A: Niko thinks what helped him stand out was showing that he genuinely broke from stereotypes. He wasn’t just an athlete, and he wasn’t the expected “Asian student” who boxes himself into math, science, and music. He showed range. He had leadership roles in clubs like Latin Club, he volunteered, and demonstrated real curiosity about a lot of different things. "My dad is Asian, but he wasn’t the stereotypically 'smart' one in our family. It was actually my mom who was the academic powerhouse. I think people expect you to fit these narrow categories—math, science, music. But I wanted to show them that I was more than what they expected from someone who looked like me." He built his story around the values his parents instilled in him, and he made sure his life experience connected across sports, academics, and personal growth. He also didn’t wait for people to come to him—he proactively emailed coaches, introduced himself at tournaments, and went to summer camps starting in eighth grade to meet the coaches he wanted to build relationships with. “It’s not enough to just be good—you have to advocate for yourself. A lot of people just wait to get noticed, but you really can’t. Even if you’re one of the best, you still might get overlooked if you don’t put yourself out there. I wanted to be more than a trope, more than a number, and I think that’s what set me apart."

A: Niko believes Harvard is looking for people who want to make an impact. They’re not just looking for the best test scores or the most polished applications. They want people with a mission—people who know what drives them and who are going to do something with the opportunity. They’re also actively looking for diversity, not just in background but in thought and experience. Breaking the stereotype matters. He thinks they want people who challenge expectations and can genuinely bring something different to the table. That means being multidimensional. A lot of students there were top of the top in one thing, but they also had a story that made them unique. It’s about finding that one thing that sets you apart and showing that you’ll actually engage with the community and use what the school has to offer.

A: Niko’s essay was about the values my parents taught me. He didn’t write the typical athlete essay—he didn’t want to fall into the story everyone expects, like getting injured and pushing through it. He wrote about my life story, about how moving to boarding school at 14 shaped him, and how those values helped him navigate that transition and reach the top in his sport. He told the story through the lens of what my parents instilled in him—discipline, accountability, and the will to succeed. Jokingly, he even noted how my last name Katsuyoshi means “to win” in Japanese. He wanted to show them that he was more than a stereotype, more than an athlete, and more than what people expected from someone who looked like him. He didn’t try to write some crazy, standout topic—he just told his story in a way that was honest and cohesive. The result was a story that was simple, yet effective.

A: Advocate for yourself. Be proactive. Cold email coaches, build relationships early, and get involved in things outside of your trope. Harvard doesn’t want the same story over and over. Don’t just do what people expect from you—explore different interests, genuinely. If you’re an athlete, show you’re more than that. If you’re a student of color, especially in an overrepresented group, show that you’re not just checking the expected boxes. Do things because you care about them. Also, practice tests matter more than just studying the material—you need to know how to take the test. And reach out to students in a similar situation if you can, they’ve been where you are before and their advice is valuable. Most of all, tell your story in a way that connects. Find the thread that ties everything you’ve done together and explain why it all makes sense for you.

A: Yeah, definitely. I didn’t even know I had to take the SAT subject tests until right before. That snuck up on me. I think that happens to a lot of people—there are all these hidden parts of the process you don’t know about unless someone tells you. I got lucky that I did well enough on those tests without a ton of prep. Also, I think one of the biggest challenges was breaking out of the stereotype of being an Asian athlete. People have expectations about what you’re supposed to be interested in, and I really wanted to push back against that and show my full range of interests. I also had to figure out the recruiting process on my own—going to the right camps, cold emailing coaches, building relationships over time. It was definitely a grind, and I think a lot of people underestimate how much of that you have to do yourself. Coaches aren’t always going to find you—you have to find them.