Youβre reading an excerpt of Admitted by Soundarya Balasubramani. Written by an Ivy League graduate from India, this is the proven guide for students worldwide looking to pursue undergraduate or graduate study abroad in the U.S., Canada, or Europe. Purchase for instant access to the guide and other exclusive resourcesβincluding sample SOPs, sample resumes, scholarship lists, and a private community with other readers.
βstoryβI came across a short letter I had written to myself after I received my first admit result. It was 12:52 a.m. on February 17, 2017, when I received an email from the Chemical Engineering departmentβs co-chair at MIT. It began with the all-too-familiar Iβm truly sorry to inform you. I remember crying silently into my pillow that night. The second blow came within a week on February 23, from HEC Paris, for their Masterβs in Management program. I had attended an interview for this program, which I thought went very well. I guess I was mistaken. And within the next two days, the third rejection came from Yale. In hindsight, I can see I had a next-to-impossible shot with the Yale Silver Scholars programβwhich is an accelerated MBA program for students to join right after their undergradβgiven my research background. Nevertheless, the blow hit hard back then. Yale was my dream university.