Sarahi Magdaleno got accepted into Harvard University with a full ride scholarship provided by the university. 

During November and December all seniors from APB started to apply to college. Sarahi Magdaleno was one of the few students from APB that decided to apply to Harvard University. 

Opting for early action, Sarahi positioned herself for potential scholarships and received her acceptance notification early in mid-December. To her surprise, Sarahi learned that she had not only been accepted to Harvard but had also been awarded a full-ride scholarship.

Achieving her acceptance at Harvard required Sarahi to complete 5 supplemental essays and 1 Common App Personal essay. According to Sarahi,the most challenging aspect of the application process was finalizing these essays. She had a clear vision of her story, but making it look professional proved to be the most challenging task. 

“Editing takes a lot of effort. For my personal statement, it took about 2 months to finalize and my supplements about a month” Sarahi said.

Despite the difficulties, Sarahi mom provided a lot of emotional support, helping Sarahi  persevere through the moments of uncertainty. 

When it came to writing Sarahi got help from the program “Minds Matter” which focuses on helping first-gen, low-income students achieve higher education. The program provided Sarahi with one writing coach who helped her review and edit her essays.

Sarahi chose Harvard for its Political Science program. Harvard, being one of the best institutions for Political Science, offers various opportunities for students to grow, including internships, professional collaborations, and scholarships.

The moment Sarahi found out about her acceptance she felt a mixed of emotions. Initially she didn’t believe the news, but after reading the congratulatory email she felt confident about her application. 

“I was hyperventilating. I honestly couldn’t believe it, I cried and laughed and screamed. It’s honestly such a rewarding feeling to know my hard work paid off.” Sarahi said. 

Moving to a whole new environment got Sarahi feeling scared, but excited. 

“I’m scared because I know the change from the school work at APB to Harvard is going to be drastic. I am also very comfortable with the environment and people at APB.” Sarahi said. 

Sarahi advises upcoming seniors to have the best essays possible. Anyone can have good grades, but your essays are unique. As long as you have a vision of what you want to write about you will be fine.