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B2A Alumna Gloria Su has had the AMAZING accomplishment of being admitted to 5 of the 8 Ivy League Universities! We sat down with Gloria to discuss her B2A experience and learn more about what made her application so special!

 

B2A: "What do you think makes Berkeley2 Academy special?"

 

Gloria: "I think just the wealth of resources here. Obviously, there's essay specialists, there's tutors to help you if you want to boost your scores, there are counselors who have just graduated from a lot of these schools that you're applying to, and they're really nice and personable!"

 

B2A: "What other programs did you do besides the Gateway Package?"

 

Gloria: "In addition to the Gateway Package, I also did a few tutoring sessions here for my SAT."

 

B2A: "What kind of help did you get with the Gateway Package?"

 

Gloria: "With the Gateway Program, I had a really awesome counselor and she helped me with editing all my essays, and I got a lot of advice on how to prepare for interviews and what to focus on on my essays and resume editing."

 

B2A: "What was your SAT score?"

 

Gloria: "I got a 2250, and Berkeley said 'You can do better than that!'. I kind of grumbled about it at first. I got a 2350 the time after. I think that really helped, and it's nice to have that little push."

 

B2A: "What was your first Gateway meeting like?"

 

Gloria: "My first Gateway meeting was with my parents and Emily. The college admission process is pretty intimidating at first. I literally had no idea what I was doing. My parents really didn't have any idea, so it was good to sit down with Emily and make a plan and basically gauge what schools would be a good fit for me, which would be reaches, and safetys. Basically, we set out a plan. I came in a little late in the summer, so we set a plan on how to accelerate my process and make sure I was meeting all my deadlines. So, it was really helpful to have a schedule laid out for the long term."  

 

B2A: "And what about the subsequent meetings?"

 

Gloria: "My subsequent meetings were basically just me and my counselor. They were really personal, one to one, and she would always check in to see what I was doing. Basically, they kept me on top of my things, which is really, really helpful. I probably would have procrastinated until like the night before! It was really helpful because I got tons of editing on my essays. They don't tell you what to write; they don't tell you 'this is what you need to write'. They ask you to brainstorm with them, and then you pick a topic that is interesting and also meaningful, personally. Then, they have you write the essay, and then they just do tweaking which is what I think should be done. College counselors shouldn't be writing your essays. So yeah, I thought that was really helpful. That was what my meetings were like."

 

B2A: "What do you think was the one most helpful thing about the Gateway Program?"

 

Gloria: "Probably focusing on a specific topic for your essays. That, I found, was the hardest part. Writing it afterward was really easy because once we found something I was passionate in that fit the essay prompt it was really easy, but finding that is really hard because sometimes you're really off focus or you find something that isn't that meaningful so you have a really bad essay. The Gateway Program really helped me pick out a diamond in the rough."

 

B2A: "What schools did you apply to?"

 

Gloria: "I applied to all the Ivies in addition to a few other schools like UT, Rice, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and Washington University in St. Louis."

 

B2A: "And which ones did you get into?"

 

Gloria: "I got into five of the Ivies -- Harvard, UPenn, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Brown. I also got into Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Rice, and UT."

 

B2A: "Which one do you think you're going to attend?"

 

Gloria: "I think I will be attending Harvard in the fall. It's always been the top of my list; I loved it when I visited." 

 

B2A: "What do you think made your applications so successful in gaining admission?"

 

Gloria: "I think it was, first of all, my essays. I wrote about things I really cared about, so I thought that was really important. I wrote about gender equality in debate. That was something that I really noticed in the debate world. And also, about my mission trips to Harlington Country. Those are two huge aspects of my life that I really cared about and was passionate about, and I think that showed. Then also, haveing well-rounded activities. I did a lot of activities in high school and they were activities that I really cared about and I stuck with because I liked them and genuinely enjoyed them. Also, I think getting great teacher rec."

 

B2A: "Do you have any advice for other students who are going to be applying to college next year?"

 

Gloria: "Good luck! It is a process, but in the end, it is well worth it and you will find a place that matches you."

 

B2A: "Given that the admission rate for Asian American students is lower and it's harder to get in, did you keep this in mind when going through high school or choosing different activities to participate in?" 

 

Gloria: "That was definitely always in the back of my mind. I knew it was going to be harder no matter where I applied. That didn't really change the types of activities I was in. I just knew I needed to work extra hard at everything, so I tried to do that. Besides knowing that I had to work extra hard, it didn't affect or alter in any way what I had to do."

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