How to write about research in college applications

Research can be an amazing way for a high school student to dive deeper into a subject they love, whether through research internships or an independent research project.

Students often end the experience with a clearer sense of direction and with greater excitement for their road ahead.

But we’ve also worked with plenty of students who didn’t know where or how to communicate those things to colleges in their applications, or do so in ways that would help colleges understand who they were, what drove them, and why they were different from other students doing cool research.

So, we built this guide. Enjoy.

 
 

Does research look good on college applications?

It definitely can.

“Can” is really important phrasing there though: at highly selective schools, many applicants will have done some kind of research project, so it won’t simply speak for itself—you need to help the reader understand how it’s part of your story, the story of your overall application. So before we talk about options for writing, let’s break down your goals with writing about your research, and especially, some things to generally be wary of.

What you want to avoid is the impression: “I just did this research project because my mom told me it would look good to college admission readers.”

Ideally, this experience was transformational for you and allowed you to sharpen (or pivot!) your skills, qualities, values and interests (which are the things you want to help a reader to see through the various elements of your application). Showing colleges how this experience is part of your growth arc and how it shaped and contributed to your ability to problem solve, to work collaboratively, and to “dream big” in many cases, can often leave a favorable impression on those in the committee room.

Don’t let the name of the program, the names of the professors you worked with, or the selectivity “do the work for you.” College admissions officers read these applications quickly, and while some of those shiny stats/facts about your project can grab someone’s attention, it’s fairly common for admission readers to see projects shared in applications—it’s less common to hear from students WHY the projects matter and HOW they were transformational.

So capturing that spirit (while not writing thousands of words about it!) is the balance you should aim to strike. We’ll talk through different approaches to writing below, with examples and analysis.

Doing this well can strengthen your college applications: Our friends at Lumiere looked at data on their students and found that writing about their research effectively in their applications correlated with an increase in their acceptance chances at selective universities.

How do you describe research to colleges?

First, you’ll want to understand how readers read applications, and use that understanding to help tell your story.   

Many schools, (and generally all highly selective schools) use some form of holistic reading—meaning they are looking at how each piece of your application comes together to create a whole. And while things like grades, test scores, etc. are important, one of the biggest things they’re actually thinking about (take MIT’s word on it, for example) is how you and the school fit together.

Understanding your audience

Admissions readers are typically generalists. They are usually not experts in the subject you’ve done research in.

Because of that:

  • Know your WHY, and always remember your “so what.”

You can spit out scientific jargon until the cows come home and “flex” your advanced proficiency in the subject … but the admissions officer is more likely to advocate for you if they have a clear understanding of WHY the project is important to you and what issues or challenges, whether local or global, it can help address.

  • Make sure to communicate your project using digestible language!

This is an important skill that college students learn well during their undergraduate education. It’s fine (and even useful) to get a bit  jargon-y at times, but if you aren’t able to communicate the overarching importance and/or value of your research to diverse audiences and populations, it can get lost in translation and its potential for impact can weaken.

  • Demonstrate skills and values

    Be sure to use language that helps your reader to see how you both pursued and developed/strengthened your skills and values. Which means that, depending on where you’re writing about your research (more on that below), you’ll generally want to show more than tell.

Write strategically

Map out the schools you’re applying to and their supplemental prompts, so you can understand where you can build “super essays” (more  on those below).

  • If you see that, say, 8 out of the 10 schools you are applying to have a supplemental essay that would allow you to share this research experience, it may be smarter to not include much (or maybe even at all) in your personal statement.

Options for writing about research + How to stand out in your college application

You have several options for where to write about research in your college application. Below, we’ll walk through them. We don’t always recommend one approach over the others—things will vary from student to student.

Activities List (150 characters per description)

At minimum, your research should appear in your Activities List (and should generally do so regardless of whether you’re also writing about it in a supplemental essay or in your personal statement).

When you’re writing these descriptions, do remember to keep the audience in mind: a person who may or may not have any experience with the content knowledge of your research topic.

With this in mind, let’s look at how one student presented their research on their Common App Activities List:

HudsonAlpha Institute LABS Program (Career Oriented) - (10th - 11th)

  • 6 hours per week / 16 weeks over 2 years = 93 hours total

  • Trainee (Launching Aspiring Biotech Scientists Program)

  • HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

  • Performed CRISPR gene editing in bacteria (HDR & NHEJ repair), micropipetting, PCR, aseptic technique, tested foods for GMO presence; earned lab coat

Now, this is a fairly effective way to present this information, but this student could have upleveled their description with a “less is more” approach—as in, maybe a bit less jargon (HDR & NHEJ repair, aseptic technique, PCR) and more universal skills, qualities, values and interests. (If you want to get jargon-y, probably use one of the other options below, since you’ll have a greater word count to play with.)

Beyond your technical expertise in the research area, here are some additional questions to ask yourself when writing these descriptions:

  • Whom did I collaborate with, and what did I learn from them?

  • What values did I solidify?

  • Did the research project help clarify my future goals?

Final tip: adding in more Epic Verbs to your description can also help you communicate more about the project, even in a short 150 character description. Did you manage a part of the project? What about presenting the information? The more you can include beyond solely completing research tasks, the more your overall college application will demonstrate college-readiness.

Additional Info (up to 650 words)

Putting your project in your Activities List (above) is a given—but you’re likely leaving money on the table if you only include it there.

If you’re not planning on using your research project to write either some of your supplemental essays or your personal statement (more on those options below), we’d recommend expanding on your Activities List description using the Additional Info section.

Important note: We recommend not trying to sneak another essay into the Additional Info section (some admissions readers have essentially said that doing so will kind of piss them off). But you can use Add’l Info section to expand on your Activities List description, offering greater detail of your actions and especially expanding on the WHY and the SO WHAT mentioned above—things we are pretty unlikely to get from a simple 150 char description in a list.

Here’s an example of one student who used the Additional Info section to effectively elaborate on one of his Activities List entries:

Over the past eight months, I produced a 10-minute documentary that unpacks the environmental consequences of snowmaking, an increasingly widespread technology that ski resorts use to make artificial snow during meager winters. Based on an AP English paper, my film was self-driven and every element of it was carried out by me. The project combines my interests in skiing, the outdoors, and documentary filmmaking.

In the winter, I conducted research and filmed nearly 10 hours of cinematic footage. In the spring, I interviewed industry experts in Colorado, Washington State, West Virginia, and Vermont. In the summer, I began editing—fusing my research, footage, and interviews into a story. I drafted a script before sitting down with a podcasting microphone. I was the cameraman, editor, interviewer, director, and producer.

I became a more experienced cinematographer and a stronger editor in Premiere Pro. But what I enjoyed the most was being able to meet the knowledgeable, helpful, and fascinating people I interviewed, because without them, there wouldn’t be a story to tell.

My documentary is called Snowmaking: The Environmental Impacts of the Ski Industry’s Saving Grace. To see the documentary in its entirety, follow the second link below to watch it on YouTube. To view a short teaser-trailer for the film, follow the first link.

 

Why This Works:

  • Digestible details. While this student admittedly doesn’t have the most niche, convoluted research topic (though I’m sure the chemistry and physics behind snowmaking is more “Black Diamond” intense than Green Circle #lolskijokes), he wisely uses clear, straightforward language to describe his project and his relationships to it. You know what hard skills he’s gained (research, interviewing, video editing) and the project’s scope/scale from the “stats” he’s shared (10-minute documentary, 10 hours of footage). Plus, by walking you through the general workflow, you also get a sense that he values creativity, entrepreneurship, meaningful work, and more.

  • A clear “so what?” In addition to providing us with a little more of a play-by-play/timeline of his project—which is helpful for the admissions officer to have a clearer sense of the “what”—this student ends his Additional Info explanation with a broader takeaway from the project: “what I enjoyed the most was being able to meet the knowledgeable, helpful, and fascinating people I interviewed, because without them, there wouldn’t be a story to tell.”

Supplemental Essays (approx. 100-500 words)

Many supplemental essays (like Why Us, Why Major, Extracurricular Activity, and sometimes Community prompts) offer a chance to expand on WHY you pursued your research project and, through that context, offer greater insight into who you are through exploring some of the values, insights, skills, qualities, interests, and experiences you’ll bring with you to college (and thereby helping readers to see how you and the college fit together).

 

We have a couple of exercises/approaches that we highly recommend for developing the content for your essay, and doing so in a way that saves you a ton of time:

  • The BEABIES Exercise

    The link above offers specific questions + a chart to help you build your content, but essentially, this exercise helps you brainstorm What I Did, Problems I Solved, Lessons Learned/Skills Gained, Impact I Had, and How I Applied What I Learned—generally all elements that you’ll want to share in a supplemental essay exploring your research.

  • “Super Essays”

    We linked this above as well, but essentially, this guide walks through how to look for overlap between supplemental essay prompts, so that you can largely reuse pieces of writing (and often save yourself dozens of hours in the process, and frequently create better writing anyway).

Here’s an example of one student’s 200-250 word Super Essay that she was able to reuse for five different colleges’ supplemental essay prompts:

Note: Bolded lines added by us, for ease of reference in the analysis below.

 I stared at a picture of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with annoyance. Despite its importance, its role in blocking most substances from the brain impaired my potential solution to anorexia nervosa: making up for low dopamine levels by injecting the hormone into cerebral fluid. After days of research, I found a new solution. Since the barrier’s semi-permeable nature allows for the diffusion of lipid-soluble molecules like barbiturates, I could deliver the dopamine via a preoperative sedative (a barbiturate), penetrating the BBB and allowing patients to get pleasure from eating. I was exhilarated.

And hooked.

I discovered the brain’s role in other disorders and developed a fascination for how it worked—or didn’t work. I soon realized that, though the brain was often the problem, it could also be the solution. So in every STEM class paper, I pitched an idea on how to use the brain. Bypassing the BBB with nanotechnology to target primary brain tumors. Increasing glucose levels to strengthen willpower. Using stimulants to activate the prefrontal cortex in autistic children.

In researching ADHD and autism, I found that brain imaging data could be used to predict changes in symptoms. Imagine the power that could give doctors in preventing serious challenges like depression or anxiety.

I learned to appreciate the power the brain had in other areas of my life, like processing the mind-boggling 0/0 in calculus, or the plane’s oscillation physics, or The Giver’s message on freedom. The brain is more than an organ. It's equipped me to be an innovator in my own home, and I’m excited to continue learning about all it does—and doesn’t do—at Dartmouth, whether it’s studying the theories behind groupthink in Social Psychology or researching the complex mechanisms of the medial frontoparietal network in Professor Meyer’s Social Neuroscience Lab.

 

Why This Works:

  • The ripple effect. This student doesn’t just clearly demonstrate (in only a few words!) how fascinated she is by the brain—she also shows how lessons and insights she’s uncovered about the brain can be applied to other scenarios outside of just research: planes, calculus, and even young adult fiction. Being able to demonstrate your ability to make interdisciplinary connections is a sign of college-level thinking, maturity, and an ability to see the broader impact/possibilities of your research interest … which is the whole point of research!

  • Unfiltered emotions. Some of the adjectives this student uses to describe her journey through research are par for the course (hooked, exhilarated), but by starting off her essay with a moment of frustration and annoyance, you get a sense of her humanity. The project wasn’t just sunshine and rainbows—she had to pivot and push past mental roadblocks. Being able to capture the highs and lows she experienced during the project adds in a layer of vulnerability, which helps build connection and relatability with her reader.

  • More bang for your buck. Focusing on the WHY doesn’t just help admissions officers get a better sense for you as a  person—it also helps you (potentially) save a lot of time and effort on your supplemental essays! Because this student shared not just the “what I did” but also her “this is why it’s important to me,” she was able to reuse the essay at several schools whose prompts (at the time of her application) asked her to reflect on her academic interests, things that excite her (Dartmouth) and bring her joy (Brown):

    • Darmouth: What excites you? (250-300 words)

    • Stanford: The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (250 words)

    • Emory: What academic areas are you interested in exploring in college? (200 words)

    • Brown: students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

    • UNC Chapel Hill Honors Carolina Program: Please submit a short essay that describes your academic interests and the ways you believe Honors Carolina can help you pursue them (250 words)

Here’s another Super Essay example that demonstrates how writing these essays from the angle of intellectual curiosity can maximize their use and scope:

Note: Bolded lines added by us, for ease of reference in the analysis below.

 

I thought I was being smart, luring my opponent into the back of my piste, giving her the best opportunities to attack. And everything went according to plan: she attacked, I stepped back to parry and… I stepped over the back line. After much deliberation I realised it was my fault for not realising, but I was curious: why do we expect fencers to just know when they are at the back line?

That summer I had started an Arduino course, fascinated by the capabilities the small computer has to offer. I had modeled different medical devices as part of my Biomedical Engineering Course with Johns Hopkins, but realised the potential was unlimited. With a new goal in mind, I brainstormed ideas: a touch sensor? Too small for the piste. An analog hall sensor? That would require putting a magnet in the shoe—too invasive. A laser beam? Might be difficult to position but… feasible!

Using a photoreceptor, laser, active buzzer, and Arduino Uno—after much troubleshooting and remodelling—I created a system that alerts the fencer when they cross the back line. It is now in trial at my fencing classes, where I am gathering data on how often fencer’s cross the back line for my coach. With my interest in the power of the Arduino, I am working on a fencing 2-target training device. It will work on a fencer’s depth and ability to switch targets while accelerating, as well as a way to measure max speed using lasers.

Why This Works:

  • Asking the big questions. This student gives us a sense of how his mind tries to problem solve, and the types of questions he’s eager to answer. This is a surefire way to weave intellectual curiosity into your response—rather than just saying “I’m fascinated by fencing,” show us.

  • Prioritizing the process—not the pedigree. You might be surprised that this student only spent one sentence detailing his Johns Hopkins course/research experience. Many students will write responses like this and completely reverse the ratio—spending 80% on “I’m smart because I did a Johns Hopkins program” and 20% on “and here’s what it prompted me to do/think/feel.” Reverse that ratio! It’s much more colorful and illustrative to show your creativity/output versus a general program description, which could be written by any student who did that program.

There are other (arguably more suitable) spaces to relay the facts about the research experience—namely the Additional Info section. In fact, here’s how this student described his course there:

 

Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering Innovation Course

  • Learnt how to plan my own labs write full-length lab reports.

  • learnt how to apply physics principles to the variety of human body systems

  • Created our own biosensors, I developed one to detect seizures

  • Final research project: “A Clinical Approach To Measuring The Effects of Pes Planus on Execution of Fencing Movements”. Inspired by my flat feet

  • Advisor for research: Aspetar sports biomechanics researcher

University of California Personal Insight Questions (PIQs) (350 words)

If you’re applying to the University of California (UCs) and have conducted an independent or formal research project, it can often be a perfect fit for their Personal Insight Questions (PIQs).

The UCs give students eight different prompts and ask for four 350 word responses, and you get to choose whichever ones you want. From our experience, independent research projects tend to be great fits for Prompt #4: Significant Educational Opportunity/Barrier.

The UC writing prompts are a little different than supplemental essays at other selective colleges. Whereas many other colleges are hoping for students to weave in a little more creativity, reflection, and insight into their supplemental essays, the UC admissions team has actually encouraged students to be a little more straight-to-the-point, with a focus on the scope and impact of your experiences (for more on this, check out our free UC PIQ guide). Think of them as a hybrid between most selective colleges’ supplemental essay prompts (i.e. more opportunity for the WHY) and the Common App Additional Info section (i.e. an opportunity for the WHAT).

 

Here’s an example from a student who wrote about his CRISPR research project for UC PIQ #4, with a keen focus on that more direct and explanatory writing style:

Note: Bolded lines added by us, for ease of reference in the analysis below.

 

The letters A, C, T, and G are inscribed on colored bubbles in various geometric shapes, filling the blue background. A new board game? Not really. Those are actually CRISPR puzzles used to create new RNA designs for medical research. And the letters? Well, those represent the four bases found in DNA molecules. I enjoyed interacting with DNA through experiments like these after being selected into the University of Rochester Personalized Medicine course, where I explored genetics, personalized medicine through gene editing, and the ethics behind these treatments.

This course allowed me to explore my insatiable curiosities towards medicine and form valuable connections with other students and professionals in the medical sciences. I was able to delve deeper into aspects of medicine as varied as investigating the ethical considerations of gene editing with a bioethicist, discovering the ins and outs of the professional medical field with a MD/Phd candidate, and learning about treating lymphoma by using DNA editing in CAR-T therapy with a hematologist.

Eventually, it was time to apply these weeks of studying and collaborating: my peers and I needed to design our own personalized medical treatments. Even though this task was formidable at first, I was eager to use my new skills to create something unique and beneficial. Whether I was meticulously searching my patient and their family’s medical history, identifying the genetic variants associated with asthma with my mentor, determining the ethical considerations of my treatment, or researching viral vectors used to deliver similar gene-editing treatments, I relished delving deeper into these complex medical processes and putting into practice the ever-evolving concept of personalized medicine.

In the end, I developed a “prototype” treatment for asthma targeting the bronchial epithelial cells in-vivo through the inhalation of the adeno-associated viral vector, using the emerging CRISPR-Cas9 technology as the method of gene-editing. I was so proud to receive glowing reviews of this idea from the professors of the course and my student mentor. As a result, I’ve realized I want to be at the forefront of personalized medicine, treating patients as individuals rather than as just another “patient.”

 

Why This Works:

  • What a beautiful BEABIES! This student seems to have clearly followed the sequence of CEG’s signature extracurricular brainstorming exercise, BEABIES: What I Did, Problems I Solved, Lessons Learned/Skills Gained, Impact I Had, and How I Applied What I Learned. With a 350 word PIQ, there’s a lot of room for each of these five categories to get their time in the sun.

  • We’ve been sent good “whether.” Notice the bolded section at the end of the fourth paragraph. This student wisely uses what we call a “stacked sentence” to show multiple examples of how he was able to apply what he learned from his research experience to other facets of his life. Using a sentence that begins with “Whether I was” and goes on to describe 3-or-so parallel applications of research lessons is a great practice, and allows you to show a lot in very few words.

Narrative or Montage Personal Statement (650 words)

We want to offer a caveat about making a research experience the singular focus of a personal statement: doing so can entail a higher degree of difficulty, and possibly missed opportunities.

Here’s why: Your personal statement is one of your primary opportunities to help a school see who you are through what you value and the insights you’ve gained through your experiences. To help frame the overall arc of your story. And while it’s theoretically possible that your research experience is the best way to show those things to your reader, it seems more likely (and definitely has been in our experience) that including your research experience and what it meant to you / why you’ve pursued it as a component of your essay, but not making it the entire 650 words, will help a college see who you are and how you fit together.

It’s possible to write an entire 650 word personal statement on just the research experience. Doing so in an effective and compelling way is generally harder. And it tends to mean you missed out on the chance to show us other values, insights, qualities, and skills that make you you (because we’re betting research is important to you, and that there’s also way more to you than research).

Here’s an example of a Narrative essay that incorporates elements of a student’s research, within the broader narrative of their intellectual curiosity for ecotourism.

I sit next to the tiger. Smile, click, next. Jumping up and down, beaming, eleven-year-old me could hardly believe that I was in such close proximity to these beautiful, ferocious animals in a tiger temple. Twelve-year-old me frowned and asked the person leading the camel I was riding, “Why are its humps flopped over?” I am told that it’s hungry and will be fine after lunch in an hour. Concerned for the animals’ wellness, I checked an hour later...and nothing had changed. Heart sinking, I trudged back to my parents and wondered what was going on. After researching, I found that a flopped over hump indicates malnutrition.

A few years later, leafing through the new National Geographic magazine, a title caught my eye, “Suffering unseen: The dark truth behind wildlife tourism.” Curiosity warring with dread, I quickly flipped the pages and began to read. As all those memories of visiting animals came flooding through my consciousness, I realized—seeing the experiences with a new lens—that animal abuse is rampant in the ecotourism industry. With that realization came a determination and desire within me to learn more and have a positive impact on animals’ lives.

As I uncovered more information, I began searching for ways to spread this knowledge. The amount of people that still visit these places makes me wonder how many truly know about the horrors behind-the-scenes; surely the main demographic of ecotourism is animal lovers like me, and surely they would not knowingly support this abuse. When searching for ways I could spread my knowledge, I reached out to participate in a nearby TEDx event and was invited to be a speaker. Delighted, I devoted myself to researching, drafting, and redrafting for a speech that meant so much, for a speech on animal abuse in ecotourism. As I played with a pet dog backstage, my awe at this creature and its delight reminded me of the only thing able to still my visible jitters and guide me through my speech: the thought that I was doing this not for myself, but for the innocent animals who themselves can not communicate with people.

This thought has continued to guide me as I go down the path of researching to influence change about animal mistreatment. I want to give them a stronger voice and so I turned to a new medium: writing articles. I began to focus on putting my experiences and research onto paper. The first article I wrote was about the tiger temple. At the time, caught up in the exhilaration of getting to touch tigers, I had not noticed that they had been chained and lethargic. I remembered that I had even seen—but not realized I was seeing—an employee poke a nail into a tiger to make the majestic animal perk up for a picture. It is disturbing how easily the signs of exploitation are overlooked.

To take my advocacy to the next level, I built a website to host these articles. Distributing flyers with basic information at airports, and traveling friends and family posting them at ecotourism hotspots, has caused people to access the site from all over the world—even Thailand! This work has now evolved into a non-profit called PAFT (Protect Animals From Tourism), focused on creating awareness and providing tools to aid animals.

As I began learning Swift and Xcode, I found myself gravitating towards building apps for this cause. The many-month long process commenced to create an app that gives users a set of criteria to identify animal exploitation and take steps to help them. I aspire to continue utilizing technology's vast reach to spread this information and influence change in animal treatment. Because, no matter the path I take, my heart will always be floating in nature, yearning to protect its most vulnerable members.

Why This Works:

  • Raising the stakes. Because this student’s research work wasn’t a “one-and-done” (i.e. she stopped thinking or doing anything about it at the conclusion of a formal program), the Narrative essay gives her ample space to walk through how she raised the stakes and amplified the importance of animal mistreatment to wider audiences.

  • A forward-focused ending. A great Narrative essay will often end with a “New Status Quo” outlook. For this student, that’s a sense of direction and clarity around her future path. If your research experience solidified a career or major prospect for you, this is a great chance to reflect on what you hope to accomplish by pursuing it.

 

NOTE: while this personal statement roughly passes the “Great College Essay Test," this student likely could have been able to uplevel their personal statement had they written it as more of a Montage, which would have allowed them to describe more experiences and showcase more values.

 

Speaking of which, here’s a Montage example where the student used our Essence Objects brainstorming exercise to demonstrate how miscellaneous objects in her tote bag connect to her love for running, newfound confidence on her appearance (and how that manifests in other areas), commitment to service, and—you guessed it!—scientific research:

Note: The student bolded the object at the beginning of each paragraph. We’ve added bold to the other lines for ease of reference in the analysis below.

I’m seven years old, rummaging through my mom’s small red purse. When she sees me, she tells me to stop. “It’s not proper to look through a woman’s purse,” she says. I’m confused—I was only looking for chapstick. As I reflect on this ten years later, I realize that the treasures bags hold are personal. My tan tote bag with “Bonjour” written in red lettering offers a peek into my life and what I value.

Nike Pegasus running shoes, limited edition. In these shoes, I’ve met my best friends, ran countless miles, and made unforgettable memories. Two years ago, my love for running turned into an unhealthy obsession and I developed an exercise addiction along with an eating disorder. After loved ones voiced their concerns, I reevaluated the path that I was on. Since then, I’ve worked hard to change my mindset towards exercise and food. Now, I run to clear my mind and improve my mood. Eventually, I began seeing improvements, not only in my mental health, but also in my athletic performance.

Gold hair fork, bought in the Ithaca Commons on my first solo road trip. On the surface it may appear meaningless, but it carries several memories for me. Growing up, I was naturally hairier than most kids in my grade and had thick, frizzy curls (thank you, Italian genetics). After years of being picked on and lots of hair straightening, I grew tired of trying to conform. I learned how to properly take care of my hair and found peace in embracing my natural self. My journey did not stop with the acceptance of my physical appearance. I took this newfound confidence and started to speak up in my conservative-leaning hometown. Whether it was at Sunday family dinners or during heated APUSH discussions about our presidency, I made it a priority to speak up for what I believed in, despite the potential for harsh backlash.

Junior youth group book, Breezes of Confirmation. This book is based on my religion, the Bahai Faith, and it teaches the junior youth about valuable moral concepts and virtues. In my two groups, we have studied the book together and served together. We wrote cards to people hospitalized during COVID and raised money to send a young girl in Uganda to school. One of my faith’s fundamental principles is the idea that science and religion work together in harmony. I strive to create this harmony in my own life through both my leadership in the junior youth program and my academic aspirations.

Blue 3D printed cell model, created with my brother on a hot summer day. From exploring at-home chemistry kits to learning how and why my Grandpa got cancer, I value learning about what the eye cannot see. I eventually landed an internship in a lab at a local university where I helped dissect drosophila melanogaster flies and looked at their eggs under high power microscopes, aiming to find out how mitotic spindle fibers are oriented in epithelial tissues. This research is so important to me because of its potential to improve chemotherapy drugs. My grandpa is still alive because he risked taking a new immunotherapy treatment called pembrolizumab. Witnessing the female researchers work towards such a meaningful cause has inspired me to pursue cancer research in the future, just like them.

Similar to a lysosome, destroying old organelles, the items I’ve used in high school will soon be replaced by newer, although equally important items. My $5 tote bag with its poorly stitched canvas material will surely give way in the years (hopefully not months) to come, but the meaning of the contents inside will remain. I’ll always be that frizzy haired author, scientist, podcaster, advocate, and leader, running to my own rhythm.

Why This Works:

  • Uncommon connections. Right from the beginning of the fifth paragraph, this student starts linking their value for “what the eye cannot see” to their research. She also folds in her value of empowerment—particularly for women—in scientific spaces. With this ratio intact (one sentence on WHAT and three-ish sentences on WHY), she avoids the reader from getting lost in the fly trap. Ha. ha.

  • A clear “so what.” She has a “jargon-y” sentence… but she backs up WHY dissecting flies even matters in the greater scope of the human experience—something that any admissions officer will be able to appreciate.

Some schools: Interviews

Again, think about your audience here. If it’s an alumni interviewer who studied a subject that’s completely different from what your research is in, you’ll want to give the most “bird’s eye” view of the project you can so they can understand it (even if it’s complex!) in a short conversation. Alternatively, if you happen to be paired with a student interviewer who studied or is studying the area you’ve done research in, it makes sense to geek out a little more! (And can be a nice way to bond.)

Some schools: Research submission

It helps to understand how each school’s evaluation process works, and who actually will be laying eyes on and sharing their opinion about your application. Some colleges offer specific portals through which to submit research, and at some colleges, research abstracts and papers might be shared with faculty members in that particular academic department, and they may (or may not!) share notes and/or a rating about how your project fits in with the pedagogy and work of the college’s department.

Some schools: Letters of rec from a research supervisor

If you’re able to ask your research supervisor (especially if they’re a college professor) for a letter of recommendation, that can be a really eye-catching addition to your application at certain selective colleges.

For instance, one of our CEG team members recently had a counselor call (aka when high school college counselors call admissions officers to get a heads up about their school’s applicants) with an admissions rep from Caltech, who mentioned that applicants who’ve done research alongside faculty members at colleges/universities AND have an additional form of advocacy from a professor (generally a recommendation letter) can sometimes fare better in their admissions process.

However, this appreciation for recommendations falls very much in the “it depends” category of how colleges view certain application materials. It’s best to clarify specifically with your regional admissions officer at each college you apply to about their take on this.

Final Thoughts

Because we covered a ton in this post, we’ll keep this brief:

  • Be sure to take the time to think about the overall story of your application, and how research fits into it.

  • And help your readers see the values and insights and growth you’ve gained because of the experience.

 

Thanks for reading, and have a beautiful time diving in with your writing.

 

Tom Campbell (he/him) is an eternally extra Gemini who has spent the past seven years helping students and families navigate the college admissions process—one alliterative/assonant aphorism at a time. Prior to joining College Essay Guy, he worked as a college counselor at Lakeside School and an admissions officer at Pomona College and College of the Holy Cross (his alma mater). He stans em dashes and semicolons, Kacey Musgraves (all eras, not just star crossed and Golden Hour), superior breakfast burritos, and complaining about space tourism.

 

Top Values: Authenticity | Fun | Vulnerability

Andrew Simpson (he/him), CEG’s Editorial Director, has worked as an educator, consultant, and curriculum writer for the past 15 years, and earned degrees from Stanford in Political Science and Drama. He feels most at home on mountain tops and in oceans.

 

Top Values:  Insight/Growth | Truth | Integrity