Read this: the humble essay that got me into my dream school

October 13, 2017 — by Elicia Ye
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Senior Elicia Ye shares the essay that got her into Harvard

In honor of getting accepted through early-early-early action to a college that I have applied to every fall since fourth grade, here is an excerpt from my supplemental essay for this particular school of my dreams. May these modest words spark inspiration among all you poor souls during these times of hardship and distress.



 

The mission of Harvard College is to educate our students to be citizens and citizen-leaders for society. What would you do to contribute to the lives of your classmates in advancing this mission?

On the first day of preschool, I taught my teacher how to spell my name. As soon as she remembered how to spell “Yichen,” I decided to change my name to “Elysia” so that she could solidify her spelling skills by practicing with different combinations of vowels and consonants. After approximately five name changes on my part, her face turned bright red.

She may have demanded that I stay indoors during recess, so I decided to stick with the last name I came up with: “Elicia.” Even though I no longer shared with the class my creative name invention process, I still spent my free time coming up with new words — for example, I invented the word “Trump,” which stands for any carrot with an ego larger than its head.

In second grade during Thanksgiving break, I led some of my classmates to the emergency room at the hospital, hoping to help out doctors and nurses with our Toys “R” Us doctor kits. Squeezing our way through a flurry of white coats, we found ourselves being glared at whenever we handled our plastic pink and yellow stethoscopes. A doctor eventually escorted us out and locked the door behind us. Even though I felt dejected, I didn’t let this tiny incident deter me from becoming a doctor, soon earning my Ph’ D — that is, Post-holiday Depression — a week later.

By the time I turned 13, I received my Gold Award in Girl Scout. By “receive,” I refer to the deal I had made with my neighbor: I could get her Gold Award badge if I gave her $300 in cash, which I would then earn back by selling my AP Calculus textbook. Through this transaction, I proved myself as a business leader, cautiously weighing my options and effectively utilizing resources at my disposal.

Of course, as a citizen-leader, I must let others have the chance to shine too, which means I couldn’t excel in everything in life. As a result, I must cap my unweighted GPA at 4.0, make my mile time even lower than my GPA, learn to grill turkey-flavored chickens and cook 15-minute Kraft mac and cheese in under 7 minutes. Normally I’m not an advocate of cutting corners, yet being a leader means making sacrifices in some areas in order to benefit society overall. I hope to bring to Harvard my unprecedented skillset and humility, thus setting a great example for my classmates as a citizen-leader.

 
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