The UC Application, Admission Essay Example

My father is the reason behind my interest in political economics. When I was young, my father would often take me along on his business trips to Shanghai. He would take me to different places to demonstrate the evolution and the progress of the city over a short time and talk about the political relationship between China and Taiwan. Every time I visited Shanghai, I found the city to be a little different, with more and more high-rise buildings and greater presence of foreign multi-national companies. These foreign enterprises included those from Taiwan also who have invested a significant amount of resources in China and have earned impressive returns on their investments over the years. Despite greater economic interaction, China and Taiwan still have not been able to sort out their political differences and this has motivated me to advance my understanding of business and political economics.

I treasure my working experience at SIFE in the Bay Area that has helped me vastly broaden my thinking horizon through exchange of ideas with people from different countries. When you personally exchange information with people from other cultures, you are able to understand their point of views and how they interpret the world events differently from you. This helps you get rid of stereotypes and have more objective understanding of the political and cultural issues. As a historian at SIFE, I was responsible for recording all important events and the most memorable event in my opinion was “Filipino Book Drive”. The event was organized to collect donations for the less fortunate in Philippine. I also volunteered at Salvation Army for two months which involved food distribution and helping with properties’ repair of poor people. Similarly, I was one of the organizers of the International Education Week on campus which was aimed at promoting cultural exchange between Americans and the international members of the community. All of these experiences have made me appreciate global diversity as well as made me realize how much there still is to be learnt about global political and economic issues. Languages are a useful tool to enhance one’s ability to learn about global affairs and in addition to Taiwanese, English, and Mandarin that I already knew at home, I have been learning Cantonese and German since coming to America. I believe my language proficiency will also help me enhance my learning experience in the UC University System.

I will have a unique advantage as a student because I have studied in both U.S. and Asia that have quite different cultures and am familiar with way of thinking in both regions.  Asian culture emphasizes respect, formal hierarchy in family as well as professional life, obedience, and harmony while American culture emphasizes independent thinking, informal relationships, and encourages non-traditional thinking, Thus, it can be quite difficult for people from these two different regions to look at things from each other’s perspective. But I am familiar with the values of both cultures and what stereotypes are common and will be able to guide my fellow American students. Back home my parents like most Asian parents were overprotective so I have really enjoyed my life in the U.S. because here I am able to think independently and explore ideas because unlike back home, there is no pressure on me to conform to accepted standards or societal norms. In America I have also learnt that education doesn’t only take inside classrooms but also outside classrooms such as during co-curricular activities and social gatherings. I like to think I have developed a greater tolerance for risk after coming here because I have been allowed to grow on personal level and have acquired experiences I cannot imagine to have acquired back home under the eyes of my over-protective parents. I hope my adventurous spirit only blossoms at UC and I cannot wait to take advantage of all the exciting learning opportunities UC has to offer!