Hobbies
Classical Guitar, Stamp Collection, Volunteering at local hospital, Tutoring, Ultimate Frisbee

Clubs
N/A

Experience
AP Scholar, Boston University's Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS), Columbia University's Science Honors Program, National Merit Finalist

Biography
I immigrated to the United States from China in 1990, at the age of four, and lived in Kingston, RI, and Highland Park, NJ, two rather homely towns, before moving to Princeton. Drawing, playing outside, and a few other things little kids do were or prime importance in my early years as math and physics were practically nonexistent to me then. So my mathematical maturity increased linearly with age, as I took no interest early on in accelerating. However, by the time I had passed 7th grade and had moved to Princeton, NJ, I had developed a curiosity for calculus. Not that I could do anything remotely near derivatives because I was taking algebra at the time, but I just found dy/dx and curly integrals amusing--even more so than competitions like mathcounts. I guess the break started there.
Eventually 9th grade arrived and I was eligible to take calculus and got the wonderful chance to enroll in math classes at Princeton University afterwards. So far I have taken courses in multi variable calculus, algebra, real and complex analysis, and differential equations. I also began taking physics mechanics and E&M classes there this year. I have attended Columbia University's Science Honors Program for the past two years taking, among others, neuroscience and quantum theory. I also attended Boston University's PROMYS which made mathematics easier (although it is by no means easy for me) as well as Ultimate Frisbee, which I play on a regular bases and am part of my school team. After junior year, I was involved in a neuroscience project studying axon size in various mammalian brains at the Molecular Biology Department at Princeton.
This year I have been named a National Merit Finalist and an AP Scholar with Distinction. I have won a few scholarships for classical guitar, which I have played for the last six years and also find art and art history fascinating. I maintain a stamp collection, volunteer at the local hospital and tutor, and have done Fed Challenge for the last two years. I am grateful to Mr. Hochschild and Mrs. Sprague at my school for their support in helping me get here. My aim screen name is t987h and would love to talk. This fall I will attend either Princeton or MIT.