If I could have picked a soundtrack for the way I had felt in the one instance I saw all my work go down the drain, it would have been a funeral march. After all, I was sending all of my hopes and dreams for the summer to the grave. I had been working at a lab at Johns Hopkins and specifically, with eggplant, trying to discover compounds in it that would be beneficial to human health. After weeks of...

The first time I really saw myself at Brown was when I had heard about Brown’s PLME program. And for some time, that was the only factor that had me applying to Brown. But as I sat down to learn more about the PLME program, I discovered Brown’s IC program. While set on my major and profession, I also hold much academic curiosity for subjects such as economics and history and Brown and the IC program give me...

I’ve always found myself drawn to the logical and concrete. Where words and pictures have often failed to convince me, I have always been persuaded by numbers and scientific evidence. I attribute much of this to the many Saturday mornings and summers I’ve spent at my mom’s lab, watching as she ran trials, analyzed data, or as I myself would come to do the same. To me, there is nothing more satisfying and comforting than sitting down...

My relationship with Johns Hopkins over the years can best be described as the plot of a rom-com. And characteristic of all rom-coms, this relationship started with hate. When I was two, my mom and dad moved from China to Baltimore so that my mom could do her post-doctorate at Hopkins. And when I was four, I moved to Baltimore too. As I boarded the plane leaving China, it had seemed to me that Hopkins was forcing me to leave...

I was running through the woods, the beating of my heart in complete synchronization with the pounding of my feet on the mossy floor, breathing in the fresh morning air. The sun made the melting snow glisten and – I groaned as the unrelenting blaring of a car alarm woke me and the hustle and bustle of the real world found its way back to me. It seemed that these days, the only way I could get any time to myself...

When I was four, my grandfather died of a heart attack right in front of me. When I was thirteen, one of my best friends hit his head on a diving board and died while I was watching his swim practice. Both those times, I had been helpless. I could do nothing about the ambulances arriving just seconds too late and I could do nothing as the paramedics tried futilely to revive them. I could do nothing as I watched...

Find x. Where is x? Is it the “x” found in “xoxo”? In which case, I’ve found that. I’ve found it in the hugs and kisses I receive from my family and friends. Is “x” here? Or is “x” here? Or it is all the way over there? “x” Is it the “x” that I solve for in algebra? An ever-changing, but always determinant solution. Or is it a red mark that I find on a graded test...

Having 8+ essays to write for each of your schools is incredibly overwhelming. Get...

Make sure you maintain good experiences with all of your teachers and anyone outside of family that could potentially...

All the schools I applied to had incredibly strong science departments. Apply to schools...

I declined other schools because as someone who plans on going to medical...

I plan to attend medical school after receiving an undergrad...