Why Essay

• One type of Essay
• Essentially a Statement of Purpose

A specific guide to writing Why X school essays As a general guideline, when writing a Why X essay, spend at least ½ to ⅔ of the essay talking about the specific school and why you want to attend there. Be very specific about why you want to attend that particular school, what you plan to do there, and why you wouldn’t be able to achieve your goals if you went elsewhere. If you can replace the school’s name in the essay and use it for another school, it’s not specific enough. Mention professors, courses, specific programs, unique aspects of the school, etc. Take the time to thoroughly read the websites of the schools you’re applying to as they provide a lot of information. If we (the mentors) already know everything you’ve said about that school, it’s probably not specific enough. Include things that only people at that school would know!

• Ok, so what you’re basically saying is that you’re interested in human cognition and how it can be enhanced through computation. After that, you touch on what MIT offers and express your intention to take advantage of those courses and opportunities. The prompt is asking you “why this field of study appeals to you,” not what you would do at MIT.

  • So, does this mean that I should explain the logic of why I want to study YY because of XX?

• Furthermore, as you probably already know, the field of 6-9 is extremely complex and diverse. Narrow down your focus on “cognition” to something more specific. For example, one researcher at Columbia conducts research on human vision using computational methods (https://kriegeskortelab.zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/people/nikolaus-kriegeskorte). While this may not be exactly what you’re interested in, try narrowing down the scope of cognition in the first place and discuss the computational methods you would use, learn, or any potential ideas you have in mind that you would like to receive mentorship or guidance on in order to implement them in code. Once you have a clear scope, since you already have knowledge about computation, the pathway should become clear!

  • Current ambiguity:
    • Human cognition system
      • What would be ideal?
      • Discuss the idea of Window Technology as input/output
        • Computation
    • Updating cognition
      • Specifically, how?
      • Exploring a more liberated form of humanity by bridging the gap between humans and technology
        • Ah, this is a good idea
        • Columbia seems like a good fit
        • It connects with the core
        • Emphasize the idea of being unconstrained
          • This is the main point
    • While many constraints have been eliminated in various fields, it may be good to position the constraints of humans as well
    • Since this involves engineering the way humans exist, it requires an understanding of humans as well
      • Present it as a learning experience that I have not yet encountered
        • Do not include the Essay Unprecedented Case for Columbia/Chicago
        • Ah, but I should differentiate it for the world essay and use Columbia effectively
      • Then, mention that through TOK, I have learned about various Ways of Knowing (WoK), so it would be beneficial to learn from various perspectives as well

• Basically, it’s good to talk about the course like University of Tokyo recommendation application

  • Connect it to the concept of time
  • In order to do that, probably talk about interdisciplinary and engineering systems
    • Connect it to specific aspects of the university
  • It seems possible to talk about Human-X Interaction

• Help video for YouTube

  • The purpose is not to compliment the other person, but to show a match
  • It’s better not to mention location, etc.
  • In addition to mentioning what you can offer, also mention values and beliefs
    • Show that you have done research and demonstrate the match
  • Include school-specific information early on
    • It shows that you have done your research
  • The “us” in “why us” refers to the combination of the school and yourself, not just the school
    • I see, that makes sense (blu3mo)