You’ve heard about the birds and the bees, but what about the biomes and the black holes? Sorry if that opener was misleading — we’re not talking about the reproductive cycle of the void today (although hold up while we file this away for future presentations #WelcomeToMyTedTalk). The point is there’s a lot more to ~the study of life~ than you’ve got time to cover in AP Bio. Whether you’re studying abyssery and starlight in astrobiology or learning about infectious diseases in microbiology, you’re falling under the biology umbrella in one way or another.
It’s great news that biology covers a broad range of research fields, but it also means that hordes of students with diverse interests will be applying for the same biology major spots during college application season. The best way to give yourself a leg up is to spend free time deepening your understanding of biology and identifying a specialty in the area that most interests you. And if you’re not sure where to start? No worries. We made a guide just for you.
Read
We’re not reinventing the wheel here, we know, but the quickest way to get your footing in a vast discipline is to dive into its foundational texts and popular literature. Before you start building Dexter’s lab under your house, spend a little bit of time in the library. You can start with the classics — if you think you might be into evolutionary bio, for example, you should check out The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. If you’re looking for something more contemporary but still comprehensive, The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is “a biography of cancer” that reads as literary while having the clarity of a cellular biologist’s perspective. Finally, there are plenty of accessible but riveting books that take a broad look at the development of the universe and humankind, like Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything.
Your options don’t end there, though. You can get a view of today’s research landscape from perusing primary research papers published in databases like PubMed. That’s the most direct link to the scientific process as it happens, but you can also read well-researched novels and literary non-fiction that weave in reliable information narratively. Interested in ecology and dendrology (the study of trees)? Read The Overstory by Richard Powers. More into zoology, perhaps ornithology, and specifically birds of prey? H Is for Hawk, Helen MacDonald’s memoir about overcoming grief and practicing falconry, might be for you.
Take More Classes
Reading for pleasure is exploratory and enriching, but the next step is to get a more structured education in a classroom setting. Use what you’ve read to direct your development. If a book or paper really captivated you, look into academic offerings in that subdiscipline. There are plenty of wonderful classes online, many of them free, through Coursera, The Great Courses, Yale Open Courses, Harvard’s Free Courses, and more. These online courses have our seal of approval already.
If you’d like an in-person experience, you should apply to summer programs on college campuses. You can stay in dorms, get a feel for undergraduate life, make some like-minded friends, and even earn some college credits. Most top-tier schools have pre-college programs, so try to find programs that strengthen your academic narrative (i.e. cater to your niche) at the colleges that most interest you. There’s a lot out there, but here are a few preliminary lists for top pre-med, neuroscience, zoology, and marine biology programs.
Research
Participating in research — and publishing it — is one of the highest honors for STEM scholars. The higher the level of your research, the more impressive it will be for a high school applicant. However, this is true precisely because it is somewhat unlikely to get involved with a professional lab at a young age. Still, if you know what research areas interest you, we highly recommend you pitch yourself as a research assistant to local professors focusing on your specialty. Cite their work and why their project appeals to you so they know you’ve done your homework and reach out with genuine intentions. You’ll get a lot of no’s, but it’s still worth trying. Another option is to see if you have instructors at school who are doing research of their own or hoping to organize a student group. Did your microbiology teacher last semester blow your mind? Go talk to them about working together beyond class.
Science Fairs
To piggyback off our last point, there are so many opportunities specifically for high schoolers like yourself. You can design your own research project and submit your findings to science fairs at the local, state, and national level. This has a few benefits — it shows you’re self-driven and intellectually curious, and it means you have something tangible (whether that’s participation or any accolades/scholarships you may receive) to list on your resume.
Intern or Work
Here’s our last tip of advice when it comes to your downtime, and, forgive us, we’re going to quote our timeless Camp Rock queen. Don’t even think about opening TikTok, okay? In the undying words of Demi Lovato, “GET A JOB. STAY AWAY FROM HER!”
Because biology is such a diverse field, any number of summer jobs or internships will look relevant on a transcript. You could ask to shadow someone in the medical field, work at a zoo or aquarium, intern in corporate research & development, inquire at healthcare and pharmaceutical consulting firms, and so much more.
We believe in you, so go out and be great, you biologists, you! Or as mother Demetria put it… “And just remember kids.... When in doubt.... Slay.✨💁🙌”
Contact us here for help planning this summer and beyond.