I wanted to cry—to disappear into the ground. It was my first soccer match. Not as a player, but as a referee, and I was quickly losing control. The game had started out well enough, and I thought that after having worked about a dozen matches as an assistant referee, I was ready to lead a crew as a center referee for the first time. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It started out as a missed handball...

These essays were submitted to Brown University's Program in Liberal Medical Education 8 year BA/MD program on the subject of why I wanted to practice medicine and why I wanted the liberal arts medical program at Brown. Essay #1 Why do I want to become a physician, and furthermore, why do I want to become one through the program in liberal medical education? I'll start with the physician aspect. I want to become a doctor out of fear, out of the...

I chose the schools I applied to by setting up blocks. In my smallest block were my "reach" schools: Elite institutions where my chances of getting in were very low, but not impossible. On the other end of the spectrum,...

Because of the focus on individuality and passion for learning at my school, The committee is looking to build a class of diverse...

I declined many schools that had everything I was looking for on paper because upon visiting, the atmosphere on campus did not feel like what I was looking for....

Do not ask for recommendations at the last moment or from someone who hasn't had contact with you since freshman year. Get recommendations from people who won't just fill in...

My college has such diverse interests that every club and activity is well populated, however the groups with the most...

Unique: Nobody who comes to Lawrence is a cookie cutter student. If you can think of any interest, experience, activity, background, or academic goal, we have it and then some. There's no chance to get confused between two other students because chances are they are wildly different from each other. Impassioned: Another thing that sets Lawrentians apart is that no matter where their interests lie, they are passionate about it. Very few students are resume stackers or mailing-list-only club members. Everyone here finds something they love or feel strongly about and devotes themselves to it. Often students' extracurricular interests are...