High School Senior Who Applied To 16 Schools Stresses Value Of Extracurriculars— 'Cheers To Character Development'
She not only had a high GPA and almost-perfect SAT scores, she also completed multiple internships.
TikTok A high school senior who applied to 16 colleges noted the importance of extracurricular activities in her applications, even with her high GPA and SAT scores.
Shriya, an incoming student in the class of 2027, posted her college rejections— and her many acceptances.
With a GPA of 4.87 and an SAT score of 1570, Shriya understands the value of studying hard. Most of her TikTok posts focus on schoolwork and her study schedule.
The high-achieving student also acknowledged the multiple internships she'd completed as assets to her college applications.
She explained that her 4.87 GPA was an unweighted GPA out of a 5-point scale, noting that Advanced Placement classes, Gifted and Talented classes, and dual enrollment classes all contribute 5 points to that unweighted GPA.
Among the many colleges Shriya applied to, she got accepted to a high number of schools, including Cornell, UPenn, Duke University, and the biomedical engineering program at Johns Hopkins. She also received a full scholarship to the University of Maryland
She was waitlisted at the University of Michigan, Columbia, Princeton and UCLA. She was rejected from Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, and MIT.
Shriya was praised highly for her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, specifically. Many people in the comments offered their congratulations. One person commented, “Hopkins but not Yale is insane, congrats.” Another person asked, “How did you get into Hopkins and not Yale or Princeton?” Shriya took the time to respond to the question, stating, “If it helps, my resume was very Hopkins-heavy.”
She recognized how crucial extracurriculars were to her college acceptance rates.
She explained that she completed two Johns Hopkins internships in two years, and spent a summer in their feeder program for Biomedical Engineering.
Shriya’s high number of college acceptances shows the importance of extracurricular activities and internships during the application process, along with grades and test scores. Shriya claimed, “Cheers to character development,” referring to the internships she’d completed in addition to her high grades and SAT scores.
Johns Hopkins accepted 1,592 students through their regular admissions process, 533 students in Early Decision I and 278 students during Early Decision II. While the university has not disclosed the total number of applicants they received for 2027, for 2026, only 6.5% of applicants were admitted.
Out of the students accepted to Hopkins, 93% had part-time jobs, internships, or summer jobs. 55% were involved in student government and 18% were the first in their families to go to college.
These statistics show that college admissions are more competitive than ever. It’s not enough to get good grades or high standardized test scores. Students have to go above and beyond to prove to colleges that they’re worth accepting.
It’s important to note that access to internships requires a certain level of privilege, as they are hard to obtain and are often low-paying. Students who have to work are less likely to be able to access a prestigious internship, or any internship, at all.
Having an internship certainly balances out a college application, but they shouldn’t necessarily be the standard for acceptance to higher education, as not all high school students have the same level of access to them.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.