“Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.” -Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “Solitude” It’s close to a truism, isn’t it? Nearly everyone has a sense of humor, and we all shy from sorrow. Even so, I’ve always doubted the veracity of Mrs. Wilcox’s claim. I’ve often been the only person in a crowded room to crack up in response to some subtle absurdity. The craziness of the world we live in – gifted...

(National Merit Scholarship) The most inspiring kid I’ve met in high school graduated last year. From a typical viewpoint, graduation was his only accomplishment. His GPA hovered around 2.0, and he dropped out of honors classes in sophomore year. His attendance was shaky; he played no sports and joined no clubs. In four years, he attended zero football games and one dance. He even skipped graduation; his last day in school, he told me in June, was to fetch his...

(For Yale) I’m allergic to dander, shaving cream and ignorance. The first two I’ve learned to endure, for the sake of the family cat and the face of my future girlfriend. The third? Intolerable. Every morning, I tiptoe downstairs ahead of my family to fetch the paper; the delivery man salutes me when our paths cross. Arriving home from school, I park myself at the computer to check Slate’s breaking stories. Longform.org brings me in-depth accounts...

Attending Wharton will let me pursue nearly any academic path I can imagine, but with my broad imagination, this presents a conundrum. If I must narrow my goals to a sound bite… well, I want to work with ideas. I’m creative to a fault, never satisfied with derivative plans or bland repetition. Unless it leaves me with time for an Atlantic column or freelance consulting, I can’t see myself as an actuary or accountant (“creative” accounting has unpleasant...

(Presidential Scholars application) Leonardo da Vinci drew the Vitruvian Man to represent an ideally proportioned human body, but the image carries historical and symbolic significance well beyond its initial purpose. Da Vinci’s addition of solid, geometric shapes to an artistic illustration helped mark the resurgence of Western science after 150 years of decline, and the ideas behind his diagram were essential to the developing Renaissance. Moreover, the figure – whose creator’s life exemplified balance – has today been co-opted by NASA...

My Yale interviewer requested a list of books I'd read over the past year, though I think that might...

Get a giant Kaplan book and spend a day circling everything for which you might be...

I'll repeat the usual stretch-happy-safety advice, but throw this in: find at least one school (like the University of Pittsbugh) that offers a certain number of full...

Start hanging out with teachers more often. Ask them questions about their subject, and how they came to love it. They're...

I plan to go after some high-income consulting positions and other work at interesting research centers that like psychologists and don't require a...

Create things that last, whether that means learning to program, writing a novel, keeping a massive journal, or founding an organization that...

I was a good writer and fanatical reader. The note on my acceptance letter mentioned that the admissions office had enjoyed my Common App essay, specifically. But reading and...

I wanted to walk into a classroom and know for sure that everyone around me was better than me at...