True Fiction I have a secret. I have lived more than one life. In fact, I’ve lived hundreds. I’ve been an emotionally detached man with a deeply instilled sense of duty. I’ve been a fragile girl with three days left to live. I’ve witnessed my town burned by raiders. I’ve been an life auctioneer. I’ve rescued a friend from a collapsing building. I’ve sacrificed my life for someone. My secret? I am a...

What happens when you cross Darwin’s theory of evolution with a louse? Survival of the Nittest I’m not a nitpicky person, but an event in October forced me to be. After finishing my last class of the trimester, I came skipping back onto hall with my spirits high. I needed to only get through two exams (the other classes had papers and projects) before trimester break. After class, I barged into my friend Grace’s room and we...

Duke As a student at NCSSM, I have had the opportunity of becoming well acquainted both with Duke and Durham. Since this past summer, I have been doing research with the Center for Advanced Hindsight at the Fuqua School of Business under Dan Ariely. I have greatly enjoyed my experience within the lab and seek to work with the colleagues I have made there as an undergraduate. Duke is the only university that has centers that study both neuroeconomics and...

Wellesley My mother is a monster. A Rosemonster. She received her undergraduate degree at a small women’s school, Rosemont College, located in a suburb of Philadelphia. To this day, she remains close with her fellow “Rosemonsters,” a group of eight women. I have witnessed the bond they share even after all these years. I’ve heard them discuss the advantages of attending a small liberal arts women’s college, things like intimate class sizes, daily access to faculty, a...

"It's not you. It's me." - Colleges Really? Really. With admissions rates at the country's top universities dipping below 10%, you may wonder if you'll get in anywhere. I took "the scatter approach" in my admissions process, applying to a variety of schools, crossing my fingers I'd get in somewhere just by chance. As you can see, with my being accepted at Stanford (with the Class of 2018 admit rate at 5.07%) and being denied from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UPenn (Wharton) and Brown, acceptance does not come down to the selectivity of the college. Acceptance is primarily driven by what the college needs...