Evan’s method was practical: stay organized, jot down ideas, and write honestly.

Takeaway: The essay that works best is the one only you could write. Keep a system for ideas, capture them early, and trust your own voice. Don't be afraid to be out there, odds are it'll be what sets you apart from other applicants.

Q: Was there anything specific you did to stand out on your application? A: Evan points to advocacy as his “it factor” — moments where he showed he could defend his passions outside of the classroom.

After months of applications and late-night edits, Evan finally got to experience the reward: stepping onto campus for the first time as a Columbia student.

Takeaway: College applications can feel all-consuming, but the stress fades quickly once you’re on campus — what lasts are the friendships, special moments, and the feeling of belonging in the place you worked so hard to reach. Keep pushing! Your hard work will be worth it when you find your fit!!

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

• Episcopal Church — Youth Delegate: Spoke on censorship, fought for translation access; one of 18 selected worldwide. • Jazz Musician — Band Member: Performed across Jacksonville; carried music passion into application. • Clubs & Academics: Explored history, political science, and economics before focusing on statistics and policy.

🎷 The Jack-of-All-Trades Jack-of-All-Trades students are defined by their range. They test out disciplines, follow curiosity, and prove that learning doesn’t have to stay in one lane. Colleges value them because they bring energy to classrooms, clubs, and communities alike. For Evan, that range meant economics, statistics, political science, and history — all while performing jazz across Jacksonville. Even his Common App essay pulled from an unexpected place: growing up on PBS as an only child and finding connection through stories on screen. What could have looked scattered instead showed authenticity. His curiosity wasn’t random; it was the throughline of his application. 📣 The Advocate Advocates are defined by how they use their voice to step up when it matters. Colleges value Advocates because they show mission-driven leadership before ever stepping on campus. Evan embodied this when he became one of just 18 youth delegates to the Episcopal Church’s General Convention. He researched late into the night, then spoke before 800 people on censorship in Florida schools. When translation access broke down for non-English-speaking delegates, he pushed leaders until it was fixed. His application highlighted the courage to stand up for others when they needed him most. Together, these archetypes gave Evan’s application its shape. Columbia saw a student ready to explore widely, connect passions across fields, and raise his voice in a campus culture that thrives on debate and change.

• Do more than list — connect. Evan’s mix of PBS, jazz, and policy wasn’t random; it showed how different passions can speak to each other. • Step into bigger spaces. From local clubs to speaking before 800 people, his growth came from taking risks that stretched his voice. • Balance the grind with life. Organization and time management made the application possible — but so did saving space for music, faith, and friends.

Q: How did you start your college application process? A: Probably start my freshman year. I knew I wanted to go to a top university. I had my eyes set on Columbia for sure, Yale. And what I did, I found what I was most interested in. I do econ and statistics, but back then, I was more poli-sci, history, whatnot, so I would join different clubs around my school just to see if this is something I want to continue doing. And then I’m also a big fan of music, and honestly, I included a lot of music on my application. I went and I played… I have a band that I played with across Jacksonville. I played with the city, whatnot, and so it’s really about finding those things you really enjoy, finding things you’re good at, and getting to the next level, to keep on progressing, which really helps build your application. I honestly thought whenever I would be scrolling on TikTok and I see people talking about their process, people were… it made me think what I was doing was a lot more broad. I thought I had my chips in different places across the table while people were more concentrated on medicine, you know? But I still wanted to include this part of music with me, and also with history, political science, economics, and I think that helped round my application more. I didn’t feel fake. I was making the most of my time with what I love doing, and now I get to do it here at Columbia. Q: What did you actually do to keep track of everything and work on your essays? A: Over my time in high school, this is what I did: every achievement, or award or thing I was part of, I put it in a booklet or a binder, and I would use that just to keep track, so I’m not, at the time of the application process, trying to figure out what did I do then, what did I do here, and I’m not freaking out. And that really helped. That really helped, especially when you’re… because for some colleges, you have the option to include a resume, but even for the Common App, you have to add extracurriculars, you have to add… well, extracurriculars and whatnot. So I thought that was very helpful. And… let’s see, what else? Honestly, I started working on my Common App essay. Another great tip that I did: your notes app. Whenever I would have an idea for my Common App essay, I would just jot it down. I didn’t know what prompt I wanted to do at first. When I started writing my essay, I wrote it because you have the option to do your original prompt, and I just did it like that. However, the more I wrote my essay, it felt like it fit one of the other prompts more. So, there’s a lot of fluidity, a lot of changing with that, and you just gotta accept that, you know, I didn’t get the idea on the first go-around. And you see a lot of things when you’re applying to these top colleges of what you want your essay to be. You know, there’s that one that’s like, “I hate the letter J.” Like, that infamous one that got someone into Harvard. Don’t try to be like that, you know? I mean, mine was a little quirky. I ended up writing about television, and being an only child, and how that helped me build connections with the people around me. I was specifically a PBS fan. That’s another story for another day. But yeah, really don’t overthink it, don’t try to be extra quirky in any way, just be you, show them who you are, be vulnerable at moments, you don’t need a sob story, you just gotta… you know, they want to see who you are, and you just gotta show that to your best of your ability. Q: Why Columbia? A: Well, first of all, again, big econ, big policy nerd, nowhere else to be than in New York City. Really love that. I also did apply to Penn. Said that earlier. And, again, more specifically for the Wharton School, to dabble more in economics. I’m still debating if I want to go more financial or policy, but just being in New York City and Columbia with genius professors. I’m actually trying to take a class this year, for my Principles of Econ class with a professor who worked for the World Bank and whatnot. And just these opportunities at Columbia, I don’t think I’d be able to get anywhere else. Also, amazing music program. I’m a jazz fan, I’m a jazz nerd. And just to be in New York City, be with these great players. During orientation week, I was meeting all these amazing musicians, because Columbia has a program that works with Juilliard. And so, you see all these fantastic players who come from all around the world, Costa Rica, some from Asia… And then, I feel like I just gotta bring this up, because a lot of people know about the core curriculum. At first, I wasn’t a big proponent of the core curriculum, that was just something that I had to swallow. But, you know, the more I’ve been hearing about it, especially now, I’m kind of in a phase of classics. I’ve been reading a lot more classical literature. Well, I wouldn’t call it classical literature. You could probably define a different subgenre. It’s just older stuff. Like, I read Jekyll and Hyde over summer break and whatnot, and working on Crime and Punishment. And, you know, I was able then to enjoy what the core curriculum offered, especially with the Literature Humanities class. It makes you a well-defined person, and it’s taught across multiple generations of students, and that really solidifies the alumni network more. Everyone’s gone through the same process, everyone knows what books they’ve read, because they’ve been doing it for decades, and it’s just that idea that you’re following a legacy of greats before you, and gaining all this knowledge on many experiences that we go through today was satisfying as a student, and just making me an overall well-rounded person. Q: Was there anything specific you did to stand out on your application? A: Well… I think I call it the “it factor.” There’s definitely something that everyone does, like, some people are renowned athletes, great musicians, or won ISEF competitions. For me, I’m also heavily involved in my church. I’m Episcopalian, and so I applied to be part of this general convention, which is the world’s legislative body for the Episcopal Church, and I wanted to be a youth delegate, so that means we had voice on matters, we could go up and speak about things that we really were concerned about. And I applied for that, and fortunately, I got it. I think there were 18 selected from all around the world, which… I blew myself away with that. I didn’t really think I’d be getting that far. But I took that opportunity, and I really just went with it. I remember I would stay up some nights. It took place in Kentucky, in the hotel with my roommate. I would be sitting up in the living room area, and I heard, or I saw something on the docket that was going to be talked about the next day, and I’d be researching, and I’d be writing up something I want to say, something I want to voice my opinion on. Like, one of them was about book censorship inside of… or just in the world in general, or specifically America, and as a Floridian, that’s really affected me. So I looked into multiple different news sources, used many resources just to find evidence to help say what I want to say, and I said this in front of 800-plus people. And I still remember being there, my hands being sweaty. But it’s things like that. Again, I was interested in policy and whatnot, and I felt like that was geared to that side of what I wanted to do. And then there was another moment in which there were translation issues, and me and another Spanish-speaking… I actually wrote one of my essays about this for Columbia… but there were translation issues, and we wanted to get those solved for the non-English speaking deputies, or delegates, and so we were persistent. Like, I don’t think I’ve ever been as “let’s go grab something” in my life. I was talking to people I didn’t think I could talk to, like the president of the convention, the rule enforcer of the convention, just different people trying to get people on board with this movement. And, you know, it felt like I was doing something bigger than myself. And honestly, when you’re applying to college, really doing something bigger than yourself, while you might not have it now, definitely leaves a good impact on what the admissions office sees. Yeah, I would say that was really my it factor. Q: What’s it been like arriving at Columbia? A: It’s… it’s a little overwhelming. I mean, I feel like that’s how it is for everyone on the first day, or, you know, the orientation week. I made a lot of friends, talking with a lot of different people, just hearing different stories from different people around the world. I still can’t get over how beautiful the campus is. There will be moments when it’s golden hour, and I will just sit down on one of the benches on College Walk and look at the two different libraries. If you know what the campus looks like, it has Butler Library and the other library, which has a dome on it. It’s stunning. It feels like you’re in another world inside New York City, you know? Q: If you could go back and give advice to yourself starting this process over again, what would it be? A: Okay, there’s one that just popped right into my mind, which everyone can work on for sure, but it has hurt me in the past, especially when you’re actually in the college application process, which is just time management. There’s so much going on, especially in your senior year, when you’re trying to write all these essays, but also enjoy these last few months you have with your friends, it’s a hard balance to do. It really is, because there have been moments in which I paced myself really well with all these supplementals and these essays and writing all the information into the application, but there were also moments in which it was, like, maybe the night before, and I’m on edit 13 of one of my supplementals. And… yeah, just being able to manage out the time, making sure that you take the time for yourself, for sure, you know? Then you just become burned out and stressed, and that’s… no one likes that. To have that balance between doing the applications, doing the supplementals, writing the essays, and just enjoying life, it will keep you going in the long run. And this isn’t only just for applications, you can apply this to all of life, but that was definitely something that majorly affected me, and I hope… I am still getting better at it.