Seniors may dream to attend highly ranked universities and choosing to apply Early Decision (ED) is one way they increase their chances. ED is a binding commitment students can make when they apply to college, meaning students must attend the college they selected if they are accepted. Seniors Katherine Hua, Reva Gargi, Daksh Badri and Anthony Ouyang are among the handful of seniors who were accepted to their dream schools through early decision.
Katherine Hua – Duke University
Senior Katherine Hua will be attending Duke University in the fall, studying mechanical engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering. “The campus is so stunning. I imagined myself taking morning walks, hiking nearby and having picnics with friends there. In addition, the renowned engineering school, along with the Aerospace Certificate program and the cutting-edge research initiatives of the Mechanical Engineering and Material Science Aerodynamics and Aeroelasticity group, aligns perfectly with my goal of developing efficient, environmentally friendly aerospace technologies,” Hua said.
While maintaining a 4.0 GPA, Hua has involved herself in various activities, participating in a summer internship at the Applied Physics Laboratory, founding the school’s Greenhouse Club and attending flight camp. While she feels that it was a combination of her stats, extracurriculars, leadership, research, background and essays that led to her acceptance, Hua believes that the narrative she created played a key role. “Throughout my Common App essay, supplemental essays and activities list, I focused on my passion for aerospace engineering, aviation and sustainability. My entire application felt consistent in telling the story of my growing interest in aerospace, my commitment to the environment and how both align with my creativity and collaborative spirit,” Hua said.
Reva Gargi – Cornell University
Senior Reva Gargi will be attending Cornell University in the fall, studying biomedical engineering on the pre-med track. “The campus is absolutely beautiful and the engineering department really called to me. I researched work different professors were doing across the Ivies and I was most interested here,” Gargi said. “I also think Cornell offers some really unique electives like a bird watching class or a restaurant management class…and I feel like those kinds of things would be really interesting,”
Gargi involved herself in extracurricular activities in high school, the most notable ones being presenting a paper at a cancer conference and having a paper with NASA. While she feels that her test scores, grades and extracurriculars all made her a “decently strong” applicant, she feels that it was the fact that she stayed true to herself that led to her acceptance. “My extracurriculars were stuff I could talk about for hours and my essays were not contaminated with words I thought they wanted to hear,” Gargi said. “For example, I added stuff about my artwork and karate and my love of dogs because that is a part of who I am and it’s what I truly care about.”
Daksh Badri – Columbia University
Senior Daksh Badri will be attending Columbia University in the fall, studying biology on a pre-law track. His decision to ED stemmed from the connection he formed with the university during a tour of it. “I’ve wanted to live in New York my whole life, and Columbia was the best way for me to immerse myself in the city’s rich culture,” Badri said.
Badri involved himself in extracurricular activities in high school, with his most important activities being his eight-week summer internship at NIST, his two-week summer euphonium workshop in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and his role as co-president of the school club Kids Are Scientists Too. However, Badri feels that his recommendations were the strongest part of his application. “I am president of Wootton’s French Honor Society, and I received a recommendation from the sponsor of FHS. My other recommendation was from my AP Biology teacher, which is the subject I will be majoring in at Columbia,” Badri said.
Anthony Ouyang – Vanderbilt University
Senior Anthony Ouyang will be attending Vanderbilt University in the fall, studying biochemistry on a pre-med track. “I believe that the boost in chances granted by ED was most appealing. I decided to ED Vanderbilt because I wanted to go to a prestigious school that wasn’t too rigorous,” Ouyang said.
Ouyang’s most notable activities in high school were conducting research with a professor at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and serving as a researcher at Harvard Medical School. Despite these accomplishments, he feels that his essays were the strongest part of his application. “I thought my essays were the strongest as it showed my personality and character while also demonstrating my ambition to learn. For example, I incorporated humor in my essay,” Ouyang said.
