! After my aunt was diagnosed with MS a few years ago, my family began volunteering with the National MS Society. Every year, I help fundraise and then “crew” or volunteer at different fundraisers such as bike rides or challenge walks. I enjoy helping at every event in our region because I know I am around people whose goal is the same as mine: to help create a MS free world. Working with and helping other people who have a personal...

The most significant experience I’ve undergone in my young adult life occurred during my sophomore year. On a Friday which began like any other, my little sister shared devastating news: one of her classmates had raped her three nights prior. I was completely shocked and spent the first hour wishing that it was just a prank, but I knew she wouldn’t joke about something so terrible. Accepting that this terrible crime had been committed against my little sister,...

Prompt: If you are applying to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular at Duke that attracts you? Please limit your response to one or two paragraphs. Throughout taking AP Biology my junior year I became immensely interested in genetics and gene regulation. This summer, I was able to experience what it would be like to work in a lab when I spent time at...

Prompt: What's the best advice you've ever received or given? ! Music is a large part of my life. I am always singing in my head, singing badly out loud, or listening to my favorite bands. Often, the lyrics become meaningful to me. “Since your headʼs in the clouds, the best advice Iʼve found is donʼt look down” is the final line to the chorus of one of my favorite songs. Though I did not specifically ask for...

I wrote about really personal things in one of my college essays. I was actually told not to do this by my college counselor, as it apparently would seem "off-putting" to some admissions officers. I ended up only using the essay to apply to UC Berkeley and UCLA, but I got into both of them. So my advice would be to write about what you care about and what matters to you, because that is what'll truly make you a...

If you are a science major, DO RESEARCH. I can't stress this enough. You meet faculty in an in depth way you'll never get to through regular classes...