<p>What should be in a “why lab X?” essay? Should it be as original as a “why school X?” college application essay.</p>
<p>I mean, my current draft (PM me if you want to have a look!) talks about my interdisciplinary research interests and how I want to focus them, have a chance to attack a difficult scientific problem in biochemistry and see my work pay off. In addition, I would learn a lot about a specialised topic that I a) would start to accumulate expertise in b) use in other fields c) or even pursue further research in (maybe eventually industrial applications!). But I have a feeling many kids will say the same thing. How do I make my essay stand out?</p>