Hi! I’m Ells (my legal name is Elena if you wonder), and I live in Moscow, Russia. I’m turning 18 in a month. I got into an American university during my second gap year. However, I went through 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grades in two years instead of four. I studied in an ordinary public school without any IB, AP, A-Levels, but willingly amplified my workload by accelerating my studies timewise. My GPA is 5.0/5.0, Duolingo score is 120/160, and IELTS score is 7. I applied as test-optional.

Talking about myself on a personal level, I’d like to note that I’m all about photography and dance, and quite curious about politics and history. A special place in my heart is taken by language learning; I am fluent in 3 languages and quite good in 3 others. I’m keen on enjoying coffee with my friends and being active outdoors: hiking, and traveling. The majority of my life is devoted to animals: taking care of them is as natural to me as breathing. My mom and I founded an animal shelter in the Moscow Region. I believe that a lot of that impacted not only my admission but also who I am.

This year I got into Bates College with full financial aid. In August I’m flying away to study in the alma-mater of Robbert Kennedy in the state of Maine! The first city I’m going to see in the States is Boston. Bates College, #22/395 Liberal Art College according to Niche, is located in Lewiston, a quiet town. It graduated 5 awardees of the Pulitzer Prize. Bates’ acceptance letter is nearly 10%. Together with Colby College and Bowdoin College, it forms the Big Main Three, an athletic consortium.

My application journey

Initially, I planned to study in Estonia as I have Estonian roots, and, as my mom said, it is a wonderful country. It was the most logical and natural way for me to study abroad. Then Spanish came into my life, and I became interested in the idea of studying in Europe. However, finances were difficult, so I switched to the idea of studying in Slovakia. Eventually, I was admitted to the Animation & Graphics Department at a school in Bratislava. Yet, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and it became impossible to go to study there because of the lockdown. So I had nothing to do but go to the 10th grade (in Russia, we have 11 grades and can leave school after the 9th grade to go to a professional school and get professional secondary education instead of finishing high school) to study Physics and Mathematics.

While I was applying to Slovakia in January 2021, I met a girl who was applying to the US high school. She told me about universities, and it blew my mind. I also followed a few more bloggers talking about studying abroad. Since 2019, I have been following a girl from Moscow who studied at a high school in Maine. I recall contemplating her stories on Instagram. She shared yellow buses, and picturesque views, showing the places where Stephen King wrote his novels. I thought: “I must study in Maine”. My first acceptance letter happened to be in Maine. A year later, another blogger I followed got into an American university with a full scholarship. I thought: “Why not?”

Initially, I planned to study in Slovakia’s school, which would make my path to the US undergraduate degree easier. But it turns out, I made it without a Slovakian school.

People and communication appeared to be the main inspiration and motivation. It was interesting to look at them, and their example was the thing that pushed me toward action. All that time, my main stimulus to study abroad was the exploration of the world and the desire to experience democratic systems, meet other cultures, and think differently from those who spend their lives in one place.

No way back

I applied without any help or guidance during my first admission cycle. I intuitively filled out the CommonApp in the 11th grade. Eventually, I ended up getting into 7 universities. The first one was in Maine, University of New England. Nonetheless, it required $30k per year. Here is the list of the universities I was admitted to:

University of Tampa,

University of New England,

La Salle University,

University of Delaware,

Mercyhurst University,

North Central College.

The lowest price tag was offered by La Salle University; I applied for Criminal Justice there. If I had accepted the offer, I would have had to pay $15k per year. As an Early Action and Early Decision I applicant, I was deferred by Harvard University and the University of Chicago respectively. I was also waitlisted by Furman University and Reed College. Some universities blatantly stated that they liked my application but had to reject me as they were unable to meet my financial needs.

What helped me get into the process was that I was applying with my friends. We raved together about schools in Niche, looking for options, dreaming of dorms and student life. It was a childlike interest. But then it transformed into an inability to go back and live a familiar life... or even to change my trajectory. Once you think about it, once you're filled with that dream, you either go forward until you reach it, or you're left with nothing at all. That interest filled my life.

My friend Lina went to Hamilton College last year. Her example was a motivation for me. I thought I wanted to achieve something just as amazing, instead of feeling sorry for myself. Eva, who got into Union, also had a positive impact on me. It was the first time I saw someone get in at 3rd gap year and I felt hopeful, because before there weren't so many people getting in during 2nd, 3rd gap years.....

No regrets

To recap, my first attempt was in the 11th grade, and I got into seven universities, but I didn't receive enough financial aid at any of them. However, I had a supportive community and became more comfortable with my situation. At the same time, I was looking at every university on the Common App; I was trying to break things down, literally becoming an admissions encyclopedia. So I was shocked when my second attempt (already on the 1st gap year) was not successful. At that point, I reached the finals of the Presidential Scholarship at Lynn University and got on the waiting list of Connecticut College.

The third attempt happened during the second gap year. I entered with a sense of hopelessness, thinking, "Well, what can I do?" In October, I registered for the USE and reluctantly started looking for universities in Russia. I didn't want to stay without higher education.

And in winter, I received my first acceptance letter for Early Decision. With full financial aid.

Yes, I could feel that there are "better", more prestigious universities that I could have gotten into, let's say, Cornell, which would have looked better in society's view. But you can't regret what didn't happen. The Ivy League and similar big universities are not for everyone. Harvard, and UChicago, to which I was deferred two years earlier, are good places, but I wouldn't have settled there, so I didn't apply again. Nor Stanford. For all my love for that university... it's just not my thing.

Listening to others

My biggest mistake was not understanding what I wanted my application to convey about me. For example, my first Personal Statement was 1200 words, and I talked about my transition to an accelerated program, which was very unwise and did not reveal much about me as a person. In my Supplemental Essay for Yale, I wrote that I wanted to go there because the students told me about the atmosphere of equality... I don't want to comment on that.

On my second attempt, I pursued literature and supposedly interesting activities - summer schools, New York Academy of Science... Don't do that. My application was also about volunteering, but... what was that volunteering? What was it for? I didn't care.

This year, I finally incorporated animals, a very important part of my life and activities. Everyone around me was telling me to do it. Finally, I listened. It's very important to listen to those around you. Chances are, they won't advise you badly. You might not realize what characterizes you best and what makes you a unique person. You might only see it later in life, perhaps after 2 years of trial and error. So accepting help from more experienced friends in your community is not a bad thing and is not an indication of your inexperience or weakness.

Awareness and purpose

The best results came from working on the narrative and the quality of my application. It was important to me that my message would be fit for the American educational system and specific universities - so I looked for universities that I actually really liked.

The first time I applied to 38 universities - I recall it with horror. The second time I applied to 25-30. And the third time I applied to less than 20.

I advise you to select not only by courses and majors but also by the condition of the university, and its specific features. Location matters, no matter what anyone says. For example, there are many good universities in Texas, including some that give full financial aid, but I didn't want to study there, so I didn't consider any of them. I knew I fit Kenyon College academically and socially, but as someone who loves to eat, I couldn't consider it because of the bad food on campus. I also wouldn't have fit in at Sewanee University: I wouldn't have been comfortable with the location in the middle of nowhere, much less in the South (although this particular university was one of my top choices for a long time).

It's a very common mistake to try to fit 150,000 directions into your application. Take 2-3 directions and combine them, creating a unique combination that reflects your goals and actions. Many people try to artificially create the perfect Liberal Arts application, grabbing bits and pieces from everywhere, and end up with a heavy pile of meaningless activities, honors, and essays.

The message of the application makes a huge difference. Universities want to see mature, mindful students. In my second cycle of applying, I put Stanford Winter Workshop as my first activity, which, while a great program, had no impact on me. I chased everything for the application: NYAS, Stanford program, local distinguished projects, courses from Coursera (I literally collected certificates from there), thank-you letters from volunteer centers where I appeared 2-3 times in total. I still see Speaking Clubs and MUNs that rarely speak to the real interests of the applicant but are done for a check box. Naturally, there are no bad activities; but there are strategies for pursuing grand activities to cover up a bad part of the application.

Values fit

When I applied this year, I based my application on my knowledge from previous years. I weeded out universities that did not resonate with me emotionally. I contacted students from Russia. Initially, I was interested in Haverford College, and it was my dream school; I was attracted by the consortium and financial aid. But after not the most pleasant communication with a few students and a bad, lazy interview, I decided not to apply there for ED.

More often than not, attitudes toward colleges are built for small reasons. I decided to apply to Bates because a friend of mine recommended it to me: I looked it up, researched it, and liked it. I applied.

I ended up customizing my application to fit Bates' values. I spent a long time researching Bates, and building activities. I had a lot of activities from high school and the years after that, and I just had to choose the ones that would present me most effectively for Bates. But Bates' values resonated with mine enough that I was able to just be myself.

Bates was fundamentally founded on the principles of ethics, equity, respect, and inclusion, rejecting the concept of Greek Life and becoming the first co-educational college in the state. And Bates is also ranked 7th in the states for food quality and diversity, which is nothing short of amazing.

The essence of my application was helping and protecting those who cannot protect themselves. All of my activism, essays, and identity were girded around this principle. For example: animals, books, culture: everything that society neglects and can harm. All my life I've been trying to advocate, teach, and change. My application allowed me not only to talk about it and to fulfill my dream of attending college but also to realize that I made an impact.

My Personal Statement

My Personal Statement was about my main activity involving dogs; not just caring for them, but defending them in front of the authorities.

I wrote it quickly, the night before the deadline. While I'm proud of that speed, I don't recommend it to anyone. But the experience was really interesting.

The essay was about my contribution to the protection of homeless animals and pets in Russia at the legislative level. It was my dialogue with the state about how what they were doing, propagandizing, was wrong and soulless. Through my essay, I showed how I strived to shift society's attitude from consumerist to at least a little caring, and considerate. More human.