(6 points) Undergraduate research project: 6 points

During the Spring 2025, Summer 2025, and Fall 2025 semesters, I completed a research project with the Parker Petite Institute of Bioscience and Bioengineering, working in the fields of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. While this experience was challenging, it taught me a lot about how I will integrate research into my future education and career journey. Conducting research at Georgia Tech allowed me to have access to research and facilities that would not have been available to me at Spelman. Despite this, I faced setbacks from a traffic filled commute, time restraints, not being able to receive a direct deposit, and having limited parking access. This gives me things to consider when selecting a medical school. I intend pursuing dermatology research in medical school, and to avoid these issues, I will prioritize schools that have home dermatology programs and active research. Furthermore, I had considered pursing an MD/PhD before engaging in this experience. Having the opportunity to research full-time over the summer, and having to complete multi-day projects, I realized that wet-lab research is not something I am passionate about. Now that I know this, I will not spend time applying for PhD programs. I do not want to completely write off wet-lab opportunities as I would love the opportunity to pursue cosmetics research before graduating, but I don't intend on pursing research as my primary career.

- Catherine Omeh