From cancer research to developing new medical treatments, biology is an extremely broad subject to consider majoring in as a prospective college student. Because it’s such an open-ended topic, it attracts a lot of attention from high school students who are trying to decide what they want to study in college. From wanting to go to medical school to doing research on new diseases, the possibilities for a biology student are endless.
Biology is competitive. With most of the high-end biology schools like Johns Hopkins and MIT having single-digit acceptance rates, you really need to gain every advantage possible, and you need to start ASAP.
While we usually like to start talking to students about their college plans in their sophomore year, it’s not too late to start prepping for college as a junior. In fact, we consider junior year to be the last chance to make major changes to your portfolio before senior year comes around, and you have to start sending out applications. So, read along as we go in-depth into how we help students impress admissions counselors and what you can do right now to improve your chances.
Figuring Out Your Niche
We sometimes refer to this as a student’s “brand,” but all it means is figuring out your unique interests and skills, how those tie into what you want to study, and how to market that story to admissions counselors. Whether that’s being really interested in cancer research or wanting to develop new medical tools, knowing what you want to do is really important to the college prep process.
When we first meet with clients, we help them decide what their niche is. We might start with the broad idea of biology, but we’ll funnel it down from there, like maybe you’re interested in cancer research. From there, we might talk about if you have a specific type of cancer they’re interested in, such as breast cancer. After we’ve figured that out, topics might shift to the type of research you’re interested in, from working in a lab to analyze tissue samples to being the person actually taking them. That’s the niche. See? Funneling!
Classes and Books
To first explore your niche, you’re going to have to do some research. Whether that’s going to the library and finding some books (No, it’s not “boring” if you actually like the topic. Don’t sass us, youths…) or looking up articles online, it’s important for you to do research so you can fully understand your niche and what you’re getting yourself into.
This will be more fun than homework though, because you’re actually learning about the things that interest you. When we work with our students, we build them a customized curriculum to help them learn about their areas of interest so they can narrow down their passions and learn more about the topic as they go. Specifically, we look into assigning specific books and online classes to help them become specialists in their niche.
Extracurriculars
Having a resume full of extra classes is very important, but we also like for our students to get some real-world experience in their niche. Colleges like to see that students have made an effort to get involved in their interests, both in and out of school. In school, this might take the form of joining a biology or science-related club or TA-ing in the science lab - anything to get close to what interests the student. The major portion of extracurriculars will involve what you do outside of school - like volunteering at a related nonprofit, getting an internship, or conducting research with a local college professor.
We recommend our students avoid loading up on extracurriculars that aren’t related to their niche. While we won’t stop them if they’re really passionate about chess club, or football, or musical theater, we do recommend staying focused on spending time doing things that will help their college application more than anything else. AKA, the academic stuff.
College List
When we meet with students, we help them identify what colleges would be best for their niche and what goals they need to meet to have the best chances of getting into them. For reference, here’s a list of some of the top colleges for bio in the US. But remember, not all of these schools would be on every potential bio majors list – it depends on your personality, what you’re looking for from a college, and your stats.
Johns Hopkins
Harvard
MIT
Cornell
UC Berkley
We recommend researching each school so you can create a truly balanced college list. From there, you’ll use things like your extracurriculars, GPA, and test scores to narrow down a few smart ED options. We help our students every year come up with the perfect school list for them.
Spending Summers
While we don’t want to entirely deprive our students of their well-earned two months off from school, having over 60 days of uninterrupted time is a major opportunity to learn some new skills and get experience. That’s why we work with clients to plan their summers around exploring their passions.
Summer programs are a common way for students to initially get involved in their topic of interest. Whether the program involves a lot of classes or possibly even shadowing a professional in the field, any experience is good experience. A lot of summer programs also give you the opportunity to get your foot in the door at colleges you’re interested in (demonstrated interest!!).
If you want to get more advanced than summer programs (which we strongly suggest doing), then jobs, internships, and research will be your best bets. These types of extracurriculars show more more advanced exploration of your potential major and heightened responsibility.
Applying to College
With our juniors (who at this point in the game are rising seniors!), we start working on the Common App essay in June/July. After polishing up the Common App essay, we start with the Early Decision application and move down the (balanced!) list of colleges in order of deadline. Starting the essays in the summer is the best way to make sure you get the stress of applications done before the ramp-up in work senior year.
There’s a lot going on during junior year, and it’s the last opportunity to make progress on your niche before sending out college applications.
Need help figuring out how to make the most of your niche? Let us know. We specialize in helping students realize their potential.