I don’t remember ordering or eating fries dipped in oreo McFlurry but the nausea, dizziness, and headache that followed are impossible to forget. It was late July, I was concussed, and I was in the middle of the most blissful three weeks of my life. It was euphoric to return as a counselor to the lakeside YMCA camp where I spent my summers for six years as I was growing up. Camp guided my childhood character development in the...

Darling roommate, You’re not the first. I’ve had roommates in hotel rooms in Hungary, cabins on a lake, tents in the wilderness, and dorm rooms at college campuses. This time it’ll be for much longer and I’m looking forward to making our cohabitation the best possible. The most important thing I’ve learned about living away from home is that keeping chocolate chips in the freezer keeps them fresh for longer. It’s best to pour...

From molecular biology to ecology to linguistics to philosophy, I am confident that the curriculum at Brown will allow me to dive into science as deeply as possible while still taking classes in unrelated subjects. Within the biology department, I am drawn to the strong course offerings in biochemistry, molecular biology, and computational biology. Outside of the classroom, I hope to benefit from the robust research community at Brown. The summer after my sophomore year, I took “Lab Techniques in...

Be specific! Search the college website and find programs (majors/minors, academic organizations, research support, extracurriculars,...

Start earlier! The Common App opens in August and I didn't even look at it...

Brown: I was the first person my interviewer had ever met with so she was more nervous than I was (it was my fifth interview). Brown's a super chill place and I found that...

Ask your teachers early. They want to write nice things about you and that's less easy when you are not...

Spreadsheets! Stanford has marginally better undergrad biology research. I think....