STATS & ECS THAT GOT ME INTO HARVARD, STANFORD, WHARTON, BROWN + MORE!! *sat, gpa, aps, awards, ecs

Overview

Olivia describes her 2023 college application cycle: she applied to 26 universities and was accepted to 20, including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Duke. She says she is now studying at Harvard.

Her central takeaway is that applicants should build a clear, authentic story around the interests and work they genuinely care about, rather than collecting prestigious activities simply because they seem expected.

Background and application context

• She attended a large public high school in Virginia, with a graduating class of about 620.
• Her father had an MBA from Georgetown. She disclosed this family connection but did not expect it to influence undergraduate admissions.
• She applied mainly to business programs. At schools without a business major, she chose options such as economics, global health, or public health.
• She describes her school as competitive, while noting that a large public school can offer less individual attention and access to resources than some other schools.

Academic profile

• GPA: 4.57 on her school’s weighted scale. Her school did not report an unweighted GPA. She earned mostly A grades, with two A− grades in 10th grade and a B+ in AP Physics during senior year.
• AP courses: 14 total—3 in 10th grade, 5 in 11th grade, and 6 in 12th grade.
• AP scores: She submitted seven exam scores, all 5s. Senior-year exam scores were not available when she applied.
• SAT: 1550 total: 770 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, 780 Math.

She says she was not the most academically decorated student at her highly competitive school and had taken some less advanced AP options than peers with similar profiles.

Extracurricular activities

Olivia presents leadership and service as the common thread across her activities.

1. Founder and leader of Cancer Kids First

   • Founded the nonprofit in 9th grade.
   • At application time, she reported managing 26,600 volunteers across 63 countries.
   • She said the organization had supported 6,500 patients through gifts, equipment, and Zoom meetings, and reached 2.4 million people on social media.
   • She describes this as her largest commitment. It grew from a local Virginia effort into a large youth organization, aided by social media and online outreach.

2. Student government president

   • Led inclusive activities for about 2,300 students.
   • Started the school’s first volunteer initiative, worked with nearly 10 charities, and met with the parent-teacher-student association.
   • Was re-elected.

3. Bank of America Student Leaders program

   • Discussed her work with the YMCA and participation in the National Leadership Summit.
   • She cites a 3% selection rate.

4. Advisory-board roles

   • Combined two roles—at WeGo Health and The Hope Company—into one Common App activity.
   • Highlighted telemedicine work and service programs she helped lead.

5. Board advisor for “39 Veterans”

   • Helped guide a student organization serving about 400 veterans with approximately 170 volunteers.

6. School financial literacy and business club

   • Participated throughout high school, advancing from member to ambassador and then president.
   • Described events, participation, and activities she helped organize.

7. Independent research

   • Wrote an article published in GEI analyzing segregation in Fairfax County.

8. Informal mentoring network

   • Began mentoring young people who contacted her about starting initiatives.
   • Held individual meetings and later monthly sessions. She says she supported more than 100 emerging leaders whose work reached around 3,000 people.
   • Reviewed drafts, shared strategies, and advised on strengthening projects and securing funding.

9. Swimming

   • Swam on a summer team and year-round, and reported holding the team record in the 200-meter individual medley.

10. Wharton Leadership in the Business World - Listed participation in the summer program and described what she did there.

Awards and recognition

She says she submitted five award entries in the Common App:

• The Diana Award: One of 23 U.S. recipients that year.
• Scholastic Writing Awards: National Gold Medal.
• WeGo Health awards: Global Patient Leader and Best Team. She says she was one of 16 selected from 21,000 nominees and the youngest in her category.
• DECA/FIDM Entrepreneur of Tomorrow competition: Second place.
• National Merit recognition and Cameron Impact Fellowship: She grouped National Merit Semifinalist/Scholar recognition with being a Cameron Impact Fellow finalist, which she says placed her in the top 3%.

She also summarized additional leadership, inclusion, peace, global-leadership, literary, and artistic honors in the application’s additional-information section.

Application and personal-essay lessons

• Build a coherent narrative: Olivia says her activities were connected by leadership and service, with Cancer Kids First as the clearest example of her interests.
• Choose depth over résumé-padding: She advises pursuing a small number of interests seriously instead of joining prestigious clubs or competitions just to appear impressive.
• Show impact concretely: She included numbers—such as people served, volunteers, and reach—to explain the scale of her work.
• Explain the motivation behind accomplishments: Her personal essay discussed why she founded Cancer Kids First and how the experience shaped her personal growth. She emphasizes that an essay should add meaning and context to accomplishments, not merely repeat statistics and awards.
• Make activities understandable: She describes combining related roles where appropriate and explaining her responsibilities, progression, and contributions.

Speaker and source

Olivia Zhang (identified in the subtitles as Olivia Zeng) is the sole speaker and source of the personal application details and advice.