Shhreya’s case study demonstrates how to talk about research experiences with authenticity and vulnerability in the application process. Accepted to QRI, Shhreya worked with a data science PhD researcher at UC Irvine on topics in natural language processing and machine learning.

However, she found the subject more challenging than she had anticipated and ran into technical issues in her research. She found herself struggling with some of her code and ended up missing a couple of the deadlines that she and her mentor had agreed on. Despite this, she pulled through and completed her paper that explored the theory and applications of probabilistic modeling (in particular, Markov chains) in natural language processing.

When applying to universities, Shhreya knew that she wanted to continue studying computer science. One of the universities that she ended up being accepted at asked her the common question: “Describe an extracurricular activity or project that you have done.”

Shhreya used this opportunity to demonstrate her honesty and ability to learn from experience. She described sitting up until 2 AM working on her research project, and still not being able to get the code to work. She reflected thoughtfully on how apprehensive she was to ask for help when she needed it, and how being used to working independently made things harder for her. Our takeaway is that research can be challenging! This creates opportunities to explore unanswered questions and display personal growth.

In another supplemental essay, she focused on how her approach was to embrace an “and” attitude rather than an “or” attitude. In particular, she used the example of her QRI research to show that although her paper wasn’t a liberal arts paper, the code that she wrote for the text-generating system in her research was based on text from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. She used research to combine different fields and demonstrate creativity by searching for and engaging with unexpected findings.

Shhreya’s experience with research helped her reflect on parts of her personality that went beyond her schoolwork and academics. Her work became an important addition to her wide range of interests, and equipped her with skills that have now become the foundation of her future education.