Applying to colleges can be a milestone for many people. Colleges typically require applications to be submitted early on during senior year.
Senior Angela Kim applied to colleges and has recently been accepted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or better known as MIT.
Kim applied through a program called QuestBridge, which allowed her to choose colleges to apply to. Her third choice was MIT.
“You apply to become a national college match finalist, which then allows you to apply to a whole bunch of top tier colleges, and then you rank up to 15 schools and you send an application to each school. then if that school accepts you, you go to that school and it just like goes down the ranking,” Kim said. “Luckily, I was matched with MIT and since I got matched that basically guarantees a full four-year scholarship including like transportation.”
When she saw that she was accepted into MIT, Kim was surprised, and says the shock hasn’t fully work off yet. I’ve always been a very introverted person.
“I actually really couldn’t believe it,” Kim said. “And I was shaking. And I screamed when I opened it. My mom was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is there something wrong,’ like a thief had come in. But I was just really surprised and shocked, and I honestly can’t believe it now.”
Kim plans to major in computer science and says that MIT will be the best option for this. She is going to MIT to see the campus during Spring Break and for orientation over the summer.
“I’m actually really excited for it,” Kim said. “It’s like a whole new place and I get a fresh start. And just a whole new environment is also very intriguing. I’ve always been a very introverted person. I’m excited to be able to kind of force myself to break out of that and explore new things.”
Kim says that some of her biggest supporters during school were her friends, who encouraged her to take breaks when she needed them and provided stress relief.
“I don’t really express it very well or very often, but I am very thankful. And I genuinely don’t think I would have been able to achieve the things I did if it weren’t for them,” Kim said.
When searching for colleges, Kim encourages others to look at the level of education and resources each college can provide for their students.
“Also, for the future, networking possibilities, and one thing I really looked for too was the student faculty ratio. So that I know that I’d be able to receive care if I needed it, and be able to learn,” Kim said.
When her family found out, Kim said they were very excited; her dad was “really, really ecstatic” and her mom and sister were also happy.
“He was really happy for me, especially because you know, Asian families always want their children to go to a top tier Ivy League or a school like that. He was very proud of me, and I think he changed his profile pictures to my acceptance letter,” Kim said.
