After a College Visit, a Student Finally Knows What She Wants

Sush Krishnamoorthy, a student from New Delhi, is part of “The Choice” class that includes student-bloggers from Nairobi, Kenya; Topeka, Kan.; Seattle; Rogers, Ark.; Las Vegas; New York City; and Hunting Valley, Ohio. Her eighth post is below. â€" Tanya Abrams

Earlier this month, I was glad to receive an e-mail inviting me to the candidate weekend at N.Y.U. Abu Dhabi.

As part of the program, students were required to sign up for a sample class. Some classes I gave priority to were about genetics, water and the expansion of the universe. (I had recently read “The Emperor of All Maladies” by Siddhartha Mukherjee, which led to a sudden spike in my interest in biology.) I was assigned a class on patching damaged genes.

As excited as I was about this class on genetics, I ha not taken biology at school after class 10. What I learned in the subject was limited to Mendel’s experiment and conclusions, and a brief idea of Darwin’s voyage and theories. I was certainly unequipped for that sample class.

The class started with a description of the structure of DNA. Since we started with something I was familiar with, I was at ease. But soon, we ventured into codons, the genetic table, gene transcription and more.

Hearing these terms for the first time, I could only infer their meaning from the ongoing discussion in class. I gathered enough bits of information to understand the material presented in the rest of the class, perhaps because the professor spared us the details and proceeded unassumingly thereafter.

After the class, I went to redeem my gift voucher at the university bookstore. The first book that caught my eye was a textbook about genetics and human society. I flipped through the contents and figured that the b! ook was written for beginners. I decided to use my voucher on this book. Unfortunately, the cost of the book was more than four times the value of my voucher. In a moment of revelation, I understood the fuss about college textbooks. I made a mental note to find reliable Web sites for buying or renting used textbooks before college begins.

During the candidate weekend program, I realized that I want college to be a test of my limits. I look forward to a challenging experience that constantly pushes me to step out of my comfort zone. Be it in the form of a class in an unexplored subject or P.E. courses in swimming and scuba diving, I’m excited.

On a college review Web site, I found this comment about the undergraduate program of California Institute of Technology: “They bend you backwards to help you pursue your goals.”

As I approach the end of the college application process, I finally know exactly what I want from college.

Ms. Krishnamoorthy, a student at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in New Delhi, is one of eight high school seniors around the world blogging about their college searches for The Choice. To comment on what she has written here, please use the comment box below.