Political Science Student

Jeffrey Sullivan
An 11th grade political science research student from Stuyvesant High School, United States.

Jeffrey is interested in humanities and social sciences, especially in the interdisciplinary subjects of political science, journalism and history. Some of the related extra-curricular activities he was engaged in includes: Georgetown St Dept Program as a US Youth Ambassador to Belize, Manhattan Borough Presidents Office in summer 2019 and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a lobbyist for a Jewish political organization.

University admission result

★ University of Chicago

Scope of the program

Overall structure

The student and mentor worked for eight, one hour long sessions. They met online using zoom. Each session worked towards the completion of a unique research project that was chosen by the student.

Learning objectives

The goals of the program are to build analytic, research, and writing skills in the social sciences. By the end of the eight sessions, the student will have completed a research paper that investigates a particular social topic of interest or concern to the student.
The session time is spent on the following steps and processes:
- getting to know the student and identifying areas of interest, developing and designing a research question, conducting a literature review, researching and finding relevant sources on the topic, reading and discussing studies and literature, outlining a research paper on political science subject, and writing a research paper.
Jeffrey was interested in exploring a recent program in New York City that worked to temporarily house homeless people in hotels during the pandemic.

What challenges did he face?

Jeffrey is interested in exploring many different topics in the realm of political science. However, in order to write a research paper, he has learnt to narrow and research deeper into his topic of interest.
Jeffrey at times struggled to find relevant sources and information on his own, and this is something he still needs to work on.

How did our political science research program help him?

Jeffrey had a deeper understanding into his topic choice and wrote a fantastic research paper under the mentor’s guidance
As a student with many positive traits which are mentioned in his final evaluation paper, the mentor was able to write a recommendation letter for his university application

Matched Professor in Political Science:

He lectures in urban studies and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and teaches criminal justice and urban health there. He has a strong interest in the military, social psychology, gender, and the fields of health and criminal justice.

Recommendation letter

Based on your knowledge of this student, would you recommend this student to selective universities?

“Yes, absolutely. It was a pleasure to get to know Jeffrey and I look forward to hearing about his future endeavors. Given his intellect, curiosity, and hard work, I am sure he will make a valuable contribution to a great university and I wish him all the best.

I enjoyed working with Jeffrey and appreciated his organized, thorough approach to inquiry and tasks. He is comfortable speaking up, asking questions, and asking for what he needs.“
Lecturer from University of Pennsylvania