ACCEPTED TO HARVARD? Indian International? How?

Summary

Shivansh Gupta documents his long-term goal of attending Harvard and the demanding application process that led him to apply to Harvard, the other Ivy League schools, and numerous selective US universities. The film combines personal narration, application updates, decision reactions, and reflections on identity and support.

Application approach and strategy

• Build the application around five core areas: recommendation letters, extracurricular activities, essays, SAT scores, and grades.
• Understand the application rounds: Early applications can result in acceptance, rejection, or deferral to regular decision. Some early-decision programs are binding, while regular decision is not.
• Choose early applications strategically: Shivansh applied to Harvard under its restrictive early-action plan, which limited his ability to apply early to other private US colleges. He therefore applied early to public universities, including Georgia Tech, the University of Michigan, and UIUC.
• Prepare materials for recommenders: He spent roughly two weeks putting together a detailed “brag sheet” for his school counselor and teachers to support their recommendation letters.
• Strengthen academic credentials: He reported receiving a top predicted IB score and earning a 1580 SAT superscore. The subtitles render his predicted IB score as “47/45,” which may be an auto-caption error.
• Revise essays extensively: He completed his Common Application essay and supplements through repeated rounds of drafting and editing, describing roughly ten or more drafts per essay.
• Show a sustained record of interests and contributions: His activities included debate, music, economics research, teaching financial literacy in rural communities, university-level economics courses, and work on a debate team.
• Apply broadly and keep working after a deferral: After Harvard deferred him in early action, he planned to send a letter of continued interest and focused on completing regular-decision applications. He stresses that applicants should not rely on a small number of highly selective colleges, since outcomes involve uncertainty and luck as well as the application itself.
• Avoid treating interview signals as certain predictions: While waiting, he became anxious about not receiving interviews and overinterpreted online discussions. A Yale interview eventually came through, but his experience illustrates how easily applicants can get caught in speculation and confirmation bias.

Workload and personal cost

The application season overlapped with school exams, debate, research, competitions, and other responsibilities. Shivansh describes late nights, all-nighters, poor eating and sleep habits, and feeling overwhelmed. He presents the process as a major effort, but also acknowledges that he may have overextended himself.

Decisions and outcome

He first reports early-action acceptances from Georgia Tech, UIUC, and Purdue. Later decision reactions show acceptances to UC San Diego, UCLA, NYU, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania. He reports being waitlisted at Brown and rejected by Columbia.

The subtitles also include a Cornell decision reaction, but the result is unclear because that portion appears to be mistranscribed. Princeton’s outcome is likewise unclear.

His Harvard acceptance fulfills the childhood ambition that frames the video. He recalls visiting Harvard with his mother before he was a student there and later celebrates being able to wear a Harvard hoodie as an undergraduate.

Closing reflection

Shivansh concludes that he is not defined by a single role—student, debater, researcher, or college admit. He sees himself as an individual shaped by his parents, friends, family, classmates, peers, and others he has encountered, and expresses gratitude to them.

Speakers and sources featured

• Shivansh Gupta — applicant, narrator, and primary on-camera speaker.
• Shivansh’s mother and family members — appear during the Yale interview update and college-decision reactions.
• College decision portals and admissions notifications — shown or read aloud, including notifications from universities such as Yale and Harvard.
• Background music and sung vocals — featured throughout; the performers are not identified in the subtitles.