College Entry Essay

Several years of one’s life are dedicated to pursuing academic degrees. These years are full of important decisions with the potential of having significant repercussions in the future. At first sight, the decision-making process might be overwhelming and challenging. However, facing and accepting challenges can be quite enriching. During my undergraduate studies, I have always conceived challenges as opportunities to grow and learn. Having this mindset allowed me to overcome difficulties and to look toward the future with optimism. In my second year as an undergraduate, I received an invitation to be a member of the Honor’s Program of the University of Puerto Rico. Accepting this invitation implied maintaining an excellent grade point average and extending my undergraduate studies by one year and a half in order to satisfy a broad list of requirements. Even after learning all the responsibilities that I would have to assume, I decided to accept the invitation. Some of the requirements of the program were: taking multiple special seminars, courses on research methodology, two semesters of a third language, and most importantly, developing my undergraduate thesis research project.

The process consisted in the formulation of a research topic, the development of a work plan, the compilation and analysis of data, the presentation of results, and the defense of the final thesis paper before an academic committee. Since the first day, this opportunity represented to me a great challenge, but I found it truly valuable and accepted it. Conducting this research project was an overall constructive experience. Nevertheless, the most valuable aspect was the sense of self-confidence that I acquired from it. From this moment on, I felt more prepared and enthusiastic for the forthcoming decisions that I would need to