Graduate School Admission Essays

While some argue that the college essay as a part of the college application is obsolete in the era of generative large language models like ChatGPT, I believe that the process of crafting the contemplative piece presents a valuable opportunity for students to reflect on their motivations for pursuing higher education, to define their ethos regarding knowledge, and to engage in introspection about their identity.

If these essays were to become optional, we would risk succumbing to a mindset where the writing process solely serves the outcome of the admission, sacrificing genuine reflection for the sake of acceptance. As a high school student in 2016 who had access to college admission tutors, I now look back at my intentions behind my college essays sent to my alma matter, the University of California — San Diego, with a sense of disdain. My paragraphs were riddled with embellishments, forging a persona of someone who had suffered great injustices and overcome significant challenges, while in reality I lacked the true sensitivity or ability to honestly reflect upon own experiences.

Now, 7 years removed from the essays I wrote in high school, I just graduated from Georgetown University with my Masters degree. I wanted to take this time to reflect upon the essays I submitted to this program, taking pride in knowing that these pieces were written with the sole intention to explore the philosophical distress that led me to pursue higher education and educational reform. I hope that by sharing these essays I can highlight the values that have guided my educational journey thus far.

Diversity Statement

Identify and discuss how your identity, background, culture, life experiences, and perspectives would contribute to the diversity of the McCourt School of Public Policy?

Reluctant to finish college online due to Covid-19, I grudgingly signed up for my final classes, knowing little that my life would change after being introduced to these three men: Soren Kierkegaard, John Paul-Sartre, and Martin Heidegger. In the spring of 2020, I took an existentialism class at UCSD, reading the literature of these thinkers who pondered upon what it meant to “be.” For this prompt, had I chosen to answer that I am a first-generation immigrant who was born in India and immigrated in 1999, or that I battle a deformity known as clubfeet that required surgery leaving me with two weakened legs, or that as an only child I relied on creativity to make the world enjoyable, I would have marginalized my existence to these over-simplifications. However, in understanding the attempt of the university to create a diverse environment, I will strive to offer a more telling explanation of who I am.

To begin, I have witnessed my grandparents, who once stood as pillars for my family, go through severe depression and never properly heal. As it is a tradition in my culture for people to marry at formative years, my grandparents’ lives were centered around their children. Thus, their motivation to live waned as each child left home. As I watched my grandmother take her final breaths, knowing that she had spent her last two decades waiting for this moment, the fragility of human mortality imprinted itself upon me. She manifested the effects of a diminished mental fortitude, teaching me the importance of purpose. This lesson has heavily impacted the way I make decisions, constantly discerning between the actions I take to virtue signal and the actions I take for intrinsic reasons.

Another core tenant of mine is minimalism, impressed upon me by my father. He grew up impoverished in India where he would get a pencil and a new t-shirt on his birthday, receiving them ecstatically. However, as these gifts became easily accessible, he no longer derived any joy from them. He preached that it was never the pencil that lost its value, but his expectations that had risen so high that caused this change. In response, I have begun simplifying my life by using a Nokia phone, sleeping on the ground, taking bucket showers, and owning a nominal amount of clothing. These changes, while only a start, have been substantiating my father’s claim, leaving me at awe at my brain’s capacity to adapt.

I tend to agree with Sartre in his belief that as humans we are all thrust into the burden of free will. We are capable of immeasurable change insofar as we choose not to delineate our own boundaries. I cannot guarantee that the person I speak of today, will be the same person that enters your campus, but I can promise one thing. I will always strive to improve the conditions of the world by being the change I want to see. Through my thoughts, ideas, and vision for the future, I know I will contribute a unique mindset to the Georgetown community.

Statement of Purpose

State your goals and objectives for graduate study overall, and at Georgetown University specifically.

In 1852 the United States passed the Early Compulsory Education Act, mandating children to attend school from adolescence. As a country which prides itself on its freedoms, this law begs the following question: What is education’s role in society which deems it a necessity? Some argue that its role is simply to inculcate the skills essential for one to acquire a job, disregarding its function in developing students to critically think, question the systems they belong to all while impressing upon them the seeds of change. In order to live in a society where people engage in ideological conversations geared towards progress and take the corresponding actions engendering those outcomes, we must help students find a fondness for learning. This desire motivates me to work at the intersection of data science and public policy.

I discerned the shortcomings of education in 2016, when I worked at a low-income neighborhood teaching 1st graders who were behind state standards. Throughout my first week it became clear as to why my students were left behind when I stepped on the cigarette packs littered across the playground, met with the uninspired teachers who voiced their frustration of underfunding, and heard my students complain about their lunch — cardboard pizza. I left my job distraught, introduced to the failings of the local public policies to meet my students’ needs. I resolved to comprehensively understand the issues riddling our education system as I entered the University of California — San Diego.

For the next four years I was captivated at the convergence of human nature and statistics as I majored in Computer Science — Mathematics and minored in Philosophy. I found a natural inclination towards data science as the predictive character of logic contradicts the incalculable nature of humans. To indulge this fascination, I worked at the Veteran’s Hospital and the Neural Engineering Lab, researching the learning and decision-making processes of humans. In relation to education, my work made it abundantly clear that people uniquely learn due to varying brain compositions, thus confuting the current curriculum where homogenous material is taught. My work engaged children battling ADHD with tasks aimed at improving mindfulness, resulting in an uptake in their ability to focus. Similarly, if schools teach the relevant material catered neurologically, I believe this will improve a student’s retention rate, a hypothesis I intend to test.

I then turned my focus to human motivation when I interned at Intuitive Surgical as a People’s Data Analyst. I conducted a qualitative research experiment studying employee dissatisfaction, producing actionable criteria for the organization. Through this project, I became familiar with the psychology of positive and negative reinforcement humans rely on to promote behaviors. In education it is crucial that we never undermine a student’s interest in learning to pursue short term goals, such as obedience. After my work, I began to understand the importance for teachers to create a thorough system encouraging students to engage in class. In regard to my interest, I want to research the recidivism rates of differing disciplining practices.

With education reform in mind, the MS–DSPP program at Georgetown University is ideal for me. Both Professor Anthony Carnevale’s work on standardized testing and Professor Thomas Toch’s research on success aligns with my primary goal: improving upon the flawed set of metrics currently in place (GPA, standardized testing, etc.) attempting to measure a student’s capability. We must first create a comprehensive definition of success, one that is accessible to more individuals through hard work and passion. Then we must devise a metric measuring the ability for one to eventually be capable of reaching this success. Our current system only measures immediate capability, marginalizing the importance of both: one’s ability to learn, and love for learning. I conclude with this quote from Marcus Aurelius, wishing to no longer sit silently as the state of education deteriorates, “You can also commit injustice by doing nothing.”

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