With energy sources being depleted at an incredible rate, the need to engineer practical, renewable sources of energy is becoming increasingly important. In only 100-200 years, oil reserves will be nearly used up, and natural gas will be used up shortly after that. As demands for energy increase with the development of the third world and since energy is necessary to the prosperity of all nations, engineers must devise practical, affordable, and environmentally sound solutions to the upcoming energy crisis. I do not believe the future of renewable energy research will lie in proliferation of nuclear power plants or in spending billions of dollars on fusion research. Rather, I predict engineers will devise a product to affordably harness a less dangerous energy source. For example, we can harness wind power and solar energy to produce electricity. Unfortunately, such energy sources are not utilized practically to any real extent in my homeland of Turkey, although there are some instances of practical utilization in the United States. I do believe that wind power can be exploited as an auxiliary energy source. By installing a large number of wind turbines in convenient places, we can convert wind energy to electric energy for consumption by homes and industry. Even though this process has its own challenges like placing a ridiculous number of turbines across a country at great expense and getting a meteorological map of the country, I believe these problems are surmountable. Moreover, such an energy source can help us to save the environment.
Question: What characteristic of Penn and yourself make the University a particularly good match for you? Briefly describe how you envision your first year in college. How will your presence be known on campus?
I have the difficult task of being the 'first.' I will be the first one in my family who has ever studied overseas, and while I find this idea fascinating, I realize it will not be easy. Without having anyone around to advise me about the new life I will face, I have had to figure out everything by myself. If I am to make a mistake in selecting a college, I will bear the full burden of that mistake. As I begin to realize this, I understand that I will need to find the inner strength and self-reliance to face difficult changes alone, but I know I have the personal strength to do this.
In addition, because I am the first in my family to be educated abroad, my ten-year old sister looks up to me in awe. She fully expects to follow in my footsteps and to be educated in the legendary land that I am constantly speaking of. As a result, I must be careful in what I do since she will follow in my tracks. Thinking about these consequences, I decided that nothing would be easy for me, but that whatever I faced, I would never give up. With the hopes of my little sister on the line, I am not going to thwart her dreams of studying in the States. My father was the first person in his family who earned a university diploma, and my receiving an excellent US education would vindicate the hard work he did to make this possible for me.

When I first saw the booklet of University of Pennsylvania on my counselor's desk, I knew right away that this was the school I wanted to be part of. The University of Pennsylvania offers me much more than an education. It also offers me the opportunity to learn how to be an individual who can fulfill society's needs both now and in the future. Moreover, since UPenn has a long history of 'firsts, ' I knew that I would fit in the dynamic, inventive atmosphere. Since the responsibility of being the 'first' is great, I believe that UPenn, with many students in similar situations, would provide me the support I need to excel in ...