I felt rejuvenated when researching about issues completely unknown - MIT Short essays

1. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do for the pleasure of it. (100)

I should have retired from any extracurricular activities as senior, but I still coach my juniors in the debate team. I found it hard to leave the club I built and raised, the place where I can freely express unorthodox ideas without judgment.

I felt rejuvenated when researching about issues completely unknown and get prepared to support any side. I enjoy creating an internal pre-debate with myself as both affirmative and negative sides simultaneously, trying to tackle every arguments I made; enabling myself to break any restraints in thinking.

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2. Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why?(100)

Computer Science and Molecular Biology program.

There is a question that I cannot answer yet : how exactly cells differentiate? Zygote divides into exact copies, but how do they arrange themselves into various kinds of cells forming various kinds of tissues? I wonder who regulates which cells will be which tissues, since they are no regulation center like brain regulates human system. My biology teacher said that it was the DNA codes that regulate it, but how? Can cells communicate each other?

Through UROP and assistances by professors and staffs in EECS and Biology, I hope I can understand this.

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Questions for review :
What do you catch about me based on these essays?

Any suggestion and correction is welcome :)

Melati, the first thing that I catch about you in these essays is that you enjoy academics so much that you can't stop doing things related to it even when you are relaxing. That is what was reflected in your answer to the first essay about how you spend your time relaxing. Your comment about building the debate team and nurturing it tells us that you have strong leadership skills that can be nurtured to the benefit of the student community of your potential new university.

The second question though, I am not sure if you were able to answer the prompt properly because in my understanding, your response should have mentioned the reasons why you are attracted to specific departments of study at MIT. But instead you posed questions about things you did not understand and the hope that the university departments will be able to help you uncover the answers to your questions. I think you might need to analyze the question on a deeper basis, just to make sure that you are answering it properly :-)

thanks vangiespen!

-I feel rejuvenated


-preparing to support any side.


-of both the affirmative and the negative


-argument I have made


-break any restraints in my thinking

The essay is very interesting and shows your passion for debating, the only problems I can see are a few awkwardly worded statements and some minor grammar issues. I must concur with vangiespen in that I don't think you properly addressed the second prompt, but other than that you're off to a great start. Good luck!

My 2nd short answers revision :

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why?

Computer Science and Molecular Biology program. I can't choose between those two, my strongest intellectual wonders. I want to discover the cell differentiation process, yet I want to study logics and design artificial intelligence.

But after all, the study of molecular biology cannot be separated with the study of DNA. Computer science will add a new insight in the study of molecular biology by simulating genetic processes in computer. After all, the four nitrogenous bases in DNAs are like binary numbers, only composed on the basis of four, and human body are enormous computers that execute programs written in DNA.

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also, for the first short answer, Megan642 said that there are some awkwardly worded statements. Can anyone tell me which ones? I'm not a native, so I just don't realize if a sentence sounds awkward.

Thank you :)