My application to NYU. A mere 10 years later, I'd move in next door and realize I'm never leaving the village.

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Why NYU?
I'm sitting in Washington Square Park, basking in its vibrant scene. The cries of a trumpet, the patting of a drum, and the music of a pianist can be heard. I find the mix of people appealing and the amenability of the environment attracting. The campus is so well integrated with the City that "to go to school in New York City" seems more true of NYU than any other school.

I've read that college is "what you make of it" and it doesn't matter very much which college one attends. Although I agree that one can get a great education at an average college or an average education at a great college, I do best in an environment where I can easily discuss my ideas with peers and teachers. I want to be with students who are interested and engaged. I'm looking for a environment in which other students inspire me and share their insights. I believe that NYU, with its high standards for admissions, renowned faculty, small class sizes, and diverse student body, will provide a great environment for me to pursue my studies. And in light of my passion for math, to be associated with the world-renowned Courant Institute would be perfect for NYU and me.

New York City is also a factor in my choice of NYU. As the son of a native New Yorker, I've been visiting annually my entire life. I've always been attracted to the City's energy and vibrancy. I know I'll be working hard at NYU, and I am pleased to know that when it's time to relax, I'll be able to do so in that great city.

B. Regardless of whether or not you have an intended major, please elaborate on an academic area of interest and how you wish to explore it at NYU’s campuses in New York or Abu Dhabi or at one of our global academic centers around the world. Please share any activities or experiences you have had that have cultivated your intellectual interests leading you to choose to study at the NYU campus of your choice.

I'm drawn to Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science all for the same reason: I want to understand the universe by studying its phenomena. Mathematics is the most fundamental of these; math is direct, descriptive, and concise in representing our world.

I find Mathematics and Physics so profound because their laws not only existed before humans, but have existed since the beginning of time and space. We're discovering the indisputable and invariant laws of the cosmos. The inherent integration of math and physics with reality provides them with a certain beauty that's unique to the sciences. It is this beauty that attracts me.

To be able to pursue my passion with math at the Courant Institute would be the perfect next step for me. The Institute's focus on applied mathematics, including dynamical systems (one of my favorite subjects) makes it a place where I will immediately feel at home in the company of dozens of bright, kindred spirits.

As I learned on my NYU campus tour, most NYU students will have several internships by the time they graduate. Having had a very successful chemistry lab internship the summer before my senior year of high school, I truly appreciate the value of being able to apply to real world problems the lessons I've learned in the classroom. I am thrilled by the prospect of spending classroom hours at the Courant Institute and then applying what I've learned through mathematics internships with some of the world-class firms based in New York.	

C. What intrigues you? Tell us about one work of art, scientific achievement, piece of literature, method of communication, or place in the world (a film, book, performance, website, event, location, etc.), and explain its significance to you.

I purchased Chaos: Making a New Science at the Raleigh airport book store so that I would have something to read on the plane to Australia. I was entirely unaware of the book's notoriety. What was a fleeting choice evolved into an intimate love affair; I was hooked immediately. Gleick brought together mathematical and scientific phenomena like I had never seen. The book introduced me to the fact that common, simple equations, when treated a certain way, can behave erratically. I found this so fascinating that I had to demonstrate it myself. I wrote a Java program that graphed the periodic behavior of a simple, recursive function over the variation of a constant. This yielded what is called a bifurcation diagram which resembles an infinitely branching tree with periods of disordered and tangled branches. After being able to see this intricate complexity embedded in a superficially simple equation, I was really able to understand the depth and power of Mathematics. This book entirely changed my view of the complexity of the world; it taught me to search for order and fundamental governing principles and it led me to my great appreciation of the entanglement of nature and mathematics.


Application scrap


The freedom and absence of boundaries allows c

To be a part of no other campus would make me as much a member of the community as NYU.

A man's parrot is perched on his bicycle to my left, and to my right a man sets up a puppet show. Across the walkway sits a man inundated with pigeons.

I've never been so complacent simply sitting anywhere.

A man tries to teach a young boy a soccer trick on the walkway.

In addition to the great cultural diversity of your school, the diversity of New York will add immensely to my experience. I love walking down the street and having the languages of 5 different countries wash over me


For the past few years, I have been enthralled by various topics in mathematics: (list some here).  When my wonderful father (a graduate of Stuyvesant High School) told me that he's been reading about NYU's Courant Institute in the news for decades, I had to investigate.  I am very excited by what I've seen.  (Elaborate here.)

As we learned on our NYU campus tour in October, most NYU students will have held several internships by the time they graduate.  Having just had a very successful chemistry lab internship the summer before my senior year of high school, I am thrilled by the prospect of having mathematics internships with some of the world-class firms based in New York City.