Your Brainstorm Document: Getting Started

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Your brainstorm document is what we call a "living document.") and you will want to continue adding to it as you think (and live) new experiences. This brainstorm could end up being seven pages or 25—you want to be free and generous in your writing. It will be your touchstone for everything about this application process. It will help you discover what meaningful experiences and qualities you want to highlight in your Work and Activities, Personal Statement, and Secondary essays, and discuss during your interviews.

In your brainstorm document, you want to explore your formative experiences—what you thought, felt, said, and did. Your notes here don't have to flow like polished prose. When we're super-casual, we disgustingly call this a "vomit doc." Just get it all out. And categorize your stories.

Do keep in mind: Eighty percent of these experiences should be from adulthood (college and beyond). Twenty percent can be from before then if they established foundational skills or led to evolutions in perspective. For example, if you taught wilderness first aid as an Eagle Scout or participated in a Books Behind Bars program back in high school that changed your thoughts on the American prison system, that's worth noting. If your interest in medicine sprung from your prolonged childhood illness, that is relevant information.

Check back next week for more information on the buckets we recommend using to organize your brainstorm!
 
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