How This Student Is Navigating College Decisions As A Waitlist Warrior

During the college admissions season, students revel in moments of joy and relief; however, in this time when the culmination of your high school efforts come to fruition, there may also be moments of sorrow. Every year, many are either waitlisted or rejected from colleges they had long yearned for; for instance, Jiaying Liu, a Chinese American, low-income, first generation college student. Though her dreams of attending UCLA are temporarily halted, she holds her waitlist warrior status with pride. Her unique resilience and ability to persevere is moving, so we interviewed her about her experience:

What’s your major and your interests/ future career aspirations?

“I’m majoring in Computer Engineering and I’m hoping to become a hardware engineer or something in that field. I’m interested in making lots of money while being stable so that I can travel the world.” She plans on committing to Santa Clara University, unless she gets off the waitlist to UCLA, to pursue this path.

How did you form your college list?

“I looked up what schools were known for computer engineering and looked at the community/location.”

Do you have any advice on forming a college list?

As Ying has done a multitude of times, “look at the community or visit the campus if you can, and see if you could actually see yourself spending 4 years there.” College will become your temporary home, whether or not you live on campus, so it is important that you actually want to spend your time there.

What other colleges did you get accepted at?

Ying got into “SJSU, CalPoly San Luis Obispo, University of San Francisco, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara University,” and was waitlisted at schools like UC Davis, UCLA, and UC San Diego.

What do you look for in a college? 

Ying was primarily interested in “the community, the aid, the career outcome/connections, and knowing if a college would limit you more than help you.,” all of which are good factors to consider. 

What made Santa Clara University stand out from the rest?

Ying was initially torn between Calpoly SLO and Santa Clara University. “SLO offered for me to live away from family for the #1 computer engineering program…but at the same time I would have to pay $22k a year”. In contrast, “Santa Clara University offered me a full ride + $15k refund”, which compelled her to choose it out of both convenience and how she would be able to “study abroad or travel independently” with the money. In the end, while it may lack prestige, Santa Clara University’s generous aid and ability to connect you to internships and work made it stand out from the rest.

What extracurriculars do you plan to do at SCU?

She plans on continuing her high school extracurriculars at a college level like Asian Pacific Islander Association (APIA) while also being involved in engineering clubs.

What was your weighted, unweighted, and UC/CSU GPA?

Ying had a 3.98 unweighted GPA and a 4.33 weighted GPA

How many AP Classes did you take, and what were your scores?

Ying took 4 APs before her senior year, AP World History (4), AP Computer Science Principles (3), AP US History (5), and AP English Language and Composition (5).

Any advice on AP Classes?

Ying’s advice for students who plan on taking, or are currently taking AP classes is to “look up techniques on reddit” so that you can easily “[memorize] how to ace every history course”. Another strategy she gave is to repeat and teach your friends on the topics you are studying so that you internalize the information.

Did you take any dual enrollment classes at KSJC or at a community college?

Ying recalls, “I took dual enrollment at EVC for intro to business, San Jose Community College for human bio anatomy to fulfill general education requirements, Arizona State University for intro to poetry, and Brown University for intro to literature.” That being said, she does not recommend taking dual enrollment classes as it may mess with your schedule which she experienced when she had to postpone chemistry until junior year.

What were your main extracurriculars, and how much time did you spend on them?

“Art & Design co-president about 2 hrs a week, APIA event coordinator about 2 hrs a week, Red Cross Secretary about 2 hrs a week, Cross Country manager about 6-8 hrs a week, Youth Mental Health Academy Internship for a month about 120 hrs total.”

What made you start those extracurriculars, and what has kept you going?

Ying expressed how her extracirculars were done out of personal passion and future planning which made it easy to continue them over the years. “I always liked Art & Design, it was a hands-on passion project for me, and it’s one of the aspects that could be enhanced by computer engineering”. Not only that, but being a part of the Asian community at KSJC, she was motivated to join APIA and Fan Dance Club. Her interest in being involved and “[advocating] for those in our community and beyond,” led her to the rest of her extracurriculars.

How have those extracurriculars influenced your future aspirations?

Ying said that these extracurriculars have allowed her to be “hands on and be around many different types of people”, widening her scope, connections, and career aspirations. She hopes in the workforce, she can inspire others with her work and innovations.

How did you rank your extracurriculars?

Her extracurriculars are ranked by how dear they are to her: Art & Design, APIA, and Cross Country. 

Do you have any advice on your extracurriculars?

“Do what you love while you still can because you’ll end up working a job for the next 50 years in a specific field. Also don’t be scared to try or do new things even if you are doing it alone. Having extracurriculars that align with your major could help out more with your college apps. I just chose to do what I want because I knew that things would always work out, so I might as well explore and see.”

What did you write your essay about and why?

For her PIQs, Ying wrote for PIQ 1, 4, 5, and 7 about Art & Design, academic struggles in math, her innate shyness, and being a cross country manager. For her common app, Ying wrote an essay about her culture and a childhood memory with her mom.

How much time did you spend on your essays?

Ying mentioned that she spent around 30 hours in total on her college essays. This is combined with her efforts in her seminar periods and at home.

Do you have any advice for writing your essays?

Ying’s advice for writing college essays was to just “write the emotions you feel” as she described her initial stages of writing in which she wrote ideas over and over again, even if they seemed unimportant. Eventually, this process “actually gave [her] a better idea” for her PIQs.

Who were your letter of recommenders and why?

Ying asked Mr. Gutierrez and Mr. Quintero, teachers that she had known well. Taking chemistry last year, Ying stated that, “Mr. Gutierrez was able to speak on [her] academic side.” Her other recommender, she shared a close bond with from being his TA, helping cross country, being in his co-advisory, allowing him to write more about her personality.

Do you have any advice for choosing your letter of recommendations?

Ying advises others to choose recommenders that can talk about the different sides of yourself since you can only show so much in your own essays.

What awards (if any) did you put down in your application.

Ying included her Summa Cum Laude which she kept for all 4 years of high school, AP scholar with Honor, National Education Equity Lab Valedictorian, and Adolescent Crisis Response awards.

What do you think was your strongest part of your application?

Ying believes the strongest part of her application was her college essays as her writing stayed true to her cause and self.

What was a barrier you faced during the application process, and how did you address it?

Ying struggled with “knowing what to write and balancing [her] grades.” She addressed this issue by choosing to do other school assignments at school and in her seminar period, and writing her essays at home. This gave her a nice pacing to individual focus and each thing, as well as a sense of security.

If you were to restart your high school career, what would you change?

“I would’ve planned my clubs, extracurricular activities, and be more set on a career/major,” Ying expressed, as she felt that in the past 4 years, she passed up on certain activities that could've made her stand out even more. Regardless, she still enjoyed her time and the things she chose to do. Now she leads with a mindset to take more risks as failure is a learning opportunity, and success requires faith in your risks.

Any advice to people in the college admissions process?

Ying’s advice to people in the process is “JUST START NOW.  But being for real, plan out what you want to write and just don’t be scared to start new essays/ideas. I had one doc with like 30 tabs for each revision. Good luck and know that in your 2nd semester you can slack off 🤫”

Any final thoughts?

“Honestly, just have fun and know that college is only 4 years of your life, by the time you finish, not even 25% of your life will be completed. Please do the things you like and surround yourself with positivity. Also be nice to yourself and know that life is more than academics and what colleges you get into. It will always be what you make of things; if you are a successful, driven, and happy person, you will continue to be that person no matter what situation you find yourself in.”

Ending:

Getting waitlisted or rejected from schools isn’t the end of your journey, it is merely a redirection to a stronger future. Being a waitlist warrior didn’t stop Ying, it only fueled her already burning passion to succeed, so neither should it stop you, reader, from pursuing your dreams and having a future. With this optimistic mindset, Ying departs from KIPP content and accomplished, for even if everything didn’t go according to plan during this admissions season, she will continue to achieve and shine as she has been doing for the past 4 years and prior.