Top Summer Programs to Enhance Your College Application
(Applications Still Open for 2026) Summary Summer programs offer high school students the opportunity to explore academic interests, gain advanced subject exposure, and experience college-level rigor outside the classroom. However, not all summer programs carry equal weight in the admissions process. Highly selective programs are particularly valued because they: Identify top academic talent through competitive […]
How Language Shapes Thought
Imagine sunlight glinting upon a Grecian sea or the vivid hues of Santorini’s rooftops. In English, we would describe both as “blue.” But to Greek speakers, the darker shade is “ble” and the lighter one “ghalazio.” When linguist and researcher, Panos Athanasopoulos, showed native Anglophones and Grecophones squares of light and dark blue, they found […]
Water: The Nectar of the Gods
“Do you ever feel like you’re getting sick, and then you have a glass of water and you’re like, ‘oh, that’s why people drink that.” -Dina Hashem, circa 2019 While our merry, blue planet has turned dystopian, somewhere in a typical urban Indian household, a parent is scolding their kid for not drinking enough water. Is […]
Sweat Your Lockdown Blues Away
The only thing missing from your mother’s morning mantra is a gruelling workout routine. We all have been lectured about (and sneakily ignored) the benefits of exercise. However, the quarantine blues and loss of long walks at school have made us question our long-held tiff with working out. After the WHO’s guidelines to stay physically active during […]
Crafting the First Draft
What an invigorating ideation session! I sit down on my chair. My mental landscape is brimming with multifarious perspectives. Just as a dreamy artist, I float around the corridors of my creative palace, excavating anecdotes and memories to compose my story and become the Ernest Hemingway of my age. I pick up my pen and […]
On Seeing
“The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled” -John Berger, Ways of Seeing In the opening sentences of his 1972 book, Berger differentiates the act of seeing from the process of knowing. He says, “Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the […]
Block. Creative Block.
Here’s your lucky Slytherin-green fountain pen. There’s your favorite Hunger Games planner. On top of both is an inch of dust because you’re experiencing the worst creative block ever. The odds are clearly not in your favor. This time of the year is for ideating exciting new projects and essays, for fortifying your profile in preparation for […]
Everyday Sociology
A prominent lesson that stays with me after five years of university education in sociology is the everydayness of it. As an undergrad, I was introduced to multiple topics of social importance that could enrich a sociologist’s arsenal of knowledge. Social theories pushed a student to look deeper into Indian social institutions, their functioning and dynamics that […]
Getting It Done: Managing Time and Boosting Productivity
Excelling at academics, nailing those three-pointers, perfecting your pitch, contributing to your community, grinding hard at an internship, and cultivating a genuine passion for…well, something—getting through high school ain’t an average Joe job anymore. The question is how do you transform an average Joe into a distinguished Joe who can handle all of the above, […]
Surviving and Thriving with Parents during a Pandemic: A Mini Guide
I have to confess, this is borderline clickbait since I usually have NO idea of how to avoid fights with my parents, let alone advise you on yours. Today, however, we’re discussing a very specific category of arguments—the ones that have arisen during the course of this year’s collective, prolonged grounding, which seem strangely worse […]