How Much Do Donations Help College Applications

How Much Do Donations Help College Applications SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips This is a question a lot of students think about during the college admissions process. If my parents could afford to donate $1 million, would I get in? Do donations affect your admissions chances? If so, by how much? In this article, I'll answer all of these questions. What Do Admissions Offices Usually Look for in Applicants? To answer the question of how much do college donations help college admissions, we must first break down the qualifications for a â€Å"normal† applicant (who does not donate).In brief, admissions officers are looking for students: who meet or exceed their average GPA for admitted students who meet or exceed their 25th/75th percentile SAT or ACT score for admitted students The 25th percentile score means that 25% of the students attending have a score at or below that number (this is below average). 75th percentile means that 75% of students have a score at or below that number. In essence, the 25th/75th percentile covers the middle 50% of all students admitted to the school. If you score at the 75th percentile for any school and have great grades from your high school, you have a great chance at getting in. If you're at the 25th percentile, you'll need to have a strong application to boost your odds of getting in.You can find out both of these numbers by Google searching â€Å"[College Name] Freshman Admit Profile† or â€Å"[College Name] SAT† or â€Å"[College Name]† ACT.† Of course, they factor in personal statements, supplements, achievements, letters of recommendation, etc., but without meeting the two qualifications listed above, a â€Å"normal† applicant would not have a great chance of getting in.However, admissions offices also look for special applicants known as â€Å"development cases† or â€Å"development admits† (although admission officers do not publicly acknowledge such). What Is a â€Å"Development Case† in Admissions? As defined by Daniel Golden, author of â€Å"The Price of Admission: How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges- and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates† who conferred with sources in the Office of Undergraduate Admission at Stanford while writing his books,â€Å"‘Development case [is] a term that refers to the children of important donors or potential donors,† who receive an even more substantial advantage than legacies (students whose parents attended the school). Why are they called development cases? To be honest, in all of my research, I have been unable to answer this question, but I would guess it either comes from the fact that these applicants can help "develop" the university (the funds their families donate will be used for development) or these applicants themselves are in need of further "development" since they do not meet the "normal" admissions standards of the university. How Much Money Do You Need to Donate (or Potentially Be Able to Donate) to Qualify as a â€Å"Development Case†? An admissions officer will not publically answer this question, but in my research, I found that Stanford considers development cases to be applicants from families capable of donating $500,000 or more. You basically need to buy a building. I'm sure it's comparable at the other elite colleges, especially when you take into account that Stanford has the 4th largest endowment out of all US Colleges with over $18.6 billion.If Stanford gives preferential treatment to students who could donate $500,000 or more, I'm sure other schools with smaller endowments will at least do the same. NOTE: so there is no confusion, this $500,000 or more is in ADDITION to paying the $200,000 or more in tuition for the student to attend the university. Why Do Colleges Accept â€Å"Development Cases† Over More Qualified Applicants? From a practical standpoint, colleges want to admit students who are likely to add the most value back to the school. This can be through donations or achievements that feed the school's reputation. By accepting a development case, they're basically saying that the value of the donations from that student's family now and in the future are worth more than a student who isn't able to donate that money.In even simpler terms, they want additional donations to protect their university's endowment and make it better by building new facilities and making other improvements to the school. Do Admissions Officers Seek Out â€Å"Development Cases† or Do They Wait to Be Contacted? Universities definitely look out for potential â€Å"development cases† in their applicant pool. Universities are a business (even if they are non-profits). Right or wrong, they admit â€Å"development cases† in order to get more money for the university to build better facilities, provide more scholarships, and generally make the university better. A former admissions officer at Stanford admitted that each year she was given a list from the Office of Development of applicants who were the children of significant donors. Former admissions officers at other elite colleges have admitted this as well. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Exactly How Much of an Advantage Do â€Å"Development Cases† Receive in Admissions? Again, according to Golden,â€Å"It can be as big as 400 or 500 points out of 1600 on the SAT, using the old 1600-point scale,† Golden said. â€Å"It can help a student with a score of 00 out of 1600 get into a top university.† In other words, these â€Å"special† applicants do not need to meet the 25th/75th percentile score for schools. They only need to be within 400 or 500 points (for the SAT) of the 25th/75th percentile.This help means the student could go from being an average applicant to a middle-ranking public college like UC Santa Cruz or UC Riverside to a serious Ivy League contender. How Prevalent Are â€Å"Development Cases† at Elite Colleges? While it varies from school to school, 4%- 5% of accepted freshmen at Dartmouth were given special admissions consideration due to donations by their parents. Also, Duke admitted in the early 2000s to easing its admissions qualification to admit about 100 students each year due to their family's wealth.I would guess this number is similar across all elite colleges, and development cases taking up 4-5% of the freshman class is very significant because it means 100-125 more qualified students did not receive admission. With great money comes great power (and little responsibility). How Do â€Å"Development Cases† Attempt to Secure Admission (If They Haven’t Yet Donated)? According to Golden, â€Å"wealthy parents sometimes use private counselors with contacts in admissions offices to indicate that they are likely to donate large sums of money if their child is admitted.†However, these parents do not have an explicit quid pro quo with the admissions office such as "I'll donate X amount if you admit my child," but there is rather an implicit understanding that they will donate a significant sum of money if their child is accepted. One of these elite private counseling companies, The Ivy Coach, says that money only helps so much. It won't turn an F student into an Ivy Leaguer, but it can help a student who is on the fence be admitted, and there is a specific amount that will get that kid in.However, they won’t tell you the number because they want you to pay them money to â€Å"guide you† and then they will tell you how much you need to pay the school. The president and founder of The Ivy Coach, Bev Taylor, did explain the type of advantage the children of large donors receive,â€Å"They’ll get a better read or they’ll get a second read, they’ll get a second look. ‘How can we accept this kid?’ is the question. Instead of looking to see what’s wrong here, let’s look to see how we can accept this kid.† Now that you have gotten the theoretical explanation of how much donations help in college applications let’s examine some real life â€Å"development cases†: Real Life Examples of â€Å"Development Cases† In his book, Golden references Margaret Bass, a Stanford Class of ’02 Graduate, as an example of a classic development case. Margaret Bass is the daughter of and alumnus who is one of Stanford's former chairs of the Board of Trustees and donated$25 million to Stanford in 1991 and $50 million to the Graduate School of Business in 2005. Bass was a so-so high school student. She was ranked in the middle of her class (40th of 79 students), and out of the nine students from her high school that applied to Stanford that year, she was the only one offered a spot in the freshman class, but she had the second lowest SAT score of those students (1220 out of 1600). At Duke, Maude Bunn earned admission despite her low SAT scores. Her family is famous for Bunn coffeemakers and has a large fortune from it. Duke admitted her hoping that her parents would repay the university. Her parents became the co-chairmen of a Duke fundraising campaign for Duke parents. This has happened more recently as well. In 2013, Maisie Lynton, daughter of Harvard alum and current Sony Pictures CEO, was torn between Harvard and Brown. Her father reached out to Brown, a school he didn't attend, and donated over a million dollars to create scholarships. She was offered admission to the class of 2019. Should You Donate? While I think $500,000 or more will help you out quite a bit, if you're planning on donating $10, 50, 100 or 1,000, keep your money! And don’t even think of trying to bribe the admissions officer, they’ve seen it before! A former admissions officer said several parents each year try innocent bribes (such as offering to buy him dinner) while others try more direct bribes (such as leaving an envelope with $1,000 in it at the admissions office). These bribes were rejected. Save your bribe for the admissions office, but if you have $500,000 or more to donate to the university endowment, you might just have a shot at the Ivy League. What’s Next? Let’s help you get into college with or without a donation. Taking the SAT?Check out our ultimate SAT study guide to help you with your prep. Taking the SAT very soon? Check out our guide to cramming for the test. Not sure where you'd like to go? We'll help you find the right college for you. Nervous about getting arecommendation letter for your college application? Learn about who you should askto write itand check out ourtemplate for a good letter. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Uranium processing plant in Tokai Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Uranium processing plant in Tokai - Essay Example criticality (a limited uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction), which continued intermittently for 20 hours.† IAEA remarked the cause as â€Å"human error and serious breaches of security principles† (World Nuclear Association) The accident took place when three workers were fabricating fuel for the JOYO experimental fast breeder reactor. It contained 18.8 percent enriched uranium. Then it was for the first time in three years that this reactor was fuelled and it was also found out that these workers were not professionally qualified and trained for operating such a reactor. The concentration of uranium was in excess inside the reactor which led to the accident and eventually, radioactive products were set out in the building. The workers who were near to the reactor showed symptoms like breathing trouble, nausea etc soon after the incident. The urgency lasted for around 20 hours. The sole cause of the accident was a critical error from the workers, that is, they filled a wrong concentration of uranium nitrate in the tank. The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 which is known as world’s largest nuclear disaster is also said to have occurred due to human errors. A commission of the USSR state committee attributed the flaws to the unscientific design and management of the power plant. The direct cause was similar to that of the Tokai accident. This accident also happened when some inexperienced hands involved in the maintenance of the reactor IV in the power plant. The Three Mile Island disaster which took place in 1979 was also an aftermath of human errors (The Japan Times). Blemishes in the user interface engineering were cited as the cardinal cause for the disaster. This directed to an incorrect understanding of the valve status. This provided another entry to the list of nuclear disasters. In all these cases, it can be noticed that human errors turned out to be the paramount antecedent for the mishaps. It is a known fact that tiny glitches can lead to behemoth

Offer and Acceptance. Intension to Create Legal Relations Essay

Offer and Acceptance. Intension to Create Legal Relations - Essay Example A survey was conducted and thus it objectively appears that the offer was genuine and that Belinda believed that the offer was genuine. The offer and acceptance also appear to meet the requirement that a valid acceptance must mirror the terms of the offer.3 On the facts of the case for discussion, Belinda accepted Tom’s offer as they were presented to her. Therefore it can be argued that a valid offer and acceptance was made. The question is therefore whether or not Belinda was free to withdraw her acceptance. Only if the acceptance was subject to the condition that Belinda receives a satisfactory survey would allow her to withdraw her acceptance. However the condition must be clearly stated as a prerequisite for acceptance.4 Based on the facts of the case for discussion, the offer and acceptance were both unconditional. Given that the offer and acceptance were both made pursuant to the common law rules for valid offer and acceptance, Belinda has entered into legally binding c ontract with Tom. ... There is a presumption however, that agreements between social and family groups are not generally binding contracts.6 In Balfour v Balfour, it was held however, that where there are arrangements and agreements between close members of a social or family group, the presumption that there is no intention to create legal relations is a rebuttable presumption.7 The presumption can be rebutted by evidence to the contrary.8 The loan syndicate between Matt, Mark, Luke and Jon is arguably an arrangement between a close social group as they are colleagues and the arrangement has nothing to do with their work. The presumption that as a social group there is no intention to create legal relations can be rebutted if it can be shown that by joining the syndicate and trusting the ticket purchases and collection of winnings to another member of the syndicate, the parties were putting themselves at a disadvantage. The disadvantage arises because, they could have purchased the winning lottery ticket themselves and collected their own winnings. It was held in Parker v Clark that the presumption can be rebutted where a party to the agreement is disadvantaged by the agreement.9 A similar arrangement occurred in Simpkins v Pays. In this case, a woman together with her granddaughter and tenant agreed to enter a competition as one entrant under the woman’s name and that any winnings would be shared between them. However, when the woman collected the winnings she decided against paying the tenant a share of the receipts. It was held that when the parties shared the competition fee there was an intention to create legal relations and thus there was a legally binding contract.10 It

International Information and E-Business Strategies Assignment

International Information and E-Business Strategies - Assignment Example In fact, the e-supply chain involves the integration or mixing of e-billing systems, e-procurement systems, and other tools related to e-business. It allows for the enhancement of the company, distributors, and suppliers’ ability to manage their specifications, costs, quantity, and delivery time of products with more productivity automatically. E-SCM is a business process driven by software, in which there is collaboration between suppliers and retailers to give the end customer the best value, as well as to reduce costs (Aka?Li 2011, p. 55). Advanced software solutions and the internet enhance SCM partnering benefits where, through SCM collaboration, the suppliers are able to access retailer logistics and inventory data to meet inventory demands and respond to customized orders efficiently. By developing and using E-SCM, Coimbra Company will have the ability to co-ordinate warehousing and delivery, and improve their reliability and speed to their distributors and improving co mpetitive advantage (Weele 2010, p. 83). By deciding on the development and building of a platform for e-commerce, Coimbra Company has been building on its B2B and B2C platforms. During the period that Coimbra will build its B2C platform, it will apply e-commerce in its discount stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets. B2B e-supply chain management will also be built step by step and will become the keystone in the development of e-supply chain management development in the future. Coimbra will use some strategies in its implementation of e-supply chain management, for example, through ensuring it has good relationships with suppliers and customers with the latter being covered through CRM. Through... By developing and using E-SCM, Coimbra Company will have the ability to co-ordinate warehousing and delivery, and improve their reliability and speed to their distributors and improving competitive advantage (Weele 2010, p. 83). By deciding on the development and building of a platform for e-commerce, Coimbra Company has been building on its B2B and B2C platforms. During the period that Coimbra will build its B2C platform, it will apply e-commerce in its discount stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets. B2B e-supply chain management will also be built step by step and will become the keystone in the development of e-supply chain management development in the future. Coimbra will use some strategies in its implementation of e-supply chain management, for example, through ensuring it has good relationships with suppliers and customers with the latter being covered through CRM. Through the application of advanced technologies into their IT management, in which all members of their ch ain of supply can acquire the most recent raw data to enable them to co-ordinate plans, while also offering timely information that will better satisfy the demands from their partners.  By sharing information through their e-SCM with their trade partners, Coimbra and their partners can depend on one another and allows them to be more cooperative and collaborative. By integrating their supply chain and customer relationship management, Coimbra can offer gifts to customers and adjust advice and complaints in a timely fashion.

Global Development of the English Language

Global Development of the English Language Introduction In the 18 centurys mid, it was realized by people that English has the related potential to become one of the world language because of individuals belonging to foreign were gaining dominance in comparison to others. Within the Europe, it was becoming a fashion to learn English language. With the passage of time, Italians also started taking interest to learn English and hence because of geopolitical enhancement, English language initiated to gain maximum attention of persons of the global world. Hence, the colonization takes place because the territories of the world were speaking in the English language (Osterhammel, 2005). Similarly, in 1952 (the time of Elizabeth 2) most people were using English Language to communicate with each other and hence, this growth of English Language tremendously increases because of expansion of colonial of England towards territories in the global world. The different patterns of settlement The English language was continuously spreading and hence, with the passage of time different patterns of colonization arises based on geographical locations as well as reasons of sociopolitics respectively. However, some countries think to spread themselves as â€Å"settler colonial† territory. On the other hand, dependency territory patters also present. The settler colonies, including many countries such as USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Thus, the people of Europe move towards these countries (Curthoys, 2005). It was not easy for the locals to migrate; hence, the outsider who needs a settler colony came towards these countries. Moreover, some local persons did marriage with people that came after migration including Mexico persons. On the other hand, some of them did not married to these migrated people and living, as they were always living in initial duration. The other pattern of colonization namely dependencies that was done within the most powerful country. Thus, no settler did migration and hence the country if adopted colonization than they make certain administrators (an organization) who did control of these native people. However, this was done in India when the British Raj takes control over India. In this, the Netherland people (an organizations role taken) control over East India. Another pattern of colonization was plantation colonies. In this colony, the country that was maximum in powers grow different crops and take over the lands of those countries that are poor and not able to argue with others. Within these colonies, the poor country became slaves of the rich country and work, as they are their farmers of the land. It includes countries like Jamaica. As there were different, patterns present of colonization, so it also includes trading post. In this colony, export and import was done with freedom. This mostly happened within the country that was more powerful and was rich as well. Similarly, the trading post was set up so that they have easily traded, selling products and services and flourishing their businesses towards the international market and gaining maximum concentration of the rest of the world. As per this situation, the rich countries were setting their forces of military and incurring different rules and regulation within the countries that were colonized. People were influenced and ready to move towards other colonies because there were unemployment increasing within the England territory and hence, they think to move towards other colonies, which arises sociopolitical issues. Thus, people move to deal with unemployment issue as well as inflation. The overseas colonies were providing them job and fulfilling their needs. The linguistic consequences With time, the linguistic consequences arise for colonization in different and new forms the English in the globe (Mufwene, 2004). Similarly, in new varieties of the English arises and play a significant role. Within the new varieties of the development, five different stages came from the English (Seargeant Swann, 2012). The very first stage was foundation in which English came in a territory that was very new and no single person was aware of this language. Within this territory, the settlers introduce the language and hence communication initiated. The other stage is exonormative stabilization. Within this stage, the English was the main language that was already spoken by different administrators and purpose of education. The third stage named as nativisation in which traditional culture and politic alliances replaced by the new one. The new linguistic took place and people started practicing them. The other stage was endonormative stabilization. Within this stage, the English t erritory considered as the important one and people started following it. Hence, a political independent territory takes place and English language play an essential role within the territory. The last stage was differentiation in which the people living locally were established in advance manner. However, people belonging to internal linguistic started and adopted English language as per their own choices and shaped the language in their own style. British Isles or beyond along with one case of colonization and variation of the language Different colonies were present that speak English Language in the world. The expansion of colony, England made the language of English as an international one. Hence, the English language gain maximum development because of different settlers of Europe was English speakers. Taking the example of North America, which was founded in 1607. The settlement done within the country and the group was named as the Pilgrim Fathers. To attract settlers, North American colony played a vital role during 1620. Almost 25000 people shifted towards North America because of the attraction. These pilgrims get religious freedom to live easily and follow their religion as per their own choices. The southern colonization was very different from northern one, as people settling in southern got less freedom comparatively. However, there was a relationship made in between North American persons settlement and trading the slave which was complex enough (Seargeant Swann, 2013). With the passage of time, the difference takes place in between British English and American English. This difference, termed as colonial lag. Likewise, within the North America, variation occurs within the languages. With the linguistic differences, certain conflict arises in terms of economies, but hence gradually colonists take interest and settlement done. In 1783, similar like British gain full independence. Moreover, because of the colonization, a civil war also led in 1806 in which North America got the victory. The resulting categories of language speakers as per Kachru’s circles Different speakers for the English Language development present many models. However, Kachru’s Circle Model is one of the best, which describe colonization including different countries. In 1985, when the English was developed in the world, Kachru presented a model named as three-circle model intensifying its ways. This circle model consists of different phase include inner circle, the outer side circle and the last expanding circle (Schmitz, 2014). As the English used around the globe and hence became an important language. For this reason, the circles have reasons, including the type in which the circle is spreading, different forms and the acquisition of the language and function of the similar language that having cultures across the borders correspondingly. The inner circle of the model is representing the English usage in traditional ways, where the people believe that this English language is their mother tongue. Countries like the USA, UK, and New Zealand are falling within the inner circle of the model. The other part of the circle named as an outer side circle. This part of the circle consists of the language English within those countries where it is being used as a secondary language. The language here is believed as a developing norm and it includes countries like Malaysia and India. The last part of the circle is named as expanding circle. Within this phase, people learn most common language of the world that is the English language. There is no history of English present in time, however, they do learn because of communication purposes with international countries including territories USA, UK and others. The people of these countries learn English language because the English language is an international language and commonly speaking all over the world. In addition, countries like China, Poland, and Greece are coming into expanding circle phase as they have learned English for just communication purposes. It is believed that this model plays an important role to understand the English and its usage in different countries and territories. Moreover, this model helps to understand the English reality and its maximum belonging countries within the world. Conclusion The history shows the growth and continuous development of the English Language within the world. The process of expansion of English was initiated in the 18th century and still it is growing in current world. The need of English was realized from the 18th century, but still no one can stop this growth. The English language now plays a significant role within the world to communicate with one another on an international basis. From taking setup internationally, to getting an education, the English language is necessary for all and is present in all forms including written and verbal. The colonization helps to process and develop the English language and become the turning point present in the history. Similarly, a lot of development also done in the English language to prosper this in the world and hence in result Kachru presented a model for giving better understanding. References Curthoys, A., 2005. Transnational historiography. In: Connected Worlds: History in Transnational Perspective. s.l.:ANU E Press, pp. 7-9. Mufwene, S. S., 2004. Language Birth and Death. Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 33, pp. 201-222. Osterhammel, J., 2005. Colonialism: A Theoretical Overview. s.l.:Markus Wiener Publishers. Schmitz, J. R., 2014. Looking under Kachrus (1982, 1985) three circles model of World Englishes: the hidden reality and current challenges. Scielo, 14(2). Seargeant , P. Swann, J., 2012. The linguistic consequences of colonisation. In: English in the World: History, Diversity, Change. Ney York: Routledge, pp. 107-109. Seargeant, P. Swann, J., 2013. English in the World: History, Diversity, Change. s.l.:Routledge.

Free Narrative Essays - Voices :: Example Personal Narratives

   Voices    The Voice: Well, Mrs. Dryer, I go to a very competitive school. I have to take competitive classes. It's not as though the work load would go down if I dropped to a lower level. I had a very busy week, and the play just started. I'll have more time this week. I promise to practice more between now and next lesson.    The Scholar (that lives in my mind): What is that woman saying!? Drop my AP classes so that I'll have more time for piano? Does she realize that piano isn't life? Or at least not my life? I've taken ten years of music, I think that's enough. I'd rather be spending my time becoming a more prolific writer. That's were my passion lies, not in music. Music is just romanticized math. It doesn't say anything deeper than its title. Not anything specific, at least.    The Musician(that lives in my mind): Ummmm...excuse me?    The Scholar: You heard what I said. Everyone gets sick of a song after awhile. It's because there are no life issues in music. You hear it and it's over, and there's nothing to hold on to, nothing to cherish, not even an image, afterwards. It distracts me from reading. Yes, it's part of culture, but to really appreciate it you have to have an ear for it. It's not my thing. To really get it, it has to be your thing.    The Musician: Not your thing? Honey, listen to me, music is most definitely your thing. You can't escape it. As the volume goes up, your soul goes under, submerged in tone and rhythm and rubato (if you're lucky). It takes over your breath.    The Scholar: I think that's more a function of sound wave vibration than anything else.    The Musician: No, think of it this way. When we play gently we aren't gentle with the keys. We are gentle in the sound. But how do we get that sound? How do we know instinctively, or at least after practice, that a certain touch produces dolce? The key is breath, is mind. It's in us, not the music. No formula of physics could ever produce that type of sound.

Life of Pi Thesis Essay

In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses indirect characterization to portray how the harshest elements can bring out the most primal instincts in man, and the unexpected cooperation in the most primal of animals. This is used to symbolize the close similarities in the behavior of man and animal, although seemingly worlds apart at first glace. It is a constant switch between Pi’s thoughts and Pi’s actions that is needed to extend this characterization to the fullest. Martel does this by showing Pi’s religious and peaceful vegetarian personality in the beginning of the novel; one that wouldn’t even drink milk because it came from an animal. Yet when the time comes to survive he shows much less compassionate actions, one fueled by starvation and the will to live. This characterization wouldn’t have been fully accomplished in the readers’ mind without strong imagery as well. The relentless sun cast over the lifeboat along with the deep blue unforgiving sea is able to help the reader envision the intense wear down of Pi’s outer shell and revealing his inner primal core. Martel uses imagery to compliment the characterization of the tiger Richard Parker as well. The ferocity wouldn’t be nearly as fervent without the image of a 450 pound Bengal tiger with a vigorous orange coat complemented with striking black stripes. These characteristics will drag the reader to a higher level of interest than a basic description alone, as well as a better understanding of the tiger’s sheer strength and beauty. Pi was afraid of Richard Parker more than anything else in the beginning of his voyage through the ocean, for it was the only thing he had known to be afraid of. His entire life had been serene, only being warned of the dangerousness of animals while tending the zoo. These emotions only lasted as long as his food rations, for quickly he realized he wasn’t going to live if he spent all of his time watching out for the tiger. It was then that his personality begun to change. His animal instincts had begun to show when he killed his first fish with his bare hands and ate it raw; a feat he would not have dared to do prior in his lifetime even if the fish had been cooked. This instinct had also created safety from Richard Parker. Richard Parker could have easily killed Pi at any time, but Pi began to show a superiority that kept the tiger from attacking. It was superiority stronger than that of physical characteristics. In the tiger’s mind, Pi was the alpha male of the  boat, regardless of Pi’s size. This was the key element in both of their survivals. Without the constant will to find enough food for both himself and the tiger in fear that the tiger would grow desperate and eat him out of hunger, and the dominance Pi wielded that kept Richard Parker from attacking his only food source, neither would have survived. Nature often plays a key role in any novel dealing with survival. Any method of survival is in adaptation to nature. Without adaptation, there is no survival, and without nature, there is no adaptation. It is the key element in that which is living. However, it is the element of nature that made Pi and the tiger’s struggle to survive even more of a challenge. Bengal tigers as well as young boys do not normally live out in the middle of the ocean, so it is likely that both would have a struggle to survive in their unfamiliar surroundings. Not only do the extremities of nature have a great strain on physical strength, but on mental strength as well. Even the smallest things become torture in large doses. Pi had more trouble with the lengthy sunlight than the occasional rain storm. Although the rainstorm could capsize his lifeboat in one quick wave, it would have been done and over with. The prolonged brightness and intensity of the sun however, could capsize his mind, which is a much more torturous death. Once Pi has landed on the shore of Mexico and rescued, he no longer needs to struggle to survive, nor does the tiger need to depend on Pi for survival. It is then that both animals part and adapt to their new environments yet again. Pi returns to the peaceful vegetarian, and Richard Parker becomes an independent hunter. This indicates that it is the outside surroundings that will often change characteristics of the actions of an animal, but will not change their true personality. Although Pi and Richard Parker changed their behavior in order to survive, they kept their same basic personalities throughout the journey. This shows that although man and animal may seem different in many ways, in the end they are both geared for survival, and although they change their actions quite often to adapt to their outside surroundings, their true selves are unchangeable.