<p>Okay so basically, these next couple of days are going to be spent on this website--with people who can actually feel my agony and pain.
So let's do something to pass the time!! How about everyone post up their required essay for Penn!! Let's read and enjoy!</p>
<p>I’ll start since I suggested it. Wow, I promised I wouldn’t go through my Common App again. It’s so traumatizing. lol</p>
<p>Dear Dean of Admissions,</p>
<p>It took me three hours to write an answer to this question, but I am afraid it now ceases to exist. After I had finished and read over it painstakingly, I proceeded to shred it to pieces. It had been an extremely thoughtful and scholarly response to your inquiries; it had been one that venerated your world class facilities and simultaneously displayed a vast area of knowledge of the academic and social communities that comprise your college (mostly taken and paraphrased from your website). It had been impeccable—intellectual, meticulously written, and sophisticated in style. And a steaming pile of horse dung. I know, after I have described this perfect answer, you are just itching to take a glimpse at it. You just want to ogle it, and be in the mere presence of its greatness. But, like I said, it is no longer with us. As I write this, it is reposing in the garbage can, blanketed by the remnants of last night’s dinner and pillowed by other failed attempts at answering this question. While I can no longer offer you that piece of literary genius, I can try giving you a less disingenuous reason why I want to study at your institution.</p>
<p>If I were to list all the reasons why I want to go to the University of Pennsylvania, my response would undoubtedly exceed the word limit. But I think I should give some indication as to why I want to study there before we get into what I can bring to the table. I feel a need to be completely honest in my motives, so I hope I am not being too daring and uninhibited when I say that the reason why I want to go to Penn is so that I can be the cause of envy amongst my friends and the source of admiration for my teachers and family. There is no question about the prestige of this university; both you and I know this very well. Saying that U. Penn offers an exceptionally enriching academic experience can be likened to the time I noted that Simon Cowell was too harsh on American Idol. I could bore you with statistics or lists of famous alumni, but that would not mean anything. Of course I want to walk the hallways that were once strolled by the likes of Ezra Pound and other pioneering and influential figures. But again, stating this fact would be superfluous. So, now that I have explained to you my intentions (in hopes of you holding my sincerity in high esteem), I should probably answer your question at once.</p>
<p>My attached r</p>
<p>@AprilFirst - Amazing essay, what course did you apply for?</p>
<p>Aw thank you IBslave. I really appreciate it! I applied as a biology major. And you? Btw IB is ballerrrr ;)</p>
<p>School of arts and science - Cognitive Science. Hate to be your competition 
Even with the dreaded IB diploma… :D</p>
<p>@aprilfirst: i reallly liked ur essay but just one thing its not U.Penn, its Penn and i donno why but im sure theyll hold taht against you just coz u talk abt how ur in love with the uni and u still dont know that its fondly called Penn!</p>
<p>Opps! Yeah, I have always been calling it U. Penn and so does my family (I don’t know why). haha But I’ve referred to it as Penn in my essay as well so hopefully it’s not TOO bad of a blooper? lol</p>
<p>[University</a> of Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania]University”>University of Pennsylvania - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>wiki says it’s referred to as both ways so if they hate me for it…i’m gonna say WIKI told me! haha :)</p>
<p>Please post your essays you guys!! It’ll help us pass time!</p>
<p>I think akkipenn might have just been joking.
I’m in school right now but when I get home I’ll post mine.</p>
<p>I’ve only seen it written as “UPenn” (it is how it’s written on facebook and their website is upenn.edu) however I assume you could write it as U. Penn if you want. I doubt they will hold it against you in your application. It just shows you aren’t from the area, which they will already know from your application haha. </p>
<p>It’s like how some pronounce Swarthmore as “SWARTH-moor” while people from around here just say “SWATH-moor”. No big deal!</p>
<p>“…true learning should indeed be the great Aim and End of all Learning.”
-Benjamin Franklin, 1749
When Ben Franklin founded the “Publick Academy of Pennsylvania” in 1749, he had
three basic principles to govern true learning in higher education. These three principles were: that higher education should be open to talent regardless of socioeconomic background; that theory should be taught alongside practical knowledge; and finally that when a student puts theory into practice, he or she will make a positive difference in the world. With these principles in mind, Franklin, one of our nation’s great founding fathers, established what would become one of the most innovative institutions of higher learning in the world: The University of Pennsylvania.
In my view, Penn IS a community; the myriad of facilities, the different schools-Wharton,
Arts and Sciences, Nursing, and Medicine, among others,-distinguished professors, and students,both undergraduate and graduate-all mesh together to make one of the nation’s most unified and intellectual campuses. Penn’s “One University” policy accurately depicts the sentiments of the Quaker community; during my visit, I saw African-American males walking with Asian-American females along the picturesque Locust Walk, and Whartonites and Arts and Sciences students aiding each other with school work in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library.
Perhaps the opportunity offered at this great university that entices me most is Wharton’s Study Abroad program in Lyon, France. French ranks among strongest and most enjoyed academic subjects, and this program will provide the chance to further my studies and become a truly cultured man. What sets Penn apart from peer institutions, though, is its study abroad programs’ business concentration, which allows it to have programs specifically for the cross-culturally oriented business student.
For the university as a whole, I think Penn’s sense of community is one of its unique
characteristics that attract me most. Too often at some other schools, cutthroat competition undermines the “true learning” and collaborative efforts that Penn so enthusiastically emphasizes. From my visit to Penn, my impression was that the students, even though every one of them is more accomplished than the last, are quite willing to help each other in times of need.
As for what I can bring, throughout my life I have lived in three different countries, four
different cities, have attended six different learning institutions, and have travelled across the globe-hopefully soon to France. I have witnessed life in the most world’s most cosmopolitan cities, such as New York and Toronto, to humble suburban towns, like Hartsville, South Carolina. Thus, I believe I can offer a unique perspective from cross-geographical and cultural experience. Above all, I believe I will learn how to learn from Penn, and ultimately be ready to make a unique addition to human knowledge.
One day, I wish to make a significant contribution to society. However, nothing comes
easily, and in the words of the great Chinese philosopher Confucius, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The difficulty of my goals is comparable to a thousand mile journey, and to travel such a distance, I need to take my first step. With Penn’s ideal of “true learning,” I believe that first step begins at The University of Pennsylvania.
Ben Franklin, you would be proud. You’d really be proud of the university that you
helped found.
Please let me know what you think! Wharton is my top choice, I would really like to go!</p>
<p>@ Nan-thank you so much for the reassurance hahaha =)
@Honors- I really liked your essay. Honestly, I thought it was really detailed and I think yoru love for Penn really came through! I wish you the besttttttttt of luck! Wharton is really hard to get into but you never really know!</p>
<p>I remember the week before ED day very clearly, haha. Fun times. Good luck to everyone in RD! Although luck has nothing to do with it.</p>
<p>Loved all the essays posted so far =] Here’s mine…</p>
<pre><code> I have walked down Locust Walk many times in my life. Yes, the trees are wonderful (especially in winter when the lights are up), the Gothic style buildings are a sight to see, and the history of Penn dating back over two hundred years can be felt with every step I take. What makes Locust Walk special to me, however, is not its physical aesthetics, but rather the spirit it embodies. I love how I cannot walk from the bridge over to College Hall without being stopped and asked if I can improve the environment, if I can support the rights of minorities, or if I can attend a social, philanthropic, or academic event. I would approach the various Penn communities to read their posters and ask questions with earnest when I was a young child. Now there is nothing I want more than to join the Penn community and make an impact on this world.
</code></pre>
<p>A unique characteristic of Penn is that academics and social activities are almost indistinguishable. Social communities are the gateway for learning and understanding. Joining a lab, for instance, is not only a way to prepare for my professional career, but it is an opportunity to interact with and learn from a diverse array of students unified by common interests and goals. By becoming involved in Kelly Writer’s House, I can write, read, and perform in an experience that is just as social as it is academic. I have attended and participated in a biology lab at Penn. The collaboration that I observed amongst the students introduced learning and teamwork simultaneously. Penn is unique among all other schools I have researched because its students acquire not only knowledge, but a sense of community in their undergraduate experience. </p>
<p>The social atmosphere at Penn provides the type of environment that meets my personal interests. By staying overnight, I learned first hand that the clich</p>
<p>Here is my common application essay. Some of my friends thought it was too risky, but I liked it so I kept it.</p>
<p>I had a dream last night that my most revered mentors came together to weave their unique thread into the fabric that ultimately became my common application essay. </p>
<p>Kurt Vonnegut, my favorite novelist, was in charge of the introduction in this reverie:<br>
Call him Benjamin. His parents did, or nearly did. His mom initially called him Buddha Boy because of his great chubbiness as a baby. Ben— Buddha— if he had been called John, he would have been a Ben still. But that is neither here nor there.
Listen:
When I was a younger man— three presidents ago, two wars ago, 250,000 cigarettes ago…
When I was a much younger man, I came across this young individual named Ben. I was on a plane to Germany to revisit Dresden. He was on his way to visit his terminally ill grandmother. I couldn’t help but stare as he wrote a poem about her during the entire journey. He metaphorically compared her to a beautiful star that was burning out.<br>
I felt a great sense of happiness. There is nothing better than art: to create something, to look at it, and to know that you have just made a contribution to the world. Ben did this as he wrote guitar songs, published poetry and short stories, and presented his works in front of his community.</p>
<p>…then, Richard Dawkins took over. As an English evolutionary biologist, he was sure to write from a different perspective than Vonnegut:<br>
I first met Benjamin on a sabbatical from Oxford. We were wearing identical Darwin shirts, except for their colours. I thought in my head, “Finally, our youth is becoming interested in evolutionary biology”. To my dismay, however, Benjamin informed me that this was not the case.<br>
“Almost everyone,” he said, “is either unacquainted with or just apathetic to the field.” Fortunately, Benjamin (as I do) has a passion to make an impact on those around him. This desire most likely explains his aspiration to become a university professor. When I visited his American high school, it seemed to me that he utilizes his creative upbringings to employ his knowledge. I read his influential school newspaper articles, attended his lecture on why the study of natural selection is important to the field of medicine, and observed him talking to his friends about evolutionary biology during cross country practice. In fact, he was showing them an article about the newly found fossil Darwinius masillae.</p>
<p>My grandfather was unquestionably included in this dream. After all, he has always taken me on memorable vacations and was the last person I talked to before I went to bed:
Of course Ben was sitting in the window seat. He would have it no other way! I am surprised to this day that his nose was not permanently damaged from the countless hours he sat with it pressed against the circular Plexiglas. The passengers surrounding us were absolutely perplexed as to how I could possibly answer, let alone listen to, every question that came my way. I would be halfway through explaining the aerodynamics of the plane we were on when Ben would interrupt me and ask “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why is each cloud different?” or “How much higher do we have to go to reach outer space?”
Ben’s life has always been backboned by his curiosity of the natural world. Ever since he was a little child, he loved going to the Franklin Institute or grabbing a science book from my bookshelf. The sense of awe he gets when staring in the face of complexity gives him motivation to seek answers.</p>
<p>What better way is there to end an essay than to have Benjamin Franklin, my American hero, write the conclusion?
Kind Reader,
The first degree of folly is not to open thine eyes; the second is not to open thy book; the third is not to spread knowledge to the entirety of thy community. Benjamin alas! He is of the same great name and never contributes to said follies!<br>
I in Philadelphia and Benjamin in Toms River do not rob ourselves from true learning: the ability to practice what we acquire. Yes, we both love our books, but we go beyond the paper. The founding of the Library Company of Philadelphia is what makes education worthwhile to me. Dear Benjamin undoubtedly concurs, as he regularly donates his time to the Ocean County Library and other community establishments. We don’t confine ourselves to the west of the Atlantic either. I in France and he in Israel have done work abroad. What pleasure he had working with displaced Ethiopian refugees in absorption centers and planting trees in the desert!<br>
His evolution from artistic articulation to scientific quest was not a transformation. Rather, it was an accumulation and maturation of previous inquisitive impulses. You can always find young Benjamin with a pencil in his hand, or a microscope before his eyes, with a determination propagated by his countenance.</p>
<p>My jaw has dropped after every essay I read…I hope these essays aren’t typical of my competition!!!
Thanks AprilFirst, does anyone else have an opinion they’d like to share with me about my essay? I really do want to go to Penn.</p>
<p>Calm down HC, your essay was excellent. =]</p>
<p>LOVE THEM ALLLLLLLLLL! Wow, if I get into Penn I am going to seriously love being around such talented people.</p>
<p>^Indeed .</p>