| Joel Karpiak |
Tests:
MCAT ; Subjects: Biology,
Chemistry, Math &
Physics
Philosophy:
In order to succeed in the
sciences, I believe that a student must
eliminate anxiety about the subject. While
pages of equations or biological processes may
seem overwhelming (or even worse, boring) at
first glance, the student needs to understand
that, just like a foreign language, this is the
necessary vocabulary to put together the main
picture. I don't believe that rote memorization
from a textbook is the key to success, and I
don't expect this from a student. After
determining the method that the student
innately "gets," I teach the material in a way
that will intuitively make sense. Armed with
this knowledge, the student will be able to
reason out the answers to unfamiliar questions,
as opposed to panicking upon seeing something
he/she hasn't memorized. This deeper,
conceptual understanding makes the time spent
learning worthwhile and a whole lot more
fun.
Bio:
After growing up in Southern New
Jersey, Joel headed off to Yale University with
a little uncertainty regarding his choice of
major. Through his research and many
graduate-level classes, however, he ended up
earning his B.S. in Chemistry at Yale. He then
pursued his teaching interests by instructing a
chemistry lab course at Rutgers University,
where he earned the highest ratings from his
students. Currently, Joel is also doing
research as a Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at the
National Institutes of Health. He plans to
pursue a PhD in computational chemistry.