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'there must be deeper truths' - Harvey Mudd Engineering


tehfunkicookie 19 / 50  
Dec 3, 2011   #1
A lot of people tell me that there are too many facts in here so I kept revising it. Here is what I have so far:

The prompt is :
2. Describe an experience that sparked your interest in mathematics, science or engineering. Word count is less than 1000 words so thats good. So please be as harsh and critical as you want! I really want to get into this college!!

I just want to say one thing: I'm not a freak for engineering, but I am definitely interested in it.

What most impresses me about this disciplinary subject? Complexity and harmony. The very fact that some truths and intricate fields of study that are completely dissimilar can merge together and form one complete and coherent area of study.

During the 7th grade, I had attended an Introduction to Engineering class at CTY that unlocked the hidden erupting interest I had in engineering. Over the course of the summer, Mr. Thompson, my professor, provided us with unique engineering projects that allowed us to get real hands on experience. One of these projects that initiated my interests was constructing the Elevated Bridge. Given unlimited supply of balsa wood and glue, he told us to build any type of bridge we wanted that could hold 10kg of sand. I thought it was going to be a simple project; eager, I used my unique ideas and constructed my bridge that looked authentically appealing but not intensely strong. When I went out to go test my bridge, my bridge only held 5kg of sand. It caught my attention when one of my classmate's bridge, which was much simpler and lighter, held 9kg of sand. Jealous and confused, I kept comparing my bridge with hers. I knew something had to be wrong because my bridge was more sturdy and well built while hers looked light and fragile; however, after learning about Young Modulus and structural mechanics, not only was I more interested and curios in engineering, but I was completely astonished at my disbelief.

When I went back inside the classroom, Mr. Thompson had asked us a question which I had been pondering about:

"I noticed most of your bridges were extremely heavy. I bet half of you were thinking that the heavier or more built your bridge is, the more sand your bridge could hold right?"

I was startled; everybody raised their hands.
Thus, it was of no surprise, when he started to lecture us about Young Modulus and Newton's Laws that answered my never ending questions about my bridge. I began to learn that it wasn't just the arbitrary connection of balsa wood that helped my bridge carry so much weight, but it was because my bridge had a low stress point explained by Young Modulus's. Through various calculations using the equation of stress F/A=Y (change length/ initial Length), I identified the slope and point at which my bridge broke. My interests kept increasing exponentially because I was astonished about how such calculations and proof can answer something that I couldn't believe with my very eyes. I felt surges of excitement run through my whole body. Although he finished, I wanted to learn more. Trying to fulfill my craving, the teacher taught us a little of structural mechanics. Combining what I had just learned with structural mechanics, I figured out that the point on the Young Modulus graph was defined as when my bridge would deform or reach its maximum stress level. Furthermore, there were some other topics like compression that I could not fully comprehend and apply, but knowing that there was much more explaining to do to fully comprehend the concept continued to ignite my interest. As weeks passed by, I continued to do more projects and cover more topics of physics and chemistry that would eventually fully bring about my passion and yearning to study engineering.

From obtaining intricate and profound knowledge to developing beginning skills in the art of building, I was left profound impression on engineering. The individual engineering projects that gave me an opportunity to apply my ideas in designing and building models gave me real hands-on experience that furthered my interests. When Professor Thompson had told me that there was a lot more to building then what I learned, I was excited. After finishing the class, I realized that there must be deeper truths that I can acquire in order to fully comprehend the art of building, and its these deeper truths that will continue to spark my interest in studying engineering
maroon5 9 / 57  
Dec 4, 2011   #2
i really enjoyed reading your essay...it's clear that your experience with the bridge left a deep impression upon u and sparked your interest in engineering....while it may have a lot of facts pertinent to physics, i feel as though these references add to the reality and strength of the essay. U might just consider removing the equations that you have included...you have articulately answered the prompt and there are no grammatical flaws either...GOOD JOB AND GOOD LUCK..

PLEASE CHECK OVER MY COMMONAPP ESSAY


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