Unique Qualities that Attract Me to a Curriculum: College Admission Essay Sample

It started when my sister fell off the bed and nearly fractured her skull.‘Trauma to the occipital cortex,’ the doctor told my parents. ‘That explains the vision impairment.’ With the eloquence only a seven year-old could muster, I piped up, ‘I don’t geddit.’ The doctor looked at me, slightly amused. ‘You will, if you study the brain one day.’

Somehow, those words stayed with me. I spent hours poring over articles, and tracing my fingers across her CT scans, trying to figure out how hitting the head could have anything to do with the eyes. Of course, the complicated jargon slipped through my seven-year-old head and I couldn’t deduce more than blobs in the sheets I held up, but I was determined to know more – and thus began my love affair with the most complex organ in the human body.

Since then, my appreciation for the brain has grown. Over the years, my bookshelves have sagged with journals I’ve collected on neuroscience; my YouTube suggestions exploded with neurobiology and behavior documentaries. The idea that our complex, multi-faceted behavior is controlled by deceptively simple neurotransmitter and ion concentration in our body fascinates me, and I crave a deeper understanding of neuroscience.

The University of Michigan, through the nature of its curriculum, teachers and opportunities, becomes the perfect place obtain that. As I look to major in Neuroscience, the LSA’s interdisciplinary curriculum becomes the encapsulation of my ideal learning experience. I look forward to expose myself to neuroscience from a range of lenses of biology, psychology and anthropology, while getting an in-depth understanding of biology through the major. Having discovered the importance of mentoring through my medical internships, I see UMich as a clear personal-favorite, owing to the abundant research opportunities present with professors whose interests intersect with mine. Professor Beehner’s work with hormone-regulated animal behavior has been a catalyst behind my neurobiology and behavior explorations and I look forward to working with her.

However, what makes LSA exceptionally attractive to me is the promise of being able to pursue my passion in English within the same school. I’ve always been addicted to the idea that I can breathe life into characters by simply tracing black ink across white parchment. I’ve written on multiple platforms - from reflective monologues in my journal to biting satire in the national newspaper supplement. My work as the Junior Editor of the newspaper supplement exposed me to the power English holds in shaping the way we perceive things. At LSA, I will be able to pursue a double-major in English alongside Biological Sciences and get exposed to the plethora of opportunities that come with it. Through teachers like Professor Fried, I hope to explore areas like poetry and literature with greater depth. Through courses of English 2880-2890, I aim to develop skills in expository writing that will enable me to continue my passion for reflective writing while also equipping me for a wide range of intellectual and professional pursuits.

I see Michigan as the ideal place for the intersection of my seemingly divergent passions. I look forward to working in the editorial offices of Epoch while simultaneously being challenged through the Adkins-Regan laboratory. I look to give back through platforms like Biology Service Leaders and translate my academic experience to real, communication-driven problem solving in modern neuroscience.