Cornell – The Short List

January 28, 2018June 12, 2018

Sara and Grace

New Jersey

The Thoughtful Twins

Cornell, Univ of Pennsylvania

We were introduced to Sara and Grace by our summer planning consultant, Jill Tipograph. Jill had worked with the twins in organizing amazing summers and activities that extended beyond the summer.
We sat down with Jill, the twins, and their parents. The twins shared a passion for science and a desire to pursue careers in medicine. At first, the two seemed so similar that it was a challenge differentiating them. Luckily, the family engaged our services early enough that we had time to help each define her own path.

We agreed that we would work with them separately and asked them not to discuss our efforts between them. We then delved deeper into their backgrounds, and began to get a better sense of each sister’s personality. Sara loved music and community service. She played violin in her school’s orchestra and became the senior leader of the Fundraising Council and Debate Club. She also spent summers researching at Brown and Columbia Universities, and volunteering with the community blood bank. With Jill’s help, Sara had organized a violin program for a community center in the Bronx. She collected used instruments and spent months teaching the children how to play. She even directed a show they put on for their parents. Sara’s efforts were always directed at helping others.

The Short List helped each of the sisters compile a list of colleges that addressed their individual interests.

Grace loved science but felt conflicted because she also loved literature, writing, and the classics. In school she joined the Writer’s Workshop Club and became the editor for her school’s literary magazine and newspaper. Outside of school, she attended summer science research programs at Penn and Columbia, and writing workshops at Johns Hopkins. Grace pursued both science and writing with equal vigor.

The Short List helped each of the sisters compile a list of colleges that addressed their individual interests. Grace wanted to find a school that would combine her love for science and writing, while Sara wanted a school that would allow her to pursue science and human ecology. Each had a clear favorite: for Grace, the University of Pennsylvania and for Sara, Cornell. Through multiple meetings with admissions personnel and faculty, each girl found an advocate at her school who agreed to write on her behalf.

Both schools announced their early decisions on the same day. Grace opened her decision first and the family recorded her jumping up and down at news of her acceptance to Penn. The camera kept rolling as Sara received her acceptance to Cornell. When they called The Short List with the news, both girls were over the moon as they shared their news—separately.

January 28, 2018June 12, 2018

Michael

New York

The Younger Brother

Tufts University

Client: Michael

The Short List has worked with many siblings, including many sets of twins and younger siblings who have watched an older sibling go through the process. Even among siblings, every student is different.

We worked with Michael’s older brother three years ago and met Michael, then a high school freshman, at Zach’s graduation dinner. Michael asked if he might be able to work with The Short List, too.

We started working with Michael in his sophomore year, which gave him plenty of time to plan out the process. He was studying Latin at the time. After traveling to Nicaragua for a sophomore community service spring break, during which he was frustrated by not being able to communicate with the people he was trying to help, Michael decided to switch to Spanish so he could return to Nicaragua the following spring and converse with the villagers.

He arrived back in Nicaragua a year later and many of the villagers greeted him by name. They shared stories about their lives, families, and aspirations, and Michael began to understand the true benefit of language. Michael enrolled in a Spanish course that summer to accelerate his learning and allow him to enter Spanish III as a senior. The Nicaragua trips and summer program had changed his thinking about what he wanted to study, so he took his time exploring colleges and applying.

Michael’s relaxed strategy paid off; he was accepted to almost every school to which he applied.

Michael began to look for strong language and economics programs that would allow him to continue studying Spanish and economics in the third world, especially Central America. Michael’s relaxed strategy paid off; he was accepted to almost every school to which he applied and elected to attend Cornell University. He wrote, “I intend to continue learning Spanish and study abroad in one of Cornell’s many Spanish-speaking programs. Cornell requires all study abroad classes to be taught in the language of that country, which will unquestionably aid in my ability to speak Spanish fluently one day.”

January 27, 2018June 12, 2018

Ethan

Hong Kong

The Community Organizer

Cornell University

Ethan

Crossroads Group, a partner organization that provides writing assistance to students in Hong Kong, introduced us to Ethan when he was a high school freshman. He was a serious student in school and a member of the Boy Scouts outside of school. He had an opportunity to travel to Nepal with the Boy Scouts to work on a Habitat for Humanity build. The work was tough, dirty, and not at all what he expected, but he had a great trip leader who sat the scouts down when they began complaining and explained the significance of their work for the village. His leader’s words had an enormous impact on Ethan.

Ethan returned to school eager to join his school’s Habitat for Humanity Club. He expected weekly builds and trips but soon discovered the Club was mostly focused on fundraising. He advocated for trips knowing they would help build new membership. He used their Halloween Haunted House and Christmas Gingerbread House fundraisers to educate younger Club members about the real mission of Habitat for Humanity. Ethan finally convinced the Club to fund a trip to Cambodia and will lead this year’s trip to Indonesia. Ethan also chose to join his school’s annual service trips, traveling to India, Vietnam, and the Himalayas over the course of his sophomore, junior, and senior years. These trips exposed him to the realities of extreme poverty and social injustice.

Back in Hong Kong, Ethan worked toward his Eagle Scout rank. His Eagle project was to build a supply room for a local orphanage. He decided to stay with the Scouts to mentor younger members after achieving his Eagle. It seemed Ethan was committed to improving the lives of others in every way possible.

During the nearly four years we worked with Ethan, we helped him plan numerous college visits. As his passion for community service became evident, we recommended Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, whose mission is “to improve lives by exploring and shaping human connections to natural, social, and built environments.” Ethan and his father traveled to Ithaca almost as an afterthought, but Ethan’s identity is so grounded in service that we weren’t surprised he fell in love with Cornell.

Ethan worked hard on his application and The Short List made sure every word connected the dots of his story. He also wrote a supplement so clearly directed to the College of Human Ecology that we weren’t surprised when he received a Cornell Early Decision acceptance. Sometimes a school is better because of a student, and sometimes a student is better because of the school. In Ethan’s case, we believe both will be true, and the world will also be better as a result.