Tag: Johns Hopkins

Gwyneth was in 9th grade and living in Hong Kong when we worked with her older sister. She developed an interest in attending boarding school because she felt her local high school lacked the curriculum to support her growing scientific interests. We helped her apply to a handful of U.S. boarding schools, while also researching opportunities to explore her interests in summer programs.

Gwyneth spent the summer after 9th grade at Brown University in a course titled “Exploring Infectious Diseases: Are We Safe?” This one course would change the direction of her life. She made the transfer to an elite East Coast boarding school at the start of 10th grade so she could pursue the beginning of a career in biomedical research.

She joined Science Club for Girls and the Psychology Club. These two clubs motivated her to look for other science programs to support her growing interests. The Short List helped her find two selective summer programs. She spent part of the summer at Emory University studying “Infectious Diseases: Causes and Cures” and the other half on an eco-service trip to Fiji.

When she returned to boarding school for her junior year, Gwyneth decided to join the BioEthics Club to further explore the issues she had been researching over the summer. We spent a good part of the year exploring colleges with great science research programs. She used her breaks to visit schools, speak with faculty, and meet with staff who could tell her about their research initiatives. As a result of this discovery process, she applied to the University of California’s Rosetta Institute of Biomedical Research where she took a fascinating summer course on immunology working in labs alongside grad students and professors researching infectious diseases.

Gwyneth worked hard to earn top grades and test scores that would allow her to apply to any school in the country. It was clear to Gwyneth no other school could match Johns Hopkins University for exactly what she wanted to do with her life, so she applied through their binding Early Decision program. We weren’t surprised when Gwyneth was offered a coveted spot in the Class of 2021. We have no doubt we will be reading about Gwyneth and her amazing scientific discoveries some day.