"The only thing I know for certain...is that I don't know anything. And if I don't know anything, maybe I can't believe anything, either." And so begins my journey into the unknown. I am sitting on a cracked wooden bench beside my friend with my face in my hands. Despite my inner turmoil, I feel the warmth of the sun on my shoulders and hear people laughing and chattering as they change classes at my residential high school. All...

I first discovered the University of Chicago after I took the PSAT as a sophomore and began receiving mail from various colleges. Most of it was thrown straight into the recycling bin, but a few pieces from one college stood out. I remember unfolding a postcard-style, brightly colored brochure that told me about the most epic scavenger hunt in the country, another that was a map of the campus with bookstores and coffee shops marked and described, and another that...

Reflect on a time you felt or saw the juxtaposition of past, present, and future. I step through the glass doors of Emmanuel Baptist Church, scanning the faces of the teenagers I see for my little sister. Eventually, I realize I’m in the wrong place. I call out to a girl I see, “Hey! Do you know where Beatrice is?” “She’s in the other building,” the girl replies. I make my way to the second building and stand...

I should have avoided applying to second-tier schools (ex. Georgia Tech) that I was accepted to but had no chance of affording. I also...

If at all possible, choose teachers whom you know well, whom you've worked with on independent projects, and who you trust to know what a college is looking for and reflect that in your recommendation--preferably a teacher who has written successful recommendations for top colleges. I chose a history teacher who had overseen me doing a large history project...

For those about to start junior year, APPLY TO ONE OR MORE OF THEIR SUMMER PROGRAMS. Women's...

I didn't. I was lucky enough to go to a school that regularly sends people to top colleges. I researched schools, tests, etc. on the internet; I asked my counselor for advice about everything; and...

I interviewed for two schools, MIT and UChicago. For MIT, I contacted my Educational Counselor right away and set up an interview at the earliest possible date. I wore a dressy outfit--blouse, slacks, and heels--and the interview was at a local coffeeshop. My interviewer was very nice and worked as an engineer at the local air force base. He told me immediately that he was just here to do all he could to help me get in, and he asked me to lead the discussion. I told him about why I wanted to attend MIT, about some different extracurriculars, why...