The college application season starts all at once.
On Aug. 1, 2025, I woke up to more than 100 emails from colleges announcing their applications were open. I applied to 27 colleges: two I felt confident I’d get into, four where I had a realistic chance and 21 highly competitive schools — including four Ivy League schools.
I was doubtful that I had done enough to prepare. But to my surprise in early spring, I was accepted into three of the four Ivies: Yale University, University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College. This fall, I’ll be attending Yale.
Among my acceptances, I was also offered a full-tuition merit-based scholarship to the University of Southern California, and accepted into five of the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the U.S.
When people ask what helped me get in, my answer is simple: my parents and their struggle with technology. That’s the story I told in my college essay, a key part of the application.
