Essay Test: Magic, Passion, and Learning

The following essay was submitted to highly selective colleges and universities

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The Most Important Lesson

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber

I had been using the Internet to learn things far before I was consciously aware of online education. No, I wasn't using it to learn mathematics, physics, geography, or something that I would need on the next test. I was using it to learn something more peculiar - magic tricks. I'd spend all day learning and practicing so I could show my tricks to everyone around me. My friends and family eventually grew bored of watching, so I took to the streets. The entire neighborhood thought I was a lunatic, walking around accosting strangers with a deck of cards in my hand. But learning magic tricks only marked the beginning of my tryst with learning.

My journey continued as I tried to learn how to build mobile applications in the eighth grade. One of my seniors, while explaining a concept to me over Skype, told me about how the Khan Academy was founded. Salman Khan had a similar experience while tutoring his cousins online. I began using the Khan Academy to learn things I never imagined myself to be interested in. Soon, I discovered Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) providers like Coursera and edX. Courses with titles that read "How to Reason and Argue" and "The Science of Happiness” made me curious about the world around me.

When Java was introduced in school at the beginning of ninth grade, my friends were perplexed. I had seen the material before, and I wondered if there was some way I could help them. Perhaps I could do for them what Salman Khan did for his cousins. Talking to a screen had never been harder. I was a ninth grader with no formal qualifications. Why would anybody take me seriously? What would my teachers think if I started doing their job? Would I actually help people, or be the laughing stock of my school? When I showed a few trustworthy friends the video, they laughed it off. I mustered all the courage I could, and after about six retakes, I hit the upload button. Fortunately, the response wasn’t as unpleasant as I’d pictured. My friends did benefit from the videos, and they weren’t the only ones who did. People from all over the world were leaving me comments and messages. My life began to feel more fulfilling and meaningful.

Given the reception to my first experiment, I decided to try another. I introduced my friends to the Khan Academy and other fascinating YouTube channels. It took months to get them interested, but things have changed drastically ever since. Just like I would show the world the magic tricks I learnt, I see people around me sharing the things they're learning. For some it's economics, for some, biology, and for others, philosophy. What I see around me is exhilarating because it's a massive exchange of ideas and knowledge. The math nerds tell the history buffs about Fermat's last theorem, only to hear about the advent of Russian communism in return. It affirms my belief that wonderful things are possible when people begin to combine different areas of knowledge.

What have I learned from all this? Magic taught me how to make people smile. Making YouTube tutorials introduced me to a global community of learners I didn't know existed. Online courses have made me aware of different intellectual disciplines and broadened my horizons of knowledge. I've read books and watched lectures that have all been instrumental in shaping my worldview. I discovered that it is possible to touch people’s lives in unimaginable ways by doing simple things. I have realized that the journey is sometimes more important than the destination. But my journey doesn’t end here; learning is a lifelong journey. I can’t stop now, because perhaps the most important lesson I've learned is that there’s always more to learn.

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Questions

Rate this essay from 1-5 with 5 being the highest mark. What rating did you give it and why?

Should admission essays come with titles?  Do you think the Buber quote helps set up the essay well?

Based on the essay what kind of colleges and universities would you advise this student to look at?

What three words would you pick to describe this student?

Does this essay help you decide whether this student will do well academically? Why or why not?

Does this student help predict whether this student will be successful in the ‘real’ world? Why or why not?

Does this tudent demonstrate a love of learning? Why or why not?

How would you describe this student’s voice?

Where is this student from and how do you picture him or her based on this essay? Would this information change the way you would respond to the essay? Why or why not?

Have you heard of Khan Academy?  Does this essay make you want to find out more?

Have you ever taken an on-line course? Have you ever taken a MOOC?  If yes, what was your experience?

Should colleges and universities give an edge in admission to those students who have earned certificates from online classes? Why or why not?

Compare this essay with the words another student wrote about about magic in an essay I posted not long ago.. How do these essays connect thematically?


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In a month or two I will post some information about this student. I would, for now, like to thank the student for letting me post this essay.

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I would like to thank Sumit for letting me post his essay here. He is an exceptionally strong student from Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

He did very well academically in his school and went beyond the typical student by self studying for AP Exams:

Here is how he describes what he did: I had a 2290 SAT(800CR, 710M, 780W) and an 800 in Math Level 2, and 750 in Physics. I also self-studied for AP Calculus BC,  Psychology,  Computer Science A, Phyiscs C: Mechanics and earned a 5 on all of them. But perhaps the disadvantage is that I'm an Indian male applying for Computer Science. Demographically, I probably had no "hooks". 


I have written before how it is often harder for international students from certain countries to get accepted to top schools than from other places.

Sumit applied to a number of the most selective universities in the US
Here are the results:

Reject:
Stanford
UCBerkeley
Cornell
UTAustin

Waitlist:
Duke
UMichigan

Admit:
University of Pennsylvania. I'm will attend UP enn in a dual degree program in Computer and Cognitive Science called the Artificial Intelligence program.

Northwestern
Rice
Carnegie Mellon (didn't get Computer Science though)
G Tech
UIUC
UCSD
U Washington
UCLA

For those who think they can predict with a high degree of accuracy who will get in to selective schools this list of results should serve as a cautionary tale. Sumit was accepted to many of the top private universities in the US in his field of interest. At the same time he was wait-listed and rejected by some top of the so called Public Ivies (as well as some very highly selective private universities too). Sumit may well be right that he did not have a hook to stand out among a large group of students applying from India.

U Penn clearly looked carefully at his credentials, his essays, activities and his love of learning and love of sharing knowledge with others. I have no doubt he will thrive there.