Léa

Léa grew up in Bermuda and attended one of the top international schools on the island. She believed she would be happiest attending college in the United States but knew nothing about the U.S. admissions process. Léa was a freshman, so we had plenty of time to help her explore and prepare.

Léa was a leading student in her school and community. At the end of her freshman year, she was recognized with the President’s Award for her top GPA, nominated for Bermuda’s Youth Volunteer Award for her work at an autism community center, and elected by her classmates to one of three prefect positions.

Léa was clearly talented and driven, so our goal was to keep her focused. She was a strong STEM student but also loved art. The Short List encouraged her to use the summer to explore her interests outside the classroom and helped her research summer programs. She was accepted to a photography program at NYU and boarded a plane with her Nikon D3400 ready to explore the city.

Manhattan is about the size of Bermuda, but couldn’t be more different. Léa was inspired and used every opportunity to photograph her new environment. She then returned to the U.S. the following summer for another photography course and to continue exploring colleges.

Léa was particularly drawn to city schools where she would face a high volume of competition in the admissions process. She needed to match her top GPA with top standardized test scores, and was not happy with her initial results. We paired her with one of our test prep division, and Léa saw her scores soar. Things were coming together nicely when she entered the application season.

Léa visited several schools over her three high school summers and felt she would be happiest at Northwestern with its strong STEM, art, and communication programs. She loved the easy access to Chicago and vibrant urban life. Léa says her first summer in New York turned her from an island girl into a city girl but also helped her realize she never wanted to venture too far from the beach. Northwestern, with its sandy Lake Michigan campus beach, providted the best of both worlds, and offered her admission in December.