Brilliant Low-Income Student Rejected From All But One University She Applied To
The college application process might seem impossible, but you shouldn't lose hope.
Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels The college application process is inherently competitive, yet it can be even more difficult to navigate for students applying from outside the United States.
As a result of the high levels of competition, many deserving and smart students don’t get into certain schools that they expect to get into.
Yet as one young woman discovered, you only need one acceptance to set your future on the right path.
A brilliant low-income student was rejected from every university she applied to, except for one.
A man named Limmy uses his TikTok platform to share students’ stories about their college application process. He recently shared a story that seemed sad but ultimately had a happy ending. Limmy revealed how an “extremely strong high school student got rejected from basically every university that she applied to.”
The unnamed student was a low-income international student from a single-parent household who applied to Ivy League and top-tier schools in the U.S. She had a long list of academic and extracurricular accomplishments.
The student started a nonprofit that distributed hygiene products to young women in need. She was a policy intern at the United Nations Global Compact Network India. She clearly had a far-reaching vision and goals to help others in her community. She utilized her skill set expansively, writing a research paper on maternity leave in India and also mentoring high school students to help them create software development projects.
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Still, due to the competitive nature of applying to U.S. colleges, she was rejected from almost every school she aimed for. Among her list of schools were Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, UPenn, Columbia, Princeton, Hamilton, and Wesleyan.
Yet her story ended on a high note: She was accepted to Lewis and Clark College with a full scholarship.
The low-income international student gave guidance to other international students applying to college in the U.S.
She advised others not to apply to small liberal arts colleges during the regular rounds, saying, “You will be flat-out rejected.” Instead, she recommended that students “Apply to safeties; the U.S. is extremely unfair and unpredictable.”
Photo: Vantha Thang / Pexels
As Limmy said, “This student is clearly extremely dedicated and passionate about her work. I have absolutely no doubt that she will do amazing things at Lewis and Clark.”
“A student like this will do anything they can to succeed in any environment they’re put in,” he continued. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we check back in a few years and she’s just as successful as any other Ivy League graduate.”
He ended his video with an inspirational call to action for all hopeful students, saying, “It only takes one. Even if you’re low-income, you got this.”
In a separate post, Limmy shared a blueprint for getting accepted into an Ivy League college.
Having good grades is imperative, and he recommended being in the top 10% of the class in order to stand out from the rest of the crowd.
He also said that scoring above 1500 on the SAT or 34 on the ACT helps your chances of acceptance into the more competitive colleges. But having good grades and high test scores aren’t the only necessary components to getting into college: Limmy also shared that taking as many AP classes as possible is another must.
Photo: Tony Schnagl / Pexels
Extracurriculars are another key part of getting into schools, and Limmy explained that students should organize their activities by theme. He offered the following example, saying, “If you’re really passionate about medicine, then you want to do research in a medical clinic; you’ll want to volunteer at a hospital and do a lot of philanthropic work.”
Because college applications are so exclusive, it can seem virtually impossible to break the mold and be accepted.
Yet this student’s story proves that all you need is one chance. Even if your path to college isn’t what you expected it to be, you can still thrive in your academic environment.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture topics, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.