Gabrielle Chong Yong Wei - Wellesley

Gabrielle definitely has a very motivating experience to share. She has managed to work very hard (not through short cut, but a lot a lot of hard work), to get herself from where she were, to where she is, and I have no doubt that she would go far in her life.

Do read her sharing. It is quoted from here .

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To be honest, I am very hesitant to release my actual results in the US university applications after failing what I think were very high expectations too many friends had of me. But I also suppose that real life experiences, the good, bad and ugly, offer a clearer glimpse into the real world of university applications than the usual vague comparisons of past year applicants, hearsay as well as over-optimistic advice and recommendations.

Hence this post, written for my juniors and future Malaysian applicants.

CURRENT SITUATION

Brief background description:

I come from a working-class family. I grew up in Ipoh, and studied in SRJK and SMJK Ave Maria Convent. Both my parents attained secondary school education. No one in my entire extended family excelled academically. Both my parents do not earn enough to pay income tax. Both my elder sisters studied diploma programs at Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (KTAR) after completing SPM.

I knew that going to a local university or college would be the safest and cheapest route for me and my family, as there was absolutely no way that my parents could afford to send me to a foreign university. But at the same time, I also wanted something better than what my sisters had, so I took a gamble: I asked my parents to give me the chance to pursue Cambridge A Level. Apart from having the opportunity to study in a more internationally-renowned pre-university course, I knew that interaction with the middle and upper class crowd in Taylor’s and Klang Valley would give me the cultural capital that I was lacking in. My parents gave me full support, and sent me to Taylor’s University College Subang Jaya, even though it took a huge chunk out of their savings.

My plans for tertiary education were a simple: I would try to get admitted into one of the top US schools with full or nearly full financial aid. Should I have failed this course, I would have taken a 100% loan, study at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and sell my soul to the island.

In 2008, I applied to the following US schools:
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Middlebury, Smith, Macalester (11)

Reasons for applying to these schools:

My dream school is Harvard, even though generally, I have a slight preference for small liberal arts colleges over huge private universities because I think thrive in small, close-knitted communities. Overall, I applied to schools that are traditionally strong in the humanities and social sciences, because I wanted to major in these fields.

Apart from Harvard, I applied to Yale and Princeton, because of their obvious advantages in resources and international reputation; to Columbia, because of its unique compulsory classes on Greek and Western philosophy; to Dartmouth, because of its focus on undergraduate education; to Williams, Amherst, Wellesley and Middlebury, for their reputation as excellent liberal arts colleges; and to Smith and Macalester, as ‘safety schools’.

My order of preference was:
1 Harvard
2 Princeton
2 Yale
4 Williams
4 Wellesley
6 Columbia
7 Amherst
8 Middlebury
9 Dartmouth
10 Macalester
11 Smith

In 2009, I got my results:
Harvard — rejected
Princeton — rejected
Yale — rejected
Columbia — waitlisted
Dartmouth — waitlisted
Williams — waitlisted
Amherst — rejected
Wellesley — accepted
Middlebury — waitlisted
Smith — rejected
Macalester - rejected

My decision:
I have decided to take myself out of all four waitlists and attend Wellesley, for its 1) illustrious history of producing prominent women leaders (go Hilary Clinton!) 2) strength in the political science, government and international relations departments 3) proximity to Boston and opportunities for students to take classes at Harvard, MIT, Babson, and other colleges 4) liberal environment and gung-ho activist community 5) emphasis on cultural diversity and 6) suburban environment and huge, beautiful campus.

PERSONAL PROFILE

SAT Reasoning Test scores:

1st attempt: CR 680, MT 700, WR 600 (the first time I took my SAT test, I had absolutely no idea what the format was like)
2nd attempt: CR 730, MT 780, WR 720

SAT Subject Test scores:
World History 750, US History 660, Mathematics I 720

Cambridge A Level results:
Law B
Economics B
Mathematics C (okay I will admit that I did not do a single page of math homework or math practice outside the exam hall during my last 12 months in Taylor’s)
Sociology A

Weaknesses:
– Dismal Cambridge A Level results.
– Mediocre SAT results.
– I requested for close to 95% in financial aid from every school I applied to.
– Not a single conventional leadership position in extra co-curricular activities.
– Lack of cultural capital (studied in government school, family knew little about tertiary education opportunities).
– Not a single outstanding achievement or extraordinary talent.
– No internet access at home (I completed my university application by either stealing my neighbour’s insecure wireless or going to the internet café).
– Procrastination (I wrote about 15 essays in the last five days before the application deadline for all schools).

Strengths:
– Unique life experiences (good resource for writing and self-introduction during interviews).
– Well-read and a very strong grasp on general knowledge.
– Unconventional co-curricular achievements e.g. LGBT activism (founding an LGBT rights website, winning a human rights public speaking competition with a speech on gay rights and outing myself in public), working for the alternative media (Malaysiakini), minor awards for creative writing, strong activism and community service track record, founding a book project, a string of unconventional hobbies and interests (comic drawing and Muay Thai, anyone?) etc.
– Personal, articulate recommendation letters (okay I will admit that I wrote all of them myself, but that was only because my teachers did not know me very well)
– Good essays (according to my peer reviewers anyway).
– Good communication skills (for interviews, personal opinion).
– Abundant working experiences
– Unconditional support from my family (my parents are hopping in joy over my admission into Wellesley, even though they have no idea where the hell it is!).
– Genuine passion for, and sincerity in, everything I pursue.

Common Application Essay:
(The essay was written on December 30, 2008, the night before the application deadline. I realized that many lines in the essay sound trite, but they were honest words.)

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - Dumbledore

As I went through my application, I realized that everything else I submitted were relics of my past. Recommendation letters that were already signed, sealed and delivered, disclosing stories about the person that I was. A resume detailing the endeavours undertaken during a teenage hood to which I will be bidding farewell. Test scores that, whether superb, mediocre or downright abysmal, I can never change again. But the past tells you very little of what a person can achieve in the future; it only tells you where that person has travelled and where that person is standing right now, but nothing about that person’s destination. And so, I want to tell you about my dreams and passions, for dreams are what drive me forward and passion is what determines how far I will go.

As a kindergartener, I would flip through the newspaper, look at photos of rotund businessmen, emaciated famine victims, dignified politicians and weary rioters, and then ponder on end for hours on why some people lead lives so vastly different from mine. At 11, I wrote my first letter to a newspaper about a problem in my neighbourhood (it is, to my knowledge, the only letter ever printed in a local newspaper in its original, big, oafish handwriting). At 15, I bombarded my favourite teacher with a 9-page letter filled with questions on ethics and religion (my teacher was astonished, but from then onwards, she would chat with me whenever she was free to mentor me on lessons beyond the classroom). I cannot remember how I became so fascinated by society at such a young age in a household where socioeconomic and political issues were never a staple of dinner conversations. Perhaps it was sheer curiosity. All I do know is that the same questions that intrigued me as a child have continued to haunt the depths of my conscience until this very day: Why do inequality, war, poverty, crime, and oppression occur? How should we solve them? And what can I do?

This is my greatest dream of all: to join the ranks of millions of journalists, educationists, political activists, writers, artists, social workers and other unsung heroes who serve with dedication everyday in, to borrow an oft-quoted phrase, making the world a better place for all of us. I do not have a specific ambition in mind yet, but whichever vocation serendipity will eventually lead me to, I will serve with earnest passion, I will walk the extra miles and I will exhaust all I have to make lasting, meaningful contributions to society. There are so many causes that I wish to champion: democracy, human rights, economic equity, a minimum standard of living for all etc. I cannot name them all. But underlying my passions for all of them is the same ideal: peace, justice and equality for all men and women.

But to achieve all that I aspire, I need a little place to stand on so I can move the world. A little platform called education. Education that will equip me with the knowledge and inspiration to fight ignorance and indifference. Education that will place me at the crossroads of the world, so that I can look far into the path ahead and prepare myself for what the journey will take. And so, as I pursue that precious opportunity for education, I hope that I will be judged, more than anything else, on not only what I have done, but also what I can do.

Scholarships:
None. I have been rejected in every scholarship that I have ever applied for. I did not attend the United World College (UWC) interview in 2007 because I knew that my parents could not afford the remaining expenses even I succeeded in getting a partial scholarship. I am currently vying for the MACEE study grant to foot my remaining expenses to study at Wellesley.

Some advice for future applicants:

1. Do not dismiss or look down on the smaller or less prestigious schools. If you have decided to enter any of these schools, make sure that you leave the school a better and improved one. ‘Prestigious universities’ are what they are today only because they have enjoyed economies of scale amassed over a long period of time. It is not the school that makes the students, but the students that make the school.

2. If you come from a socioeconomic background similar to mine, do not whine or complain about it. Just make sure you work ten times harder than I did and you will get somewhere.

3. Regardless of what you get in the end, do not forget to thank those who have helped and supported you, and do not forget to give back.

4. At the end of the day, education is what you make of it.

CONCLUSION
In hindsight, I am glad that I took the gamble in attending Taylor’s. I am also thrilled that I succeeded in making it to the United States against the odds. For future applicants who are disappointed with their academic performances, I hope you take assurance from my personal experience that the lack of straight A’s can always be compensated by countless other strengths.

I am also infinitely thankful for unwavering support and faith from my family and close friends.

I received my letter from Wellesley this afternoon. I asked for 95% in financial aid, but they are giving me 98%.

Come this September, I will be stepping onto an airplane for the first time in my life.

And when I graduated in four years time, it will be my father’s turn.

Chong Yong Wei, Gabrielle
April 3, 2009
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