What pushed her to aim higher was a mix of TikToks, peers, and ambition.

Takeaway: The regret of not trying can be worse than a rejection, don't count yourself out on the school of your dreams.

Eliana didn’t see essays as a repeat of her resume. Instead, they became the place where she could expand on the “why” behind her activities.

Takeaway: Use supplements to show the story behind your activities — the context, the origins, and why they matter to you.

For Eliana, business was never just about consulting or finance.

Takeaway: Entrepreneurship is a great way to demonstrate that you're looking for real-world applications of the things you learn, love, and do. Colleges want students who will take what they learn on campus and apply it in a meaningful way.

• Community Sustainability Projects — Tackled food insecurity and environmental challenges locally. • Research — Conducted sustainability-focused projects connecting business and social impact. • Gap Year Plans — Exploring industries through internships, traveling, and using time to grow personally and professionally. • CNBC Financial Literacy Intern — Built financial literacy resources and gained exposure to national-level business media. • Junior Achievement Company Program — Led her team to 1st Place at the Regional Competition, Top 10 Nationally, and Top 5 in National CEO Leadership. • CNBC Social Innovation Challenge — Pitched and developed a sustainable innovation concept recognized at the national level. • AAUW Gov Trek Campaign — Earned recognition for leadership and policy-driven advocacy. • Coca-Cola Scholar Semi-Finalist & AAUW Scholarship Awardee — Nationally recognized for academic achievement, leadership, and service.

🌉 The Bridge-Builder Bridge-Builders are defined by their ability to connect people and ideas. They take community challenges and tie them to larger systems, showing how local impact scales up. Colleges value Bridge-Builders because they bring collaboration, empathy, and a knack for making groups stronger than the sum of their parts. For Eliana, that identity showed up everywhere. “My ECs were me helping my local community — whether it was with food hunger, or doing something sustainable within my community,” she said. She reframed her activity list herself to highlight the real scope of that impact, making sure admissions officers saw how her efforts extended beyond surface-level involvement. At Wharton, that bridge-building mindset aligned perfectly with the school’s collaborative and global focus. 📣 The Advocate Advocates are driven by causes. They speak up, push for change, and use their platform to make the world better for others. Colleges value Advocates because they already embody the mission-driven energy campuses thrive on. Eliana embodied this archetype in both her activities and her writing. “Business is having that entrepreneurial mindset… but also doing it for social good,” she explained. That vision carried through to national recognition: she won the CNBC Social Innovation Challenge and the AAUW Gov Trek Campaign for pitching sustainable, people-first solutions. Even public speaking — once a source of nerves — became her tool for advocacy. Together, these archetypes made Eliana’s story stand out. Wharton saw a student who could connect communities, champion causes, and use business not just as a career path, but as a vehicle for meaningful change.

Q: If you could go back and give advice to yourself starting this process over again, what would it be?

• Betting on Yourself — Eliana only found her ceiling once she stopped limiting her college list. • Reframing the Narrative — By rewriting her activity list, she made her work shine on paper. • Business With Purpose — She defined business not just as profit, but as service to community.

Q: How did you start your college application process? A: Okay, so I do have to admit, I was super overwhelmed at first with the admissions process, and I didn't really know where to start. But I saw online that you start with creating your college list, so I made a list of all the UCs that I wanted to apply to because I was in-state, as well as some of the private schools. Now, at that time, I kind of actually didn't believe I was going to get into any Ivy Leagues or any of the top schools, so I didn't even put that on my list. I just kind of did it later, actually, maybe 2-3 weeks before it was due, because now I'm starting to regret - oh, what if I'm not giving myself that chance to actually apply to these schools? After I developed my college list, I created my Common App essays. This took me forever. I was brainstorming every single day, thinking it through, thinking which prompt it would fit in, and just trying to get it into the word count, because it's only 650 words, but I love to write, I love to talk about my experiences, so that took me forever just to put it in that really concise manner. I think I finished my Common App towards October. That took me a very long time, because I kept putting it off because of schoolwork. The thing that really pushed me was actually the UNC Chapel Hill deadline. That school was due very early on October 15th, so I was like, I gotta get this in, this is gonna push me for that November 1st deadline. So after I did the Common App, I did my activity list for the schools, and I had tried to hire college counselors to help me do it. When they submitted the edited activity list, I was thinking, this is not it. This is actually terrible. No quantification of numbers. They didn't really explain my activity, and I don't think they get some of the stuff I was actually doing. It was very vague statements, or the title of it was just very bland. So, within a week, before the deadline for UNC, I had to re-edit everything, literally staying up till 12am and not doing any of my homework. I just pushed that aside, I'm like, this is my priority right now. So I had to re-edit all the activity lists, I had quantifications, numbers - one student out of 100, just to really show to the admissions counselor that my activities are actually really good, you just kind of need to frame it better. And then after my activity list, I had to work on my supplementals. Those weren't the hardest thing for me, because my activities kind of already led into the supplementals, I just had to really explain the context of it, or the origin of it. So this is the time where you only have 100 or 150 characters for the activity list, but then when you have your supplementals, like the community supplemental, you can really talk more about it and the origin behind it. So that was the part that I really enjoyed. And altogether, I think I finished most of it by October 15th. And then, towards the end, I started saying, oh, why am I only applying to these certain schools that I limited myself to? I'm not taking a chance on myself. So I'm like, okay, I've decided to add on University of Michigan Ross, the Ivy Leagues, and some more top schools. And then during that time from November 1st into the later dates for the Ivy Leagues, I just started cranking out more supplementals, perfecting my Common App, because I didn't know my decision for UNC Chapel Hill, that really early one, so I kept overthinking, like, oh no, maybe this is bad, I'm gonna get rejected. So I just started tweaking it, trying to find a focus for my application around what in business I actually wanted to do. I just started doing it and saying, okay, instead of getting scared of, I'm not gonna get into the Ivy League, actually try and not regret that I never even applied to any of these top schools. And in the end, it actually did work out, which I was really surprised about. I had got admissions to UNC, University of Michigan Ross, the Cornell Dyson School, obviously Wharton, which is what I'm going to, and then also the Haas School of Business. I was really shocked when this happened, but that was just because I took a chance. I didn't actually follow my college counselor or these people that were saying, because sometimes their advice, you know, it's only in that certain context, you don't really understand the entire applicant. And I think that's what really helped me, was just believing in myself, taking a chance, and even if it was really last minute, I'm proud of myself that I actually looked at it, made sure it was good, trusted the process, because sometimes you have someone telling you something, they might not see your full picture, you just have to really go and see what actually happens. Q: What inspired you to take that risk and apply to competitive schools when you previously didn't think it was possible? A: I think it was honestly just seeing a bunch of TikTok and YouTube videos of these kids - maybe their GPA was a little lower, or they didn't believe they had that SAT score, but I think colleges are not just looking at your score, they're looking at a more holistic viewpoint of what you're actually doing, so seeing all these YouTube videos, even hearing the kids in my school just applying to it, I'm thinking, oh, why am I not doing this, right? Or my mom was saying, why aren't you applying to these schools? Just give it a shot, or you're gonna regret it. I'm thinking, okay, so all this kind of peer pressure, and just even thinking about it intuitively, I'm thinking, okay, I have to see, and I have to try doing this, because I'm just gonna regret, I don't know, 10 years down - ugh, I should have tried, you know? So, I just didn't want to live in that regret, and just wanted to see the full outcome. Q: Why UPenn specifically? A: Yeah, I know, I had a lot of really good business schools on my list, but I did have… I visited UPenn, and I just really enjoyed how there was a global community of people. They had a bunch of international students, a bunch of people with different backgrounds, and I saw specifically in that school - no other school had that, and I really enjoyed the different perspectives. And also, I think their global brand that they carried, not just in finance, because I know that's really popular at this school, or consulting, but also in entrepreneurship, risk management - I wanted a more broader business degree, because I'm still trying to explore which niche I'm trying to pick. So I think Wharton had all of those aspects that I really valued, and I kind of just wanted to try something new. Since I'm from the West Coast, I kind of am like, okay, what's this East Coast about? Let's just try it out, it's only 4 years, so I guess that risk-taking mindset and just trying to see other communities was what really drew me to Wharton. Q: What does business mean to you as a person? A: Yeah, that's a great question. I think for me, business is having that entrepreneurial mindset, you're combining those analytical skills, but also doing it for social good. So that was a really big part of my application - how can I use business to help my community? And that's always - I think all the universities ask, how do you help your community? How do you help your community? And a lot of my ECs were me helping my local community, which is whether it was with food hunger, or doing something sustainable within my community. This really combined my creativity, my love for public speaking, which actually, sometimes I used to be really nervous in front of people, as well as that analytical side of doing research, you know, doing those spreadsheets, so I just really like combining - it's like, business is not subjugated to one analytical skill or one skill. You can do a whole bunch of things. That's why I like how broad it is, and how I can actually help other people with it, too. Q: Tell me about your gap year plans. A: Yeah, so I applied for the gap year. I didn't know it was actually going to get approved by UPenn, because they only take around 50 students for all these schools, so PhD, master's students, undergrad, only 50 students, so I was just thinking, okay, I hope I get this. And in that gap year, I was really thinking, okay, I know a lot about business, I know there's different industries, but I felt I was kind of jumping into it with not knowing which focus I want. Do I really want consulting? Do I really want finance? You know, so I decided that maybe during this gap year, I can actually use it to see which one I actually enjoy the most, which one kind of plays to my skills. So I kind of wanted to use this year to really explore the industry more, maybe get an internship experience, do what I'm doing right now, helping other students as well as business for social good. And I think also during my senior year of high school, it was quite stressful, I have to admit, that I was very stressed every single day, trying to get these deadlines finished, and waiting for these applications to have their results, right? Because that was not till, I think, end of March, and that was just - that caused a lot of anxiety and stress, especially at school, so I want to also use this gap to actually travel, kind of work on myself, because I'm not going to get this time again, right? We're always getting older, so I'm like, okay, if I can actually use this time to, you know, build myself, explore different interests, learn new things, and even travel, which is one of my passions to do, I think this is what kind of drew me to having that gap year experience. I'm still trying to figure it out, obviously, I just started, but this is my rationale. Q: What did you try to emphasize about yourself on your application? A: Yeah, I think for UPenn, they really value a global community, globally-minded person, so I really try to emphasize how, you know, being multiracial, I see multiple perspectives of one problem, right? You're not just one-sided. I really also try to hone down, specifically for the business application, what I want to do in business. Something related to sustainability is what I talked about, and just really hone how my EC of doing all this sustainable research really emphasizes what I'm trying to do in business, because sometimes business is very broad, but I think many of the schools really want you to hone. What am I going to do? How am I going to help the community? And what do I have to bring to the table that connects with them? I think Penn has some research programs they offer, but you're gonna have to connect that with your own experience, how I can help your research program with the skills, with the niche that you picked. Q: How did you research what UPenn might be looking for? A: I think… Okay, there was YouTube videos online about it, but I felt it wasn't actually that helpful. I kind of had to just stalk the website, stalk their LinkedIn - what are they doing right now in business? What are they doing even in the news? Because Wharton's always mentioned in the news, these business schools. They have very common themes of what they're doing - something in finance related to stocks or something, or sustainable with energy, and you just see these constant themes. They're thinking, okay, so I'm just gonna talk about that, and… My ECs already had already matched, so I'm thinking, okay, perfect. But also, at the same time, I was like, I'm not sure I'm doing this right, but I'm just going to take the bet that, okay, I have all these ECs that align to it, I'm looking at the stuff, their news articles, their research, what the professors are doing, so I'm just like, I'm just gonna submit this and hope for the best. Q: If you could go back and give advice to yourself starting this process over again, what would it be? A: Honestly, for me, start early. Try not to do your application in the school year. I could not balance my schoolwork with the college application, because I think I underestimated how much time it took for these supplementals, these essays. I even remember the Michigan Ross one, there was 650 words for a business problem that you have to solve. That was just insane, and I totally regretted starting it weeks before, I should have started it in that summer, you know? Months before actually thinking of it, because it takes a lot of time for sometimes, you know, kids to think it through - okay, what should I write about? What should I focus on? And sometimes you don't like what your first draft looks like, or even your second draft, so when you're deleting it for your fifth or sixth time, it eats up so much time, restarting it and kind of overthinking yourself, and that's what I also emphasize - your mental health is so important, senior year. I totally overlooked that, and I wish I had focused more on not stressing myself to the point of having to get this perfect, because I'm sometimes a perfectionist - you have to say, okay, this is it, you know, you have to trust yourself, and sometimes the outcome is maybe not in your favor if you don't get into that university you want, but you also have to look on the bright side - hey, maybe there's another university that's willing to say yes to you, so you just have to play that mental game, and just mental health first.