<p>I posted in the admisssions forum but I thought I would post here as well. I have written four essays and tossed all of them because they don't sound "right". This is my newest, and I really don't think it is great, but I am tired of these. </p>
<p>Thoughts? Specifically?</p>
<p>Just a little background, I am a female wanted to go into civil engineering and applying to: Syracuse, Northeaster, Smith, Lafayette, Lehigh, Delaware, South Carolina, Maryland, and U of Miami. Have a 28 ACT, 3.94 u/w, 4.5 w, 5/~350.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
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<p>My life as far back as I can remember has included traveling and learning about other lands and cultures. Be it the technologically advanced Germans or the impoverished Belizeans, the knowledge of the world and its various personalities has given me a different perspective on life in America. Up until high school, normality was not a term used to describe my education. With a military family, home schooling was the only alternative which would allow for some type of structure and continuity while the locations of our home changed. When my father retired, I was thrown into a world of social cliques, materialistic divisions, and standardized education also known as public high school. For all of my life I had been my own teacher, my own counselor, and my own critic. Fitting in wasnt a problem, I had the brains for the classroom and the talent for the field but where I struggled was in trying to understand the priorities and expectations of the normal American youth. As a senior now and the leader of various school and community based organizations, I like to think that my background has shaped the person that I have become. For the past few years I have dabbled in a little bit of everything trying to experience all of what high school had to offer and as a way to find out who I really am. I played field hockey as the team captain for a few years, softball with the highest batting average on the team, mentored children in under funded elementary schools, and even competed in a state wide environmental knowledge competition. Although varied and somewhat expansive, through my extracurriculars I have found the areas which I truly enjoy. I have passion for technology and its influence on politics and this has been fostered through my involvement in student council at the school, county, and state level as well as regional technology and programming competitions. During my freshman and sophomore years I held elected class offices and now as a senior I have been elected to represent the entire student body for our county. My position as the student member of my counties board of education has allowed me to voice my ever expanding views and have the amount of influence needed to actually make a difference. As more than just a casual member, I have been able to work with an amazingly bright and imaginative group of our top students, faculty, and elected officials on matters which will make a difference in the lives of countless numbers of individuals. This single role has given me innumerable amounts of public speaking, leadership, and social skills which will follow me wherever I go. As for my technological interest, as a freshman, I was encouraged by a dedicated teacher to enroll into a senior level computer programming course. This single action started a hobby of mine which has opened my eyes to an area which I never thought to explore. Ive continued with these advanced programming courses and been a member and team leader of a top ranked computer programming team since my freshman year. With these and other activities I realized that I wanted a career having to do with both technology and the social aspect of its impacts. This is how I chose civil engineering, a technical career with endless possibilities in the social and political world. As a seemingly normal girl with so many popular positions, my chosen career path isnt quite what is expected, but then again, my past isnt exactly normal either so hopefully my future will work out as well as my past has. </p>
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