Madison Butchko is originally from a small town about an hour outside of Detroit, Michigan. She’s currently a fourth-year undergraduate at Yale University, double majoring in Physics and East Asian Studies. Madison is interested in writing and hopes to pursue more of it in the future, alongside research.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
I’m gonna take you all the way back to high school and you were applying to college. What were you kind of thinking about when you were thinking about colleges? Was Yale your first choice? What was your process?
When I was applying to colleges back in my junior year of high school, I honestly didn’t know much at all, so I started a little bit late. I remember taking the SAT at school, and I spent my summer relaxing and reading a ton of novels. I had a vague sense that college applications were coming up in the fall, but I didn’t really think much about it until September.
Once the school year started, I began doing more “research”. For me, that meant watching every single “What Got Me Into an Ivy League College” video on YouTube. I think I genuinely watched all of them. I was trying to piece together what people did, what their activities were, and what their essays sounded like, because I was so unfamiliar with the whole process. I didn’t really know anyone who had gone through it before, so I learned everything online, through college vlogs and strangers reading their essays out loud.
Just for context, I went to a really large public high school where most people stayed in-state. Going out of state, especially to a school like Yale, felt unfamiliar and far off, really out of reach. But I had always wanted to leave Michigan. I kind of idolized the East Coast. It felt like a place of opportunity, a place where I could be a whole new person, where no one knew me.
Yale was definitely my top choice, but I never told anyone I was applying to Ivy League schools. I never said Yale was my dream school, because I didn’t want to jinx it. I also didn’t want to sound pretentious, like, “I’m just gonna go to Yale.” But I will say, when I got in, deep down, it really was the school I had wanted to go to all along.
How many schools did you apply to?
I applied to about ten schools.
I applied to the University of Michigan College of Engineering and to Michigan State, and I was accepted to both. I applied to Notre Dame early and was accepted. I chose Notre Dame for early action because I’m originally from the Midwest, and it’s not too far from where I live. I also grew up Catholic, and I really liked the community and tradition at Notre Dame.
For the regular decision, I applied to Cornell, Duke, Dartmouth, USC, and Yale, and I was accepted. I also applied to Harvard and Princeton, and I was rejected—haha.
I wish applying to college was more accessible. The fees were really high, which I didn’t expect. I worked as an activity director at a senior living home in high school, so that helped cover some costs, and my parents helped too, but everything added up quickly—application fees, subject tests, standardized testing. I didn’t apply to more because the cost made it hard, and I didn’t have much guidance through the process.
Did you apply as a physics major?
No, I didn’t, which is crazy looking back to my high school self and where I am now. Coming into college, I had no background in physics at all.
In high school, I didn’t do anything related to STEM. I think the only STEM opportunity my school offered was a robotics team, but I was never part of it. In high school, I didn’t do anything related to STEM. I think the only STEM opportunity my school offered was a robotics team, but I never joined. It’s kind of funny now, but at the time, the robotics team felt like a tight-knit clique, and everyone seemed really intense. I felt out of place, so I stayed away from it.
Most of my involvement was in community service and social advocacy. I applied to college as a political science major because I wanted to go into law and advocate for underrepresented communities. I started an organization called Leaders for a Change, which focused on educating students and the community on social issues and raising awareness.
For a while, I thought I might want to be a doctor (shout out to Grey’s Anatomy), so I did HOSA, which is a medical competition. Later in high school, I also did DECA, which is a business competition, and Model United Nations. It’s funny looking back because I explored everything except STEM. The only reason I even considered a technical field was because I was interested in joining the Air Force, and they usually require you to have a technical major.
Why did you want to be in the Air Force?
Firstly, I was medically discharged a few months ago in May.
As for how I got interested in the Air Force, I was looking for a way to pay for college. I knew I wanted to go out of state, but I also knew how expensive that would be. My parents made it clear that if I wanted to attend a private or out-of-state school, I’d have to find a way to pay for it myself. So as I explored my options, the military stood out as a path that could make that possible.
I seriously never expected to be in the military. That would have the last thing on my list if you asked me anytime before my senior fall. Where I grew up, no one I knew was in the military. I had a few relatives who served, but we weren’t very close. I also never watched any military movies, so I was very out of touch.
What made it even more surprising was that the military was completely outside my personality. I’ve always been very shy and socially anxious, and I only started becoming more social when I moved districts before ninth grade. I had to learn how to be outgoing, but I’ve never been naturally extroverted. So the idea of joining an institution known for its toughness, strict discipline, and leadership training was honestly kind of wild to me. Still, it felt exciting—so different from anything I had ever done.
Along with education, I’ve always valued service. I want to have a positive impact on the world, to be part of something bigger than myself. The military offered both—an opportunity to serve and a way to get a strong education. I’ve always believed that in order to do good, you need to be equipped to do it well. For me, that started with education. That’s why I felt it was so important to build a solid academic foundation first, so I’d have the tools and knowledge to help others in a meaningful way.
I ended up applying for different scholarships through the military. That involved a long and demanding process, essays, interviews, a physical fitness test, and medical evaluations.
How did being in the military impact your day to day life in college, maybe in unexpected ways?
While I was in uniform, especially during class discussions or seminars, I had to be clear that anything I said was my personal opinion and not the view of the military. There was always a degree of separation I had to maintain.
One thing I completely underestimated was how much being in ROTC would affect my sleep. Waking up multiple times a week at 5 a.m. was incredibly hard for me. I realized I’m someone who works best late at night, so forcing myself into an early-morning routine really threw me off. Even if I technically got eight hours of sleep, it was often broken up or at odd times, and I constantly felt tired and unwell. It made me realize how important consistent, quality sleep really is—not just in college, but in life.
Tell me about getting medically discharged. How did it work for you?
When I was in the military and working with the Air Force, I was commissioned to serve for four to five years after graduation. That’s how you pay back your education. But being in the Air Force isn’t just a job. It’s a lifestyle. It dictates where you live, who you’re around, what your job is, and how you spend your time. It shapes your relationships, your daily routine, and even your mindset. It’s a full commitment.
Getting medically discharged was incredibly difficult. I wasn’t just separating from the military; I was separating from a mindset, from a future I had envisioned since I was sixteen. From the moment I got into college, that path was part of how I saw my life unfolding. And suddenly, it was gone. That realization hit hard.
Everyone’s experience is different, but one thing that’s common in the military is how much is out of your control. I’ve had friends go through similar things, and no two stories are exactly alike. In my case, there was no warning. No heads-up. It just happened. I could’ve been graduating that semester; it was that sudden.
What made you want to take a gap year?
Initially, I applied for a gap year through a PNA (Period of Non-Attendance) to study abroad with the Air Force or to do research. That plan ended up getting delayed due to the timing of a new fiscal year. But in the meantime, I realized how much I truly needed the break—not just for logistical reasons, but because I was physically and mentally exhausted. Taking time off became important to protect my health and return to a place of balance.
Yale is a place of extreme highs and lows. You can have an amazing night, surrounded by all your friends in one place, and just hours later take an exam that completely wipes you out. That emotional whiplash is real. For me, the lows—especially those related to my health, military responsibilities, and the demands of my majors—started to outweigh the highs. I kept pushing myself, but my body couldn’t keep up. Being physically unwell made it harder to be mentally well. I was constantly in pain, and trying to juggle classes, ROTC, and doctor’s appointments became nearly impossible. There just wasn’t enough time or space to actually heal.
What did you do during your time off?
During my time off, I worked on several different projects that helped me grow both academically and personally. One of the main things I did was teach with the Global Teaching Project, a nonprofit that partners with high schools in Mississippi. In areas where districts don’t have enough teachers to offer AP courses, they bring in college students to help teach and develop curriculum. I served as an AP Physics teaching assistant, so I taught classes every day. I prepared lessons, created PowerPoints, worked through practice problems, made worksheets, and designed interactive activities to help students engage with the material.
I also taught robotics at local elementary schools. After school, I would go into classrooms and run mini-lessons on robotics and programming. Each week, the students would build and program small robots, and it was incredibly fun to help them explore how things work through hands-on learning.
In addition to teaching, I conducted mechanical engineering research at my local university. I worked on a project using Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) to study physical systems and solve differential equations. My research involved machine learning, coding in Python/ Pytorch, and writing models to simulate and analyze different physics-based scenarios.
Outside of academics, I worked as a tutor and essay editor, and I also took a few community college courses. But one of the most meaningful parts of my time off came at the end of the semester when I got more involved in my Catholic ministry. That experience really reminded me of the importance of community and being part of something grounded in purpose and shared values.
How are the community college courses?
For me, a lot of it felt like busy work. I spent a lot of time doing multiple-choice exams or solving coding problems that didn’t really push me to think deeper. It often felt like I was just repeating information rather than expanding on it.
But what really stood out wasn’t the coursework—it was the people. I took some in-person classes, and being in a completely different environment from Yale gave me a broader perspective on life. Yale can feel like a bubble. Everyone’s focused on internships, jobs, and constantly doing more. But at community college, I was reminded that life happens in different ways for different people.
I met students in their 40s who had never gone to college before and were now earning degrees through scholarship programs. Some worked in fast food or IT and were taking classes to get their associate’s. Others were younger and unsure of what they wanted, so they started with community college. Being in that space helped me slow down and see that success looks different for everyone, and that education is valuable no matter when or how you pursue it.
What did you learn about taking time off?
I did not expect taking time off to be so isolating for me, as someone who went back home. That was one of the hardest parts for me. I was away from Yale, away from all my friends, and even though I talked to people on the phone, it wasn’t the same. I didn’t know anyone in my hometown. So I would say, make sure you have a sense of community. Try to be around people in person, not just virtually. Being in physical spaces with others really matters. It was church for me, but whatever it is, find people you can connect with face-to-face.
Another thing I learned is that taking time off doesn’t always feel productive, and that can be uncomfortable. At times, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I spent a lot of time in bed, feeling aimless, useless, and then worthless. So if you take time off, be prepared for the emotional weight that can come with that stillness. It can be a good break, but it can also be complicated.
Lastly, I learned that taking time off does not equate to healing. I think that taking time off can help, but it doesn’t mean you’re going to come back and just do everything perfectly. Healing is not linear. It doesn’t always look like progress. Sometimes, healing looks like watching YouTube in bed, feeling low, and wondering if you’re moving forward at all. But it’s often only in hindsight that you see the small steps of progress you were making.
It’s also easy to feel pressure to make the most of your time off, to do something big or impressive. I fell into that. After a slower spring, I dove into lab work, classes, and research in the summer, thinking I needed to “make up for lost time.” But I ended up completely burned out. I learned that rest is not something you check off before diving back in.
So give yourself grace. Let healing unfold at its own pace. Don’t try to force it, and don’t shape your time around proving anything to anyone. Your healing is your own. It’s okay if it looks different than you imagined.
Madison’s interview is part of a series called Forthcoming, an interview series where people reflect on their educational/extracurricular experiences. If you’d like to be interviewed for Forthcoming, please fill out the form at the bottom of this post. If you have questions or suggestions for future interviews, please get in touch here!
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