What three experiences or activities have helped you explore your desire to study and

possibly pursue a career in STEM?

I participated in math competitions, such as National Math Counts in 8th grade and the

AIME/USAJMO in 9th and 10th grade. I participated in speed math competitions such as Math is

Cool as well as preparing on many advanced topics for the MAA math competitions.

Participating in these competitions helped me realize my aptitude in solving math problems and

picking up skills in that area.

I participated in Science Club and a Regional Science Bowl in 11th grade, my first

science competition. I enjoyed using knowledge from Physics and Chemistry class to answer

questions quickly, such as determining the distance of a planet using resolution or describing

common names of chemical compounds such as Calcium Oxide. I also learned many interesting

facts in astronomy and earth science that make those areas quite interesting to explore.

I went to a programming camp for three weeks the summer before 11th grade and realized

that many areas in programming such as standard languages and game programming were quite

related, and thus connecting past knowledge to new ideas is very useful. I also learned that many

interesting areas can be self-studied due to the quantity of resources available, especially online

resources for programming.

Please list three books, along with their authors, that have been particularly meaningful

to you. For each book, please include a sentence explaining their influence upon you

(200 characters max). Please note that your response is not limited to math, science or

school-assigned texts

1. The Stranger, by Albert Camus

 I realized that reading solely about what a main character thinks, even if they are not

saying anything, can be very telling about the circumstances within books and important

themes and messages.

2. Barking up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker

After reading analysis of different traits such as self-confidence, I learned that most traits

have relative merits, and it is how well a person can make use of traits that matters most

for success.

3. Learning Virtual Reality, Tony Parisi

I learned that virtual reality is currently developing for many uses in addition to just

video games. It is also a current technology which is constantly being improved, not just

something futuristic.

Members of the Caltech community live, learn, and work within an Honor System with

one simple guideline; 'No member shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the

Caltech community.' While seemingly simple, questions of ethics, honesty and integrity

are sometimes puzzling. Share a difficult situation that has challenged you. What was

your response, and how did you arrive at a solution?

In 11th grade, the second year of IB, my history class was behind the other classes

because our teacher was new and did not cover much material. A month before the exam, one of

our tests was graded by the other teacher and I realized that I was not prepared at all for the IB

History test. I knew that if I wanted to still get a high score, I would somehow have to condense

a semester of IB history test preparation into the next month, including knowledge and analysis

skills.
 I knew I had to be very selective in the material I decided to cover, just like a teacher.

Instead of attempting to review all the Cold War material the other classes spent three months

on, I prepared only for the likely essay prompts and topics necessary for the test, based on

information in the IB review book, limiting my time to study on each topic to around 45 minutes.

I went through a similar procedure to review the US History and Civil Rights topics. In July, I

realized that my dull but direct plan was quite successful, and I knew that nothing beats a well-

thought-out methodology.

Caltech students have long been known for their quirky sense of humor, whether it be

through planning creative pranks, building elaborate party sets, or even the year-long

preparation that goes into our annual Ditch Day. Please describe an unusual way in

which you have fun.

“The word ‘just’ have many meaning.” Reading comments such as these from my

Japanese language chatting partners on mobile apps is often quite fun, especially when the

comments are funny. It is especially fun to talk with other students and to chat just like I do on

Facebook.

I started attempting to learn Japanese two weeks after I started watching Japanese shows.

I realized that, just as I had never played video games without striving to get better in the

competitive environment, I would never be satisfied with just watching shows and only

understanding subtitles. I started by memorizing words beyond the Japanese that video game

players often spouted out, and later I started to study with a textbook at times so that I might one

day learn Japanese.

 I soon began to start chatting with people and playing video games in Japanese as well,

which I sometimes do to combine my regular fun activities with making “progress.” There is

always something new I can try, and even if learning a language on one’s own is not fun for most

people, the feeling of “progress” has turned it into a hobby of mine.

In an increasingly global and interdependent society, there is a need for diversity in

thought, background, and experience in science, technology, engineering and

mathematics. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of Caltech's

community?

I would be able to contribute to the diversity by being self-driven in exploring new ideas,

while making use of most of the resources available to solve difficult problems. For example, I

self-studied for the AP Physics C calculus-based tests using knowledge from algebra-based

Physics and Calculus classes mostly by using resources from the classes and going over the main

topics in the AP review books. Similarly, I would be able to use a variety of available resources

at Caltech to solve problems.

I also enjoy inquiring on real world phenomenon. For example, after the 2008 and 2012

elections, I noticed a difference in party alignment compared to past elections, such as those soon

after the formation of the Republican Party, and decided to explore the causes of this regional

party alignment shifting phenomenon in my IB extended essay. I used the historical method of

compare and contrast, exploring four specific interpretations of the primary cause: racist

sentiment, anti-communism, urbanization, and revivalism, determining that racism and

urbanization were the dominant factors. Thus, I would be able to contribute to the diversity of

thought by being willing to explore many outside-the-box topics, especially those based on

interesting real-world phenomenon.

Scientific exploration clearly excites you. Beyond our 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio and our

intense focus on research opportunities, how do you believe Caltech will best fuel your

intellectual curiosity and help you meet your goals?

Caltech will best help me meet my goals with its outstanding resources, peer group, and

focus on fundamental inquiry, as well as making important improvements for the future. I plan to

study Computer Science or a similar area because many cutting-edge developments that are

currently occurring are in that field. These developments include Cybersecurity, or more

interesting to me, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality, will require a very strong

background in Computer Science to contribute to. Furthermore, Caltech has some of the best

resources for exploring relevant questions for improving technology. The peer group at Caltech

is also unmatched, and I would be able to experience a peer group that is very interested in math

and science, similar to my peer group at summer math camps such as Awesome Math or

SIMUW, or online math communities such as Art of Problem Solving. This focused peer group,

which is unique to Caltech, will often have similar goals to mine and motivate me to go even

further toward solving problems or exploration when necessary.

In the past, I have worked on projects that involve designing my own questions, and at

Caltech, I would be able to continue that path. For example, I have designed my own

experiments or explorations in IB Math and Science classes, exploring questions such as how to

model the populations of certain regions in the world using logistic Calculus models,

determining whether rock climbing padding can be represented as “harmonic motion,” and

determining the concentration of certain acids in common sodas such as Dr. Pepper and Coke.

Due to my experience in self-driven inquiry, which is a crucial part of the mindset at Caltech, I
believe Caltech would best support my drive for further knowledge and improvement beyond

what is already known or discovered.

Finally, at Caltech, I would be able to explore fundamental inquiry in research, instead of

just trying to achieve a certain concrete goal. This year, as a part of an internship, I will be doing

research with data sets and bioinformatics. This will expose me to many of the methods involved

in answering questions at a high level and give me some experience in Computer Science, which,

in turn, will make me better able to make use of Caltech’s vast resources. I have also dealt with

many questions without simple answers, but rather requiring multi-sectionalism to answer, such

as in the IB Theory of Knowledge class. For example, while questions in areas such as ethics and

art were often discussed as difficult questions due to subjectivity, I also learned in that class that

scientific questions, especially when science is in the process of being discovered, it is far more

like an art than a field full of facts. Due to my background, Caltech would best help me in

exploring my interests in areas such as Computer Science. At Caltech, I would encounter many

problems that are difficult but very important to solve, which would satisfy my intellectual

curiosity and desire to “make progress.”