Demographics
- State/Location of residency: Ohio
- Type of high school: Public
- Gender/Race/Ethnicity: Female/South Asian
- No special factors
Intended Major(s)
Molecular Biology & Neuroscience (Hoping to double major); want to minor in Toxicology/Environmental Health
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
- Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
- Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.97 (out of 5.0) at end of junior year- not including summer classes or classes I am taking currently
- Class Rank: 1/723
- ACT/SAT Scores:
ACT: 36 (English: 36, Math:36, Reading: 36, Science: 36)
SAT: 1550 (Reading & Writing: 780, Math: 770),
1530 (Reading & Writing: 740, Math: 790)
Coursework
14 AP Classes, 16 AP Tests by Senior Year:
AP Exam Scores: AP CSP (5), AP Bio (5), AP Calc BC (5), AP Macro (5), AP Micro (5), AP Chem (4), AP Statistics (5), AP Lang (5), APES (5), AP Physics C Mech (4), AP Physics C E&M (5)
*Planning to retake Chem and Mech exams this May (so I can hopefully get credit for 5s)
All Classes:
Freshman Year (in-school)- Honors Biology, Honors American History, Honors Algebra 2 (took Algebra I and Geometry in Junior High), Honors English 9, AP Computer Science Principles, Spanish I, Principles of Biomedical Sciences (PLTW)
Summer before Sophomore Year- Dual Enrollment: Precalculus & Music Appreciation (both through dual enrollment)
Sophomore Year (in-school)- Honors Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Calculus BC, AP Economics (My school has both Macro & Micro in one AP Economics course), Spanish II, Human Body Systems (PLTW)
Summer before Junior Year- Dual Enrollment: Government, Human Biology, Medical Terminology
Junior Year (in-school) - AP Statistics, AP Physics C Mechanics/E&M (Same as Econ- My school has both Mech & E&M in one AP Physics C course), AP Environmental Science, AP Chemistry, AP English Language and Composition, Medical Interventions (PLTW), Advanced Topics in Math with Multivariable Calculus (also counted as Dual Enrollment credit)
Summer before Senior Year- Dual Enrollment: Differential Equations & Linear Algebra, Elementary Spanish II (instead of taking Spanish III in school)
Senior Year (currently taking in-school)- Honors Zoology, AP Computer Science A, AP Human Geography, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Language and Culture, Biomedical Innovations (PLTW)
Senior Year (out of school- Dual Enrollment): Microbiology, Pathophysiology, Environmental Ethics; planning/hoping to take Discrete Mathematics (community college will be adding course next semester) &/or Pharmacology next semester
Self-study: AP Psychology (currently self-studying & will take exam in May)
*Note- all of my dual enrollment classes are through community colleges with the exception of the ones I did before my sophomore year, which were from a local university (I don’t think it really matters, but I’m not sure how it would affect credits for whatever college I end up attending)
I have also taken EdX courses (without a certificate), including MITX’s Introduction to Programming in Python and World Music: Global Rhythms, HarvardX’s Introduction to Neuroscience Courses (all 3); and DoaneX’s Introduction to Pharmacology; I am currently taking a few more ones in biology from MITX
Awards (only listing ones I am putting on applications)
- HOSA Barbara James Service Award (International Award for Medical Volunteering Service)- 2022 Bronze Level Award (> 100 hours of medical volunteering), 2023 Silver Award (>175 hours of volunteering), 2024 Gold Award (>250 hours of volunteering)
- 1st place internationally in HOSA ATC Human Heredity event- 2024
- 2nd place internationally in HOSA ATC Human Heredity event- 2023
- Captain of 2nd place team internationally in Anatomage competition at 2023 HOSA ILC
- 22nd place out of over 2000 competitors in Healthcare Issues Exam at 2024 HOSA ILC
- Honorable Mention on USABO Open Exam- top 20% (& 1 point from semifinals)- 2023
- Certificate of Merit on USABO Open Exam- top 30%- 2024
- National Merit Semifinalist
- 1st Nationally in a few Carnatic vocal competitions- listed separately (on music portfolios & non-scholastic awards section of MIT application)
- Won multiple regional concerto competitions- same as previous bullet point
Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
Summer Programs (only listing ones that I put on MIT application):
- MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)- Autonomous Cognitive Assistant (Cog*Works) course- 2024
- Learned about DFTs, LLMs, & gradient descent
- Worked in team with other students to make apps implementing AI for song & image recognition, semantic search, & street navigation assistant to help people with vision and hearing disabilities navigate streets in cities with excessive noise pollution
- Johns Hopkins Global Health Leaders Conference (GHLC)- 2024 (about 9 acceptance rate)
- Learned about various public health topics, including epidemiology, environmental health, & adolescent health from leading public health experts
- Ohio State University Neuroscience Summer Camp-2024
- Observed DBS surgery
- Viewed human cadaver in anatomy lab
- Toured research labs using mice and rat models for TBI, Alzheimer’s & addiction
- (All skills I was able to perform in research lab rotations) Used vibratome to cut mouse brain slices; laid different mouse brain slices in order on slide for viewing under microscope; cut out individual cells from nervous tissue using laser technology; observed zebrafish under microscope and determined genotypes of different zebrafish generations based on phenotypes for fluorescence
- Girl Con Women in Technology and STEM Conference Attendee-2024
- University of Cincinnati STEM Unleashed Program- 2023
- Selected as one of <10 students from region to learn about advanced topics in mathematics, chemistry, and physics from professor at University of Cincinnati
- Northern Kentucky University BRAIN Neuroscience Academy- 2023
* Performed neurochemistry & neurobehavior experiments on a variety of organisms, including fruit flies, zebrafish, worms, and mice
* Performed and observed EEG when given various sensory stimuli
* Presented findings from some experiments conducted by the group to an audience at the end of the program
Activities (only listing top few activities on my applications :
-
HOSA Club/Chapter Co-president
- Increased membership to >100 members- > 40% increase
- Organize, lead, and create presentations for club meetings; manage
Canvas course for club, help manage club logistics, help propose & lead fundraising events - Previously served as Competitive Events Manager for 2023-2024
- Created and organized Canvas course for club, help club members select and prepare for competitions, and organize workshops to teach students skills for their competitions
-
Pre-Med Club Founder & President
- Started & boosted club to >70 members
- Organize club meetings and events, coordinate paperwork, contact guest speakers, school administrators, and activity coordinators for guest speaker meetings, fundraisers, and community initiatives
- Created and maintain Canvas course for students in club to get updates about club meetings and events and access meeting summaries
- Organize and lead Cards for Seniors initiative at my school for which the club has collected over 300 cards for senior citizens
- Organizing Medicine for Kids program at elementary schools to get elementary school students interested and involved in medicine
- Have created partnerships with and affiliated Pre-Med Club as a chapter for several national/international nonprofits focused on helping raise awareness for medical conditions and spreading medical knowledge to students, like Empower Oncology, Project Platelets, Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s, and Brain4Brains (which I am the vice president and COO of)
-
Science Competitions and Opportunities Club Founder & President, Team Captain/Lead for Group Competitions
- Organize and lead club meetings
- Team captain for National Science Bowl- started team in fall 2024
- Started USA Biology Olympiad chapter at Lakota West Freshman school and Lakota West High School
- Have started and currently lead teams for various STEM competitions and contests including Science Bowl, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, Beaver Works Designing for Assistive Technology, and Genes in Space
- Beaver Works Designing for Assistive Technology challenge: working with other students in club to come up with an idea and build a prototype for an assistive device for people with disabilities
- Samsung Solve for Tomorrow challenge: working with other students to propose and create an app to combine data from organizations researching various types of pollution in order to alert residents in high-risk areas throughout Southwest Ohio of pollution and environmental hazards as well as partner with community groups and potentially county environmental health departments to identify the causes of pollution in certain areas and reduce negative health impacts on residents in high-risk areas
-
Brains4Brains Neuroscience Education Nonprofit Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
- Create content for online courses on a variety of topics in neuroscience
- Organize hands-on Neuroscience workshops for middle schoolers using sheep brains
- Facilitate leadership meetings & plan nonprofit events
- Advertise nonprofit in community
-
Elevate Academics Nonprofit Co-Founder, Content Creator, and Coach
- Create content for courses on website on a variety of topics, including grammar, general biology/physics, AP course topics/standardized test preparation, & STEM competition preparation
-
International Public Health Internship Team Lead (Leadership Initiatives)- not doing this year
- Have raised funds for hospital expenses in Bauchi, Nigeria
- Have created PSA posters to display in clinics throughout Bauchi
- Organized workshops for hundreds of Bauchi residents to raise awareness for maternal health issues
-
Environmental Club Vice President
- Help President with planning meetings and club activities & fill in for President when needed
- Create presentations for meetings
- Working on organizing collaboration between Environmental Club and Pre-Med to teach about disease that affect plants and natural treatments for medical conditions using plants
- Team Captain for 2024 Envirothon Competition- led team to successful finish at the regional Envirothon Competition & am working with the Science Competitions Club to recruit more students to compete next year
-
A Beaver’s Work Outreach and Copywriting Leadership Team Member
- Part of group of alumni from the MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute Summer Program working on an effort to have BWSI alumni across the U.S. and in other countries plant trees to compensate for the carbon emissions associated with the Beaver Works program
- Find local organizations to potentially partner with to obtain trees for BWSI alumni to plant
- Draft emails to be sent to BWSI alumni and tree-planting organizations across the United States, Japan, and Europe to help obtain native trees
- Help inform alumni and A Beaver’s Work members of tasks they need to complete for program
-
Schoolhouse World Silver Level Tutor
- Have impacted over 100 learners from over 25 different countries, placing me in the top 5% of tutors on Schoolhouse for both achievements, respectively
- Tutor peers across multiple countries on various subjects and courses such as Physics, Chemistry, Prealgebra, and Writing
- Have tutored SAT Bootcamp series
- Co-hosting buddy program mentor
-
AID-Learning Beyond Limits Nonprofit Student Teacher
- Teach English to elementary school students in rural India (AID) on a weekly basis
-
Academic Quiz Team- Varsity
- Part of four person varsity team that qualified club for National Academic Quiz Tournament for first time in school history -2022
- Received team award for most questions answered at National Tournament
-
Mu Alpha Theta
- Help advertise club- no official leadership positions (run by a teacher)
- Participate in a competitions with other schools nearby- received highest score for school on Rose Hulman math competition
-
National Honor Society Chapter Community Service and Communications Director
- Inform NHS members of community service opportunities in the region & contact members, organizations, and school officials for club initiatives when needed
- Track attendance, payments, and forms for members
-
Butler Philharmonic Youth Orchestra Concertmaster & Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra Co-Concertmaster
-
Code.org CS Ambassador
-
CEE STEM Lyceums Ambassador
-
BigFuture Ambassador
Essays/LORs/Other
I’m not really sure how strong my essays will be compared to other applicants, but I tried to talk about experiences that I felt were somewhat unique on my CommonApp and MIT essays. For MIT, I talked about my love for learning languages for my hobby essay, I discussed my path towards starting clubs (I mentioned my interest in joining certain clubs at MIT that did similar activities and talked about club that I wanted to start at MIT as well) for my trailblazing essay, I talked about my interest in general biology and how BWSI influenced my to change my primary major to computational biology in my major essay, I talked about connecting with students from around the world through Schoolhouse World and eventually teaming up with other Schoolhouse tutors to start a nonprofit for the contributing to community essay (I did not list Schoolhouse on my application), and I talked about an incident that happened on the first day of classes for a nonprofit program (I didn’t list the program on my MIT application) for which I had started volunteering as a student teaching assistant in my challenge essay. I wrote a few paragraphs on the MIT additional information section about certain classes I wanted to take at MIT, clubs that I wanted to join, and certain professors and labs that I wanted to research under/in (and a few other things specific to MIT that I like).
I have a recommendation from my AP Biology teacher from my sophomore year, who is also an advisor for the Pre-Med Club I started at my school and the USABO chapter and Science Competitions Club. I also have a recommendation letter from my AP Econ teacher in my sophomore year, who I have really been able to interact with out of class, and with whom I have been able to have various meaningful conversations about activities I do outside of school. Both of these teachers have written several recommendation letters for me before (for summer program applications), so I think these recommendations will be strong).
I have interacted with my counselor a lot since my freshman year, since
I have had to register for some dual enrollment courses that nobody at my school has taken before, and my counselor told me that he talked a lot about taking initiative and having intellectual curiosity, so I think my counselor recommendation will also be relatively strong.
For the MIT application, I got a supplemental recommendation from my violin teacher, who has taught me for over 10 years. I am also planning on asking for a supplemental recommendation from my instructor for the BWSI course. I think this recommendation will be good as well, since I was an active participant in lectures and problem solving sessions.
I will be submitting music supplements for violin and cultural/world music that I sing/play as part of my application, so I also have recommendation letters from each of my music teachers (for each instrument/supplement) for those.
Cost Constraints / Budget
Looking for college that will give me lots of scholarship money/financial aid- hopefully under $20,000/year
Schools (note- these rankings are somewhat based off of Collegevine, other than the reaches)
-
Safety *
University of Cincinnati -
Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
Ohio State University -
Match *
Case Western Reserve University
Wellesley
Boston University -
Reach *
MIT
Harvard
UPenn
Columbia
Johns Hopkins
Dartmouth
Brown
Princeton
Yale
Stanford
Cornell
MIT is my dream college, so any chancing particularly for MIT would be really appreciated
