The Study of The Mind: College Admission Essay Sample

Maturing into adolescence, I was always considered a crowd watcher by my parents. Every six months, I went to the dentist for a checkup. When I am in an environment full of different people, I was prone to observe the behavior of others. Most people there seemed to express trust with the dentist, calmly walking in when their name was called. Others, however, seemed to have a great fear of the dentist, which could have been the effect of prior experience. I was intrigued by my observations. This was the first time I recall being interested in psychology.

Psychology is the study of the mind and it’s something that is all around our world. It is something that you get to see in the everyday world, some examples being advertising, attraction, and even video games. Thus, this ruminative field is extremely broad. I was offered an advanced placement course in psychology for my third year of high school. I ended up being thrilled with what we were learning. Everything from evolutionary neuroscience to Freudian theories excited me. It was not long into junior year when seventh-period psychology became the highlight of my school day. I found myself applying what we learned in class to my observations of the world around us, and talking about psychology with friends and family members.

I wish to continue my studies of psychology at Cornell because of the vibrant department of psychology that is held at the campus. Human behavior was one of the aspects that interested me the most, and the emphasis that Cornell places on it specifically for undergraduate students appealed to me. Psychology is a field that opens pathways to many other studies, including medicine, and Cornell's undergraduate program would offer me an understanding of these topics.

What Cornell stands for is something that applies to me not only as a student but also as a person. Ezra Cornell’s principle “any person, any study” highlights the diversity of Cornell, which is something that I find very valuable. Diversity at a campus promotes healthy interactions between people who are different than you. It pushes a person to be able to exchange conversations which is essential to being a part of a community. I am open to many viewpoints in life and being surrounded by peers who are different than me will shape and give me new perspectives that I can learn from, not only at an academic level but also at a social aspect.

To my mind, the study of psychology is the most fascinating course you could take at college and can bring you countless opportunities. I am a hands-on learner, and potentially having the opportunity to get involved in laboratory research would be very profitable. It's not only the class size, diversity, or the campus itself that attracted my attention to Cornell. Instead, it was the fact that Cornell dedicates a tremendous amount of attention to the Arts and Sciences. With a curriculum that is rich with labs and research, studying at Cornell will never be mundane. The curriculum at Cornell brings me eagerness and enthusiasm as I believe that what I can learn from Cornell's programs will allow me to reach my aspirations to be successful at a college like Cornell.