MIT: Tell us about the most significant challenge you`ve faced or something important that didn`t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words)

248-word version: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Spotlights used to be mine. Always struggling to attain brilliant results and eliciting applauds. On the very stage I have dreamt for so long, however, I was not a star.

International Young Physicists’ Tournament(IYPT) was an intense battlefield with contestants contending with brains, not brawn, and with words, not swords...

UC-Berkeley: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?

654-word version: U of California—Berkeley
Ferocious yet exciting battle breaks out every year. The offense and defense line up, braving each other. All remain silent, but each side realizes the silence is simply the calm before the storm. The tension between the two sides is clear, but none are timid. I had dreamt of engaging in this intense battle for years. My spotlight would always involve the stage in a physics tournament...

780-word version:
Ferocious yet exciting battle breaks out every year. The offense and defense line up, braving each other. All remain silent, but each side realizes the silence is simply the calm before the storm. The tension between the two sides is clear, but none are timid. In fact, their eyes reveal clear excitement and anticipation. The preemptive strike by the offensive breaks the silence and the battle begins in the International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT)...