The Ivy Leagues are a group of eight prestigious colleges known for being extremely selective and historical. Out of the hundreds of thousands of students that apply to Ivy League schools, less than 10% get in. This year, Parkland has had multiple students who got accepted into Ivy League schools via Early Decision. The Trumpet was able to talk to two of these students: Rishab Yanala and Alexander Saccone. Yanala plans to major in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, while Saccone plans to major in Computer Science at Cornell University. 

“I applied ED to Penn because when I visited I liked the campus layout. The city location appealed to me because there were a lot of restaurants and things to do close by,” revealed Yanala (12). “Additionally, the biomedical engineering program is excellent at Penn so it was one of my top schools. Lastly, the extracurricular programs, particularly their outreach, interested me as there were plenty of opportunities to give back to the local community.”

Saccone (12) had similar reasons for applying ED to Cornell, citing “Good programs for my major, really nice campus, good opportunities for internships and such in NY, and good programs for getting experience before searching for opportunities on my own.”

Neither were expecting to get into their respective ED’s. “Honestly, my first reaction was shock,” reflects Yanala. “I wasn’t really expecting to get in. It took a week for it to sink in but, once it did I was ecstatic that I was getting to go to my dream college. I was also relieved that I didn’t have to write at least 10 more college essays over winter break and actually got to enjoy it.” Saccone expressed similar sentiments, revealing, “I was surprised so I screamed and jumped out of my chair.”

Both students gave advice for those yet to begin the college application process. “The advice I would give would be to follow your passions,” shared Yanala. “You don’t have to do every extracurricular, just be dedicated to the ones you enjoy the most. If you follow your passions genuinely, colleges will understand that and understand you better as a person. It will make you stand out as unique among other applicants.” Saccone offered additional wisdom, recommending to “get someone to read your essays, or multiple someones.”

While it may be extremely difficult to get into an Ivy League school, both students have proved that it is possible to achieve. The Trumpet wishes both the best in their future endeavors.

This article previously ran in the February print edition.