<p>i would probably regard it as community service, since the best idea i’ve had so far to do with the money i’ve earned is to donate it to some place like the nursing home. or college. the only thing she can do with her hands is grab a cup or spoon with some sort of nourishment and put it to her mouth. or she can hit me. i get paid by her son, $15 an hour. its a very tedious and streessful job- she can’t talk, she can’t respond, she’s almost (i feel bad saying this) like a vegetable. </p>
<p>i wrote an essay about this. if you would like to see it, you can email me if you wish.</p>
<p>haha i dont mind the comments - the most i can do is call the adcom and try something anyways - but that won’t happen. i’m just waiting now.</p>
<p>$5 million? wow u rock. but research isn’t my hook haha. my ‘research’ doesn’t even come close to what you do. but im thinkin im doing a bit more than just electrophoresis .</p>
<p>if i even had a hook, i’d say itd be math. its not uber uber impressive, but im guessing its the best point ive got on my app. dragon boating i thought stood a chance, since harvard is one of the VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY few schools that has an actual competitive dragon boat team, but unless i like started a county or regional league or soomethng, i’m guessing i won’t get very far on my app with db</p>
<p>i have no clue. california is one of the bigger states that pumps out good students, so i dont even know if they need quotas. </p>
<p>umm on the research haha…i’m just about to begin it…i told my interviewer that too, but she thought it was cool how i had to go out by myself to find a mentor and crap (yeah u’r gonna laugh ur dkafj off…im wayyyyyyyyy far away from you)</p>
<p>" i get paid by her son, $15 an hour. its a very tedious and streessful job- she can’t talk, she can’t respond, she’s almost (i feel bad saying this) like a vegetable."</p>
<p>Why do you accept money for doing this? Unless you are destitute, it seems that you would be willing to do that for free. Her situation sounds heartbreaking. Why does she need help just once a week? How did you get hired to help her?</p>
<p>Since you are accepting money for helping this unfortunate woman one hour a week, what you are doing is not a community service. It is paid employment. People who are getting paid can choose to donate their money to nonprofit agencies, but they still are working jobs. If you describe it in your essay or application as community service, you are misrepresenting what you’re doing.</p>
<p>oo i didnt. i put under the “work” part of the commonapp that i do this. she needs help just once a week becuz two of my other friends help her on the other weekdays, while her son comes in on the weekend. i found this job through one of those friends, who asked me if i was willing to commit the rest of senior year to come in on mondays. i was/still am willing to do this for free, but the son (btw hes around 60ish) insists that i get paid.</p>
<p>OK, I get it now. Sounds like an experience that must be broadening your perspective on life in general. Why not give the $ to an agency that either proves services to the elderly or provides respite services for caretakers?</p>
<p>"she thought it was cool how i had to go out by myself to find a mentor and crap "</p>
<p>lots of people had to do that. I didn’t have any connections at all. I emailed the president of the research institute asking for a position. He remembered me from the summer internship program and from the seminar I gave on my findings, thus he forwarded my email to every scientists. Two got back to me, and I had to go through the whole she-bangs. Interviews, training, yada yada.</p>
<p>is this your 1st time in the lab? you’re in the SF area, so which institute is this? UCSF? Stanford? Genetech? Have you had any past experiences in the field of molecular biology and biochemistry? siRNA is a very hot area right now. Any research proposal to NIH regarding RNAi would be given at least a score of 4 already. Aahh sorry i’m rambling.</p>
<p>I work for an independent research firm. Well I wouldn’t called it work because I’m not getting paid for it since my 1st grant expired.</p>
<p>Actually, I was just told be my interviewer toady that Harvard dislikes California applicants for two reasons.</p>
<p>a) (the much bigger one) Harvard acceptees from California, historically, have lowered Harvard’s yield rates, since many, many Californians who get into Harvard also get into Stanford and then just go to Stanford. Thus, Harvard’s California acceptance rates are lower (around 8%, against their average ~10%; note, this does not take into consideration that probably only the gifted from California would apply to Harvard, whereas pretty much everyone who even has a lottery ticket’s chance of acceptance in California would apply to Stanford). I imagine this isn’t a huge problem for the EA pool, since applying EA shows more or less that Harvard is your number one choice, but if you’re going RD, this will hurt you.</p>
<p>2) (could just be my interviewer’s theory) California has a reputation of being filled with surfer boys and sweet valley girls. This is far from true, but it’s a stereotype nevertheless that contrasts sharply with the academically intense nature of the Ivy Leagues.</p>
<p>Hmm. I thoroughly made it clear in the app that H is my 1st choice. Moreover, Fitzsimmons knows that I’m applying there as a low-income student, so I think it’s implied or that he understands why H would be my 1st choice over S. I’d go to H over S any day although my bf goes to stanford lol.</p>
<p>to rokurota - why? im sorry if its something ive said.</p>
<p>to northstarmom - yeah i sorta has been one of those world view on life things. what do you mean by “an agency that either proves services to the elderly or provides respite services for caretakers” could you give me a few examples?</p>
<p>to static soliloquy - i’m in a very small company lab. trust me, i am no where close to you haha. i am no way hardcore. this works in sync with my biology ap class (does that sorta help?)…because our teacher wants us to act like adults and experience what its like in the real world. we don’t have to be like the next salk or that guy who discovered penicillin haha. i say ur coming close to that though. i bet ur aiming at med school</p>
<p>but i think my background would help…just a bit.</p>
<p>you mean fleming? i’m very excited that the experiment is working! The mice (genetically engineered mice as models of human inherited disease) are responding to the gene therapy. THeir cholesterol level improved. Sigh, now we’re trying to optimize the dosage-response level.</p>
<p>what about siRNA will you be working with? I’m so interested!
I read an article in Scientific American a few weeks ago about how the novel role of RNA might challenge the dogma of molecular biology. the whole DNA -> RNA -> Protein.</p>
<p>and I didn’t write my main essay on my research experience. It’d be a complete waste of 500 words!</p>
<p>There’s probably an Elder Care agency in your area that you could either donate to or that could steer you to suitable organizations that would welcome your donation. Alzheimers Associations often provides services for caregivers of people with that disease. That’s the case, too, with other associations that serve people with debilitating diseases including whatever malady is suffered by the woman you’re helping.</p>
<p>if you’ve got an animals rights activist on the adcomm, ur screwed haha. poor mice.</p>
<p>im planning with using it to help find drugs that will combat cancer. my knowledge of the field is pretty good but still needs help from my mentor, but i believe i will be using siRNA to shut down important genes, and then employing drugs to see how well they treat that cancer. sorry, i probably can’t tell you any more…i have to meet with my mentor a few more times.</p>
<p>“using siRNA to shut down important genes, and then employing drugs to see how well they treat that cancer.” that’s the objective of every RNAi labs around the nation.</p>
<p>ehh, the mice are being killed for a good reason :)</p>
.</p>