This is the car ride home. This is not a 90's dance off. This is not your first boy and girl party in your parent's basement. This is the car ride home. I expect that singing out loud to the oldies station did nothing to help the situation, but I do not take ownership of whatever happens in the car. When your dad starts chanting, “What you gon' do, son?” and awkwardly popping whilst making a left at an intersection,...

It was love at first tentacle. Dissecting a squid in first grade with unsteady hands, and waving around my cephalopod gut covered scissors, I was in love with science. Ten years later, and still enthusiastic about dissecting a pig in biology, I saw a chance to apply to the Research Education Program at The Scripps Research Institute. This was my opportunity to really see if I was meant for science, not just the classroom version. Being accepted to the program...

The prompt was asking for a specific moment when I knew what I wanted to do for a career. I chose to use more vivid imagery to have it stand out than plain answers I could have come up by glancing at a dictionary.

Internships are the most important aspect of any academic career. Whether it be in high school in college, internships are vital to your growth as a student and as a person. Taking internships in your intended field of study are most important because it allows you to explore possible career...

Assert yourself as an individual. They want to see the potential for passion in every aspect of your application, they want to immediately envision you fitting perfectly on campus as soon as they read...

I picked schools I liked, not ones I thought I should've liked. I thought about what I wanted out of my college experience and...

My recommendation letters were written by teachers that I had a close bond with. My high school was unique in that it provided time to establish relationships with teachers or other authority figures. Find someone...

No one offered as much financial aid as Duke and it was the school I most wanted an acceptance from. Their endowments and constant fundraisers...