Student Spotlight: Mr Computer Science at UCLA

Choosing between UCLA and UIUC, amongst others, for your undergraduate college degree in computer science – not a bad choice to have now is it? While his proficiency in Math and success at the Math Olympiad definitely helped, the commitment to society demonstrated through excellent community service was as vital in securing several successful admits.

Presenting to you Mr. Computer Science from Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Kolkata – completely unedited and straight from his desk – Sounak Mitra!

What did you find most intriguing in the college applications?

I found the level of competition among various students, in my city itself, applying to various prestigious colleges the most intriguing in the college applications. Before the applications began, I was unaware of the level of dedication so many students put in to both their academics and extracurriculars to stand out as someone different and it made me realise that I too had to be different to even be considered as an impressive applicant to any such university from the thousands of applicants applying from all over the world.

What made you choose UCLA out of the other admits?

I was in a serious dilemma while deciding upon which school to choose between UCLA and UIUC. I wish to pursue a PhD or a MS+PhD programme right after I finish my college and for that, I need to be involved in productive undergraduate research. The college I choose today will shape me to what I will be in future and pave pathways for future prospects. Realising this, I did my research and came to the conclusion that a mere difference of few spots on a ranking table would make no difference to my undergraduate study. Although UIUC’s widespread applause for its CS programme made it difficult for me to let it go, I finally chose UCLA due to its all rounded reputation and location factors. Also, art and culture and the opportunity to be involved in them is very important to me as an amateur photographer and hence, UCLA seemed the perfect fit for me given my interests.

What can the Bruin family expect from you?

People say college is a life changing experience and that there is a sense of pride when one talks about his/her college. This is so because of a college’s achievement as an evolving community. I am a True Bruin now and the only way to give back to the Bruin family is to achieve something great in future myself, which I am striving towards today.

What motivated you to apply abroad?

When I was in sixth grade I had obtained National Rank 20 in National Mathematics Talent Search Competition. It was after this exam that I had made the decision that I wanted to study abroad, mostly because it made me realize that I had the potential and talent to study in a top college and secondly, because, that same year, a senior passed out who had given a similar national level test(I was giving it with him in the same room), qualified all the way to participate in IOI and got into MIT. I eventually realized, if I kept up my pace, I would still maintain my potential and get into the college I want and realize the dream I want to live.

What stood out in your application?

I guess my community service with Sanchar and the Missionaries of Charity at Daya Dan along with my various extracurricular and National Olympiad achievements helped making my application stand out. Also, I was particularly able to incorporate my passion for photography to do some documentary work for Sanchar and also raise funds for their cause through an exhibition I organised. I think these things combined helped my application stand out.

Why did you choose Computer Science?

Coding is an activity that satisfies my ingrained competitive streak. The singular perfection that coding demands is what challenges me. Competitive programming questions excite me the most because when we try to solve them, we might know how to find the answer to a definite test case just by looking at it, but when it comes to making a machine follows a series of steps to analyze similar looking test cases so as to give the correct answer every time, it becomes a challenging task. Computer science excites me because it makes me formulate algorithms for the obvious, things which might seem the most basic of tasks in the beginning, but when we look into it, we realise it really isn’t so. I realise that if I don’t get a desired result, it is probably because of a mistake I have committed myself and that, I am only to blame. It makes me think constantly that I have to find a universal method, the most efficient method, to find the correct answer every time. This is why I want to study Computer Science.