Macalester is a community that includes people from many different backgrounds, some who have lived around the world and others who have lived in one place their entire lives. Please write an essay about how your background, experiences or outlook might add to the Mac community, academically and personally. (250-1000 words)
I am usually the optimistic one among my friends, and I would do silly stuffs just to cheer them up if they are feeling down as I feel very uncomfortable seeing any of my friends being upset. With a secret desire to be a comedian since young, I want to help the Mac community see the bright side of life by joining Bad Comedy in Macalester. Having been through a tough childhood and battling anxiety during my adolescence, as well as serving as a para-counsellor in volunteer sessions, I can also relate to and provide counselling for my future peers in Macalester when they are going through emotional rough patches. I am eager to participate in the Active Minds at Macaelster to share my experience with other members of the group and contribute to promoting awareness of the reality of mental health issues within the Mac community so they are better able to manage it.
I would like to continue pursuing my interest in community service in college, and having worked as a tutor recently and falling in love with the job, I would like to make use of my experience to initiate a new community service project where Macalester students, faculty and staffs are invited to tutor disadvantaged children in schools near the Saint Paul area at least once a week. This will not only enrich the mind of the children, but bring together the Mac community for a helpful cause, promoting friendships and bringing a sense of fulfillment to the ones who take part, knowing they are empowering the less well-off through education.
I have always felt that in order to learn, one must always be willing to challenge academic assumptions, even if they are already an established fact. This is a lesson I learned while I was tutoring a student in Mathematics. Although I felt that I already had a complete grasp of the problem and the rudimentary equation that would lead to a valid solution, the student I was tutoring showed me that there was actually another way to approach and solve the problem, coming up with the same valid outcome. I believe that by continuing to have the same open minded yet inquisitive attitude about my classes at Macalester, I will be able to strengthen and enrich the learning environment of the institution.
As a prospective economics major, I believe there is still much more empirical research to be done, particularly in the field of macroeconomics and political economics; ones which do not oversimplify the complexity of the state of economies today. Macalester is a platform that will allow me, in collaboration with the characteristically passionate and accessible faculty, to engage in research which will push the frontier of macroeconomics knowledge, and hence better inform policy making.
In all, I am confident my background, experience and outlook will allow me to contribute to the many interesting and meaningful student activities in Macalester and also help me connect with peers who come from diverse cultures and backgrounds in the campus. The accessible faculty and huge library of academic resources makes me well-equipped to engage in research which can not only enrich Macalester's intellectual environment, but also the world's.
Wow, great essay overall. You have great organization and provide solid details about how you can contribute to Macalester. Since you have a 1000 word limit, maybe you can elaborate more on how you can enrich the global community with the skills acquired at this university?
Hi. Overall, your essay is quite well-written and strong.
However, I think you may elaborate more details about the aspects of Macalester that you really love. For example, there are some special academic programs, or great professors, small students-to-faculties ratio, something like that. And then, you could relate to your experience in high school to show that you could contribute to ,Macalester.
Your wish is my command :-)
With regards to the academic aspect of your personality, try not to concentrate on just Economics as you will be encountering various professors and classes in the academic setting that will lead to your beliefs and ideas being constantly challenged and questioned. Rather than showing an argumentative of debate driven side of your personality, try to present yourself as someone open to all aspects of learning. Each question being an enlightening experience rather than considering these something you need to discuss for hours on end with your professor. Be an absorbing sponge that analyzes all of the lessons you will be learning and trying to compile all of these lessons into a unique learning experience. I think it would be helpful if you also present your social / tutoring side in relation with your academic drive. Those two traits actually go hand in hand so you could use the tutoring to segue into your academic contributions if you wish.
I don't really see any problems with your social aspect at this point. There are some points in the essay that we can actually tighten to make it faster for the admissions officers to read and consider the important points. We can look into that after you have performed any revisions that I and the others in this thread have suggested :-)
