George Washington University Essay 1

"Tell us in no more than 500 words what motivated you to apply and describe what contacts you have had with GW. We have told you about the dynamic GW classroom, campus, and city experience, now tell us how you will make use of these resources in meeting your educational goals. (Please do not copy the Viewbook.)"1

Since my first visit to GW two years ago, each new contact has amazed and inspired me. As I near the end of the college application process, I am confident that GW is my top choice.2

In 2007, I toured GW and attended an information session. I also met the Regional Director of Admissions for my area, Dr. Greenberg. In 2008, I met Dr. Greenberg again when he conducted an information session at my high school. Shortly afterwards, I engaged in an internet chat to see how students perceive the university. The more I came in contact with GW, the more I wanted to learn. I eagerly accepted GW’s invitation to the Colonial Connections Multicultural Event. This experience taught me about student life and the diversity of the university. I realized that GW was a good fit for me. At lunch, I thoroughly enjoyed discussing Washington D.C. and the multicultural opportunities with Michael Tapscott, the director of multicultural student services. Two days after the Colonial Connections Event, I was interviewed by David Anderson, an alumnus in Massachusetts. This last contact sealed my decision to put GW at the top of my list.3

Everyone I have met has had a different take on GW, but they all agree that that GW and D.C. provide a unique learning atmosphere for developing your identity and your passions. I am looking for a broad education. I plan to take advantage of the different schools by double majoring in the Colombian college and the School of Media and Public Affairs. I also want to take advantage of the internship opportunities. I am the type of person that likes to be busy and have a variety of activities to choose from. At GW, I can listen to world-changing guest speakers, view monuments, check out museums, visit art galleries, and have fun at the fencing club all in the same day. I just looked at the website and it says that there is a Dance Works Fall 2008 showcase of choreography happening today. That is a power of choice that exists no where else. That is the power of DC and GW threaded together. 4

I want to graduate from college with a broad, yet strong, academic background and many culturally enriching experiences. I can’t think of any better place to achieve that than GW. I want to take advantage of what GW and D.C. has to offer be it direct exposure to politics or the working world. I have only received positive feedback about GW from friends and neighbors. Allison Fulmer, a freshman at GW, told me about how she is traveling to an archeological dig in Israel with her professor. My host for the Colonial Connections Program, Matthew Galeski, told me that I could accomplish anything I wanted here. My psychology teacher, Mrs. Whitemore, has told me that her daughter loved GW and that she knows I would fit right in. No one has been disappointed with GW. From my experience, I can understand why. GW has this brilliant philosophy that college is about the student. GW has the active, involved people that I want to be around. It has the dissonance of ideas I am looking for. I know that GW will foster my emotional and intellectual maturity because every representative of GW I have come in contact with has confirmed a message. That something happens and that it’s not the teachers, not the city, not the establishment, or even the students themselves. It is the combination of all these things that produces an enriched environment where there are no boundaries except those you create. 5