Taylor’s advice for other students is simple: go see the schools you’re applying to. Campus visits, tours, and conversations with current students shaped how she thought about “fit.”

Takeaway: The best fit isn’t a guess. It’s something you experience yourself. Stand on the campus, ask the questions, and picture yourself there. Not everyone can visit the campus of their dreams, but talking to a real student on Scholarly is the next best way to really understand a community and how you'd fit there.

When it came to essays, Taylor leaned on the Core Curriculum.

She tied this directly to her potential majors: political science and dance. One rooted in service, the other in expression; both aligned with Columbia’s vision of a broad, values-driven education.

Takeaway: Don’t just show interest in a school’s programs. Connect them to your worldview so you can pitch your own potential.

As a child of immigrant parents, Taylor watched her family struggle with paperwork and bureaucracy. In sophomore year, she turned that into a service project by helping immigrant families to navigate these systems.

Taylor acknowledges something many students feel but rarely admit — that “finding your voice” is difficult. By framing it as possible through “good intentions and experiences,” she highlights maturity: she didn’t see passion as innate or predetermined, but as something that could be cultivated. This perspective aligns well with Columbia’s emphasis on growth and reflection. It also shows her agency and that she wasn’t waiting for passions to magically appear, she was actively weighing opportunities and resources to discover them.

Here she ties personal background to outward impact. It's the quintessential move admissions officers look for. Instead of presenting political science as an abstract interest, she roots it in lived experience. She’s also layering her story: immigrant identity, family challenge, community service, academic passion. What makes this strong is that she frames it not as a strategy, but as a natural byproduct of authentic passion. She stayed with the project because it mattered to her, and consistency became the proof. Takeaway: Colleges notice sustained impact. Passion is proven through what you return to, year after year.

• Immigrant Support Project — Volunteer (2021–2023): Helped immigrant families navigate paperwork and bureaucratic systems, drawing on her own family’s experiences. • Dance — Performer & Choreographer (High School): Balanced academics with creativity through performance and choreography. • PEN America — Student Trainee (2024): Selected as one of 40 students for a week-long program in New York City on free expression. • DemocraShe — Fellow (2024–Present): Built leadership experience as part of a fellowship empowering young women to engage with policy and civic life. • REACH Youth Advisory Board — Student Researcher, Member (2023–Present): Conducted youth-driven research and contributed to advisory projects focused on equity and community needs. • Rhizome — Community Organizer (2023–Present): Joined a nationwide civic service organization for emerging leaders, coordinating outreach and engagement across communities. • Florida Student Power Network — Part-time Organizer (2023): Organized with peers in Orlando to expand student activism and civic participation. • YOUNGA — Youth Delegate (2023): Represented youth voices in a global delegation, collaborating on solutions to international challenges while developing leadership and networking skills. • Pioneer Research Program — Summer Scholar (2023): Researched “Decolonizing Zombies in Global Cinema”under the mentorship of a Middlebury professor; accredited by Oberlin College. Later served on the Pioneer Alumni Advisory Board, co-hosting webinars and building alumni connections. • The School of The New York Times — Summer Fellow (2023): Explored media, policy, and culture in a two-month fellowship.

🌍 The Advocate Advocates are driven by a cause, using their voice and effort to make real-world change. Colleges value them because they bring energy, purpose, and a sense of justice to campus communities, often inspiring others to get involved. Taylor embodied this archetype through her work with immigrant families. She saw firsthand the struggles her family faced with paperwork and bureaucracy. In high school, she turned that into a service project, helping others navigate the same systems. She stuck with it for two years, proving both commitment and impact. For Columbia, this effort reflected advocacy rooted in personal experience. 🎭 The Masterpiece The Masterpiece archetype belongs to creatives who channel passion into their art, whether through music, theater, or performance. Colleges love them because they bring expression, imagination, and discipline to campus life. For Taylor, that art was dance. Dance was her outlet and her craft, balancing her service work and academics with creativity and resilience. Through choreography and performance, she brought another dimension to her application: a student who could express ideas not just in essays, but in movement. Together, these archetypes made Taylor’s application stand out. Columbia saw a student who could argue for justice in the classroom and express herself on stage, and one who could also bring both advocacy and artistry to campus.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self starting this process, what would it be?

• Choosing with Clarity — Taylor showed that campus visits and real conversations can cut through the noise and reveal true fit. • Aligning Core Values — By tying her interests to Columbia’s Core Curriculum, she framed college as a place to wrestle with values, not just rack up credits. • Identity into Impact — Her background became the foundation for advocacy, proving that consistency and authenticity create a powerful application.

Q: How do you figure out if a school is the right fit? A: I think actually visiting and being on campus is so important. Just because you’re physically there, and you’re picturing yourself as a student there—that’s what happened to me when I was looking for colleges. I visited Columbia, of course, and also schools like UPenn, Vanderbilt, and Duke. Really being there and seeing what they offer gives you a general idea of student life. Join the campus tour, ask questions, visit the undergrad office. Talking to current students is important too. I know it’s not easy, but if you get the chance, definitely do it—maybe even connect with someone in the major you’re interested in. Q: Did you connect with Columbia students before applying? A: I didn’t at Columbia, but I did for other colleges. That’s what I’d recommend—ask questions about their major, their pre-track, or just student life and housing. All of that matters when you’re choosing a school. Q: What majors are you considering, and how did you choose them? A: I guess I can start with the Core Curriculum, because that’s the hallmark of a Columbia education. While I was brainstorming for my essay, I kept the Core in the back of my mind. For those who don’t know, it’s a set of courses—literature, humanities, contemporary civilization, Frontiers of Science—that every student takes. It’s not the bulk of your classes, but it’s a lot of your credits. In my essay, I talked about how I resonate with the Core’s mission. It gives you the privilege to learn what it means to be human, and how to be a citizen in this chaotic, overwhelming world. Maybe the courses can even help build your values. Then I connected that to the majors I was considering: political science and dance. I did a lot of extracurriculars around both, and I’m passionate about them. I’m undecided, but those are the two I applied with and the ones I’m leaning toward. Q: How did you approach your essays? A: The central idea for me was staying authentic. Colleges really see who you are through your essays and activities, so don’t fake it. What I did was make a list of my extracurriculars, the things I did in high school, and the major I was applying for. Then I drew connections. That way, I wasn’t forcing anything—it was just showing the links between what I’d already done and what I wanted to pursue. I think a lot of students struggle with this—paralleling the activity list with your essays—but it’s important. Also, use the school’s own resources. Columbia actually has five pillars of what they look for in students. One of them is knowledge about Columbia. A lot of people don’t go into detail on the website, but you should. I looked through professors and courses and found that surprisingly useful. Q: Before you had all these experiences, how did you start finding your passions in high school? A: Finding your voice by the end of high school is hard, but it can be done with good intentions and experiences. For me, it was about weighing what I could do and the resources I had. Start simple—join volunteering, join clubs at your school. You might find sparks or new connections that way. For me, sophomore year was when I found my passion for political science and dance. I did a community service project helping immigrants with paperwork. That came from my family experience—I’m from a first-gen, second-generation immigrant family—so it really resonated with me. I wanted to use that background to help others. I kept that project going through junior year. By the time I applied, I could really talk about it, because I had done it consistently for two years. That consistency is what admissions officers look for—it shows your intentions are real. Q: If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be? A: Don’t be afraid to fail. There are always going to be ups and downs, but make sure you dance through them and always find your way out. When I was in high school—fresh out now, so those memories stick with me—I stressed about starting projects, keeping up grades, getting A-pluses. Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to fail. Just bounce back. That’s the advice I’d give myself.