For Cornell, Meghan was so sweet enough to reach out to me and offered to help other high school students out who are struggling or stressed about the common application process!! Her responses are so helpful and definitely helped me, a current junior in high school, a tremendous amount! Thank you so much Meghan! I appreciate your kindness a lot!
If you were to go back in time, what would you do more research on for college?
"I was actually pretty well informed throughout most of the college process. However, one thing I would say that I really see people overlooking is SAT II's. I would recommend taking one for each class you take starting as early as possible, even if it's not related to what you think your major is going to be. I took World as a sophomore even though at the time I thought I was going to be a biology major. When I decided I was going to be applying as a global health type of major, I was really glad I had taken the test right after I had taken the class. I took WAY more than I needed, but I was definitely glad did."
What was your reaction when you read your acceptance letter?
" For Cornell, there was no prelude for the letter. I opened it and read as far as "Cong-" and immediately got up. To this day I have not read more than half of the word Congratulations from that letter. My Mom came in my room, reached under my dresser, and started pulling out balloons and posters. Apparently she had been sure I was going to get in, and had hidden all the Cornell stuff in my room?? As she said, it would have been really awkward if I hadn't gotten in."
What advice would you give for students about stats and extracurriculars?
"1550+ and top 10% are the golden rule for stats. Don't worry after that. For EC's, I'm gonna go cliche and say do what you enjoy, but let me explain WHY. Basically everyone does NHS and research. It honestly helps and stands out for admissions if you do what you actually enjoy. For example, I know this kid who is really passionate about etymology. He didn't do the typical "pad the resume" stuff and instead did stuff like start a blog about etymology, etc. If I remember correctly, he got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and of course several other Ivies/ great schools."
Was Cornell your dream school since you were young or it changed?
"When I was younger I really wanted to go to school in Cali HAHA. When I was a sophomore, I really started my college research process and LOVED Cornell's Human Ecology, and I joked that Cornell was the only school I would stay in NY for. I still applied to several schools in Cali and Cornell was my only NY school."
How many drafts would you suggest before submitting your real college essay?
" I drafted my common app at a party haha. I never had "another draft" I kinda just kept revising it."