like to keep my
social and family life separate, but walking with her at night is so relaxing and comfortable that I know I can tell her
anything and she will understand.
My most memorable experience with a teacher was with my math teacher this year Mr. Yim. Mr. Yim is unlike any
teacher I’ve ever had before, because he actually applied everything he taught in class to real life situations. Not only
did he teach my class lessons in math this year, but he also taught us many important life lessons, such as “Be
mindful” and “Try to achieve zero”, by which he meant there should be zero difference in your expectations and
reality. He often went off on tangents during class, relating some life lessons to his own experiences when he was in
college. He told us about his mistakes, his achievements, how his math club members were doing, his new bikes, how
to do karate moves, and even more random tid bits that he felt related to something in the class. Sometimes it was so
tiresome to listen to his constant stories when all I wanted to do was get my math lesson over with so I could get
ahead and start my homework. But now I realize that practically all of his stories are ingrained in my mind because
they all taught us valuable lessons, whether they be about math or just life in general. At the beginning of first
semester I had a solid C in his class for a while because it was difficult for me to catch on to his methods of teaching,
since he taught quickly and always taught us multiple methods to approach problems. I thought it was a waste of time
to learn more than one way to do something when you could just take the easy way and be done. But I realized that he
was teaching us multiple methods because some of them became useful in later chapters, since we already had a bit
of background on them. As soon as I became more attentive and patient in his class, I began improving and never fell
back down to the level I was at in the beginning of the year. My best experience with him was when I went to his
room after school to request a letter of recommendation from him. I was terrified at first because Mr. Yim is strict and
straight to the point and is just intimidating in general. But as soon as I began talking to him he made me feel at ease,
telling me to have a seat and talk to him about everything in my life. I ended up discussing all my extracurriculars
with him and all my fears and reservations about college and the application process. He gave me invaluable advice
about what to do to prepare myself for interviews and make myself the most competitive applicant possible. I didn’t
receive the grade I wanted at the end of the second semester because I didn’t do well on the final exam, but Mr. Yim
reassured me that the rest of my transcript was impressive and that I had done the best I could with all my
extracurriculars. Basically Mr. Yim made me feel at ease for a little bit regarding my grades and the college
application process and he made me adjust to a different type of teaching method that I hadn’t experienced before but
actually ended up liking at the end.
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My most memorable experiences with my sister have been just in the evenings when she comes into my room for about
20 minutes and we both take a break from our schoolwork to talk. Junior year was by far the most stressful year of my
life, but it was always relaxing whenever Ankita came into my room for a little bit to get my mind off of all the stress
in my life. She would casually walk into my room, make herself comfortable on my bed, and start blasting her music
on her laptop while chattering away about whatever was on her mind at the time. We would talk about everything,
from school to boys to the latest music and movies. When we were younger, my sister and I had a lot of sibling
rivalry, but now that we're older she's become the one person who I can trust with anything and completely be myself
around.
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12. When and how have you shown leadership?
I first began showing leadership during my sophomore year, when I became class representative for sophomore class
student council. I didn't really have much responsibility at this point because I just wanted to see if student council
was something that was of interest to me. That year I just helped with homecoming and fundraisers but nothing really
major. I was also captain of the JV soccer team my sophomore year. Junior year I became vice president of junior
class student council. Being vice president was much more work than being a class rep was. Junior year we had to
plan various events such as homecoming, prom, Saratoga idol (fundraiser), the holiday boutique (fundraiser), helping
out with graduation, and conducting other fundraisers throughout the year. It was a really busy and dramatic
experience but I'm so glad I was so involved because I made closer relationships with many more people in my class
and with our vice principal (Ms.Hyde). I was once again captain of the JV soccer team junior year. Junior year I also
became involved in helping start up a new club called the HHH club. The club began as the Women's Issues Club
because our main purpose was to help impoverished and diseased women around the world by fundraising and
donating money to organizations that would help these women. We also tried to raise awareness around school, such
as by showing a screening of a documentary about women who live with fistula disease. We also fundraised to send
money to a young girl in India to help her pay for her education in nursing so she could hopefully help other women
in need. Last year I was vice president of the club, and senior year I will be president and hope to continue and expand
the club and our fundraisers. During junior year I was also a link leader, which means I helped freshmen get
acclimated to high school during the first few weeks of school. I was also on dance commission, so I helped plan the
dances we had during the school year. I was also captain for the varsity track team during spring, when our varsity
girls team placed first in our league. Next year I will be ASB secretary, and we have already begun some work (at the
end of last year/over this summer). I was also selected to be in the leadership class for next year (selected by vice
principal, meets twice a week during lunch to combat problems at school). Part of my responsibilities as ASB
secretary included taking part in/helping organize Relay for Life this summer (fundraiser for American Cancer
Society) and I was captain for a team and had to rally a group of students together to complete the 24 hour fundraiser
walk.
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