Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.
What type of education best develops a person’s capabilities, allowing him to become self-reliant, curious, and capable of handling an assortment of challenges? Better still, what qualities are best nurtured to create independent and critical thinkers? These are the types of questions that Laura and Jeff Sandfer wanted to tackle.
By default, the UCPIS is important because there are not many ways to evaluate applicants: no recommendations unless requested by a specific campus; no SAT or ACT scores. This leaves an applicant’s activity list (containing up to 20 activities); your transcript which you input into your application; and your four UCPISs.
For graduate school a statement of purpose for the admissions process is generally a requirement. There are, however, undergraduate schools that ask for a SOP.
The statement of purpose question can appear in a variety of forms. The University of Pennsylvania, has a 450-word SOP: “Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, how will you explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania?” Cornell has a 650-word SOP. University of Michigan’s is 550 words and University of Wisconsin, Madison, is 650.
Imagine going to college without sitting in a 500-seat lecture hall , or working on problem sets alone in the library until the wee hours, or writing mind-numbing papers after a couple of meetings with a marginally engaged professor.
Instead, consider being part of a team experimenting on methods of capturing carbon dioxide and storing it deep beneath the earth in carbonate minerals. Students want challenges: projects that introduce them to problems that have no clear answers, and that require experimentation and exploration. This is why colleges are offering extensive experiential learning.
Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.
