Making it to the BIG LEAGUES

Nadia Knoblauch | News Editor

Applying early decision seemed like Alex Tao’s best bet to get into his target school: Princeton University.

For Kirsten Trevino, Columbia University seemed like a dream with its proximity to the city and many job opportunities.

Senior Eshan Kabir found Columbia’s Core Curriculum Program, an emphasis on STEM and humanities, to be a “perfect fit.”

As Sana Yooseph worked on her college applications, she had one school in mind: the University of Pennsylvania.

Over the past three years, Hagerty has produced over 5 Ivy League students, who went on to attend schools such as Columbia, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Brown and Yale. As the average Ivy acceptance rate is just above 9%, this is an achievement for a school that has only been open for 18 years.

Getting in

Yooseph graduated from Hagerty in 2022 and now majors in neuroscience at UPenn on the pre-med track. After taking 21 AP classes, accumulating a 4.6 GPA and scoring a 36 on her ACT, Yooseph was academically qualified to get into her dream school, but she learned it was about more than just numbers.

“I always thought that numbers mattered the most, but the reality is that thousands of students with perfect scores apply to colleges every year,” Yooseph said.

Kabir, a current senior who will be attending Columbia University next year, found his essay to be the main focus of his application.

“Colleges want to see someone that puts their all into what they do,” Kabir said. “I had to back that up with solid writing—getting my message across was just as important as what the message was in the first place.”

According to collegevine.com college essays now typically count for 25% of the application, meaning high test scores do not guarantee a spot at the top schools. Although grades may no longer make or break an application, they still contribute to the admissions process, especially at Ivy League schools.

“I think at Princeton, more than two-thirds of the entire school had 4.0’s in high school,” Tao said. “I think that’s ridiculous, but that’s just how the numbers stand.”

Going above and beyond

According to Tao, Yooseph, Trevino and Kabir, extracurriculars are an impactful way to demonstrate responsibility and leadership on applications.

“If you are deciding late into your junior year you want to apply to an Ivy, it’s probably too late,” Trevino said. “You have to be ahead of the curve and plan out [your] schedule and extracurriculars freshman year, not your senior year.”

Trevino, a 2022 graduate and freshman at Columbia University, was also able to show her leadership, working on student government, Education Rocks Club and as president of the Oviedo Youth Advisory Council.

“I know people who had better grades and a higher GPA than me, but because they didn’t have any extracurriculars that broke the mold they didn’t get in,” Trevino said.

According to Kabir, activities are not only a way to improve your application, but to develop skills and relationships merely academics cannot provide.

“The friendships I’ve made have taught me valuable lessons about life that I’ll be able to carry on to my college education,” Kabir said.

Plays and hooks

The plague of “legacy” admissions, privileged financial backgrounds and even feeder schools may bring unequal advantages and contribute to a student’s likelihood of getting into an Ivy league. According to a 2022 Forbes article, despite private school students making up only 8.5% of American high school students, they accounted for 40% of the incoming freshman classes at Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth.

“A few of my friends come from notorious feeder schools,” Tao said. “Of course, Hagerty doesn’t have any of those connections, but that’s just something you have to deal with.”

Not only do connections help some students get into these schools, but plays and hooks are present after acceptance as well.

“There is so much nepotism and networking is so important—if you don’t know the right people it’s hard to find opportunities,” Yooseph said.

Along with connections, income also plays a factor in getting into these schools. According to a 2019 CNBC article, over 14% of Ivy League students’ households’ are in the top 1% of income. Coming from a middleclass family, Tao, who graduated in 2021 and is now majoring in math at Princeton University, not only took prestige into account when filling out applications but financial aid options as well.

“I think financial aid is awful, especially for my family’s income range, so I focused on private schools just because they give very generous aid,” Tao said.

Fitting in

Despite the common idea of an Ivy being cutthroat and rigorous, Yooseph found it to be similar to the high school experience at first, getting to meet and mix with new people.

“Going into Penn, I expected rigorous classes and intense competition, and that is partly true,” Yooseph said. “However, there are so many nice people who are genuinely so uplifting.”

Even with these surprising factors, the rigor of an Ivy League is still very real, but comparable to that of an AP curriculum, according to Trevino.

“It’s more workload, but there’s a lot more free time,” Trevino said. We don’t all study 24/7 and a lot of people aren’t as smart as you might assume.”

Compared to high school, Tao also noted how diversity has been a key factor in his assimilation to college life, going from a 6% Asian population to 28%.

“I don’t feel like a minority anymore on campus—I think that’s probably one of the nicest things about my experience,” Tao said.

As Ivy Leagues hold up an idea of prestige, honor and high rigor, students should remember that being at an Ivy does not simply mean one student is better than another.

“If you don’t get into an Ivy it’s not because you’re not worthy of getting in,” Trevino said. “Be willing to work hard, be humble and respect the process.”

It was Jan. 2, and most people were winding down from New Year’s, but senior Daniel Hernquist was waiting in front of CVS for his Adderall refill, his thoughts far from celebratory. After calling his pharmacy, Hernquist waited on hold for two hours, and then drove there only to wait another 30 minutes in line. When he finally met with the pharmacist, the pharmacist simply apologized and told him that no CVS in Florida has Adderall.

“[The pharmacist] told me, ‘Your best bet would probably be having it mailed in from another state. Or driving around to other places with pharmacies and asking if they have it,” Hernquist said. “I was like, ‘Oh, s---, what am I gonna do?’”

Hernquist is not alone. On Oct. 12, the Federal Drug Administration announced a nationwide shortage of Adderall, the primary medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Three months later, the shortage continues to plague Adderall users, including junior Jenna Lopez.

“I’m starting to have more trouble in school, especially with focus,” Lopez said. “I’ve been a lot more tired and my quality of life has kind of degraded. It’s not ideal, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

According to experts like psychiatrist Grantley Ittera, the shortage was caused by a rising demand for Adderall coupled with declining supply. With an increase of nearly 20% from 2020 to 2021, the demand for Adderall has spiked. Getting a prescription also became easier in 2020, when the