Getting into a good college is a defining aspect of a high schooler’s life, and this year, four Meridian seniors earned early admission to some of the nation’s most selective colleges.
One of the biggest questions that high school seniors have is choosing the right major. For Olivia Pierre, a future English major at Howard University, the answer was clear. Creative writing had been both a logical choice and a longtime passion.
“I’ve been taking creative writing for two years and contributed many pieces to the 9 Muses literary magazine,” she explained. “Writing has always been my outlet for creativity and self-expression, and it’s given me a lot of joy in my life.”
Aiden Harper, who will study Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern this upcoming Fall, connected his major to his hands-on interests.
“I want to work with materials for electronics and computers in the future,” he said. “I have spent a lot of time over high school working with computers and circuits, so I want to go into a field that works with those.”
While many students find opportunities to pursue their interests, these seniors distinguished themselves in ways that stood out to highly competitive colleges.
Senior Isabel Klein who will be attending the University of Michigan reflected on this.
“To be honest, there are a lot of people who have strong academics. To push yourself above that, you have to talk about what makes you unique. That doesn’t have to be something bad that happened to you or anything.”
Klein’s insight offers students a key aspect in standing out to colleges: be yourself. Klein’s response suggests that you don’t need a traumatic backstory, or crazy experiences, you simply need to be genuine and authentic.
When asked how they managed to balance schoolwork and extracurriculars without burning out, the seniors’ responses were unanimous: they didn’t always succeed.
Mia Schatz, who is headed to New York University as a Drama major, answered this question plainly and honestly.
“You are going to experience burnout, it is a part of life, and hard work.”
Pierre offered a similar insight. “I’m not gonna say I didn’t experience burnout.” Pierre reflected. “I got stressed out a lot, but I think what’s kept me going all this time is the idea of feeling accomplished after everything is done. And I think having the mindset of all the work I’m putting into this will lead to these amazing outcomes. I think that’s what kept me going.”
For motivated students balancing strong academics with extracurriculars, burnout is almost inevitable. However, by prioritizing depth over quantity in their activities and focusing on what they genuinely enjoy, high school can feel challenging without being completely exhausting.
“Admissions to top schools can be VERY unpredictable,” Harper admitted, “At the end of the day admissions offices are black boxes where we don’t have any idea what officers are thinking when they accept or reject us. However, students who are striving for competitive schools should ensure that their applications are well-rounded by demonstrating high scores, genuine interest, course & activity rigor, commitment & perseverance, and strong connections with their recommenders.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Pierre emphasized. “Take all the opportunities that you are offered, and if you know something isn’t good for you, do not pursue it. Only do things that really cater to your interests.”
“Good grades and exam scores do not mean anything if you don’t show real interest in something, and a drive to pursue it.” Schatz stated. “Risk being weird, or otherwise you risk being boring.”
These seniors’ journeys show that getting into a competitive college isn’t just about grades or test scores, it’s about pursuing what you love, staying true to yourself, and finding balance along the way, things that all rising seniors should remember as they start the process of applying to college.
