On the third and the last day of the Candidate Weekend, we had our campus tour. Afterwards, we had a surprise writing assignment and interviews (which were more like conversations with an admissions officer and a faculty member). My interview with the faculty member went so well that we went well beyond the allotted time just talking about the school and my goals in life. He told me that I would be a great fit to NYUAD, so let's see what happens!
For the evening, we went to a park downtown called Mushrif Park. But of course on the way, my group (the students were divided into groups of 7 kids or so) sang our hearts out and took many numerous selfies. Our group Liwa is the best!
And possibly the highlight of the weekend (as if the trip to a nearby desert wasn't cool enough): we went to the Emirati Palace for dinner. It was by far the most elegant hotel I have ever been to, and the food was excellent. Sitting as a group outside on a porch, we ate so much food. Afterwards, we had a mini sing-along session, during which the current students taught us a song that is somewhat a tradition at NYUAD. It is called Ma'assalama (which means Goodbye in Arabic). Singing that song as a group, I felt intimacy with students I have met two days ago. How crazy is that?
When we arrived back on campus, we started saying goodbye, knowing that a lot of people left before others due to flight schedules. So my group Liwa met together and signed our NYUAD t-shirts. I know that some people are planning on staying up to talk to other people, but sleep is a bit important to me, so hopefully I get to see them on campus next year as freshmen!