Introduction

Hello! I am Valeriia Kosse, part of the incoming freshman class of 2029 at Grinnell College. Originally from Ukraine, I’ve been living in Poland since 2019. There, I attended an IB school while completing a dual diploma online for an American High school through a WorldEd Foundation scholarship.

Why the US?

There were several reasons I wanted to study abroad. Firstly, from a young age, my family and I decided that Eastern European education wouldn’t be as high quality as offered elsewhere. Additionally, I liked studying English and wanted to attend an institution where the courses were taught at a high level, not as a second language. Therefore, I narrowed my choices down to the UK, Canada, the  US, and Ireland.  

Ultimately, I chose the US over the Netherlands, Canada, and other countries. Mainly, the education system in the US allowed me to do a double major, combining several degrees. For example, I wanted to pursue a STEM concentration while also including the humanities as an aspect, which was possible in the US. My interest in Artificial Intelligence and implementing it into the education system also made the US a desirable destination, due to its state-of-the-art environment. 

Why Grinnell?

After my results came out, I was accepted to Grinnell and waitlisted at UPenn and Columbia in the US, King’s College London, University of Edinburgh in the UK, University of Toronto, TU Delft, and Eindhoven University of Technology.  

In the end, I chose Grinnell mainly because:  

1. Liberal Arts Focus: I’ve always loved both the technical and human sides of education. Grinnell’s liberal arts approach lets me explore both, while not being forced into a strict “engineering” box. 

2. Faculty Relationships: The low student-to-faculty ratio was a huge plus. I wanted to study somewhere where professors could mentor and support me. Which a lot of larger universities don’t offer.  

Combining Interests: I’m fascinated by how tech and humanities intersect. I want to use technology for social good, especially in psychological and educational spaces, and Grinnell gives me the tools to do that, through combining psychology and computer science. 

My Stats

• GPA: 4.0 (7.0 on an IB scale), 3.92/4.0 in my dual U.S. diploma program 

• SAT: 1510 (2nd try, but 1470on first try) 

• TOEFL: 113 

• IB: Predicted 45/45 (HLs: CS, AA Math, English B; SLs: Physics, BM, Russian), Final: 43/45

My Extracurriculars

• MUN: I organized and served as Secretary-General of a conference with 100+ participants, supervising a 10-person team. 

• AI-Generated Music Research: I conducted research on how algorithm quality and dataset size affect the quality of AI-generated music and wrote a research paper on my findings.  

• Student Council: Participated all 4 years, president in my last year. 

• Web Design: Built websites for a dance studio and a local clinic. 

  

• Social Campaigns: Involved in “GIRLS FUTURE READY”, an initiative empowering young women.  

• Documentary Filmmaking: Created a documentary on the impacts of fast vs. slow fashion. 

• Volunteering: 300+ hours in educational camps. 

Awards

3rd Place in Immerse Education Essay Competition, Minister of Education Scholarship recipient

My Essays

My Common App essay centered around the idea of “connecting the dots”—how my experiences, challenges, and curiosity shape the way I view the world. I wrote about my journey moving from Ukraine to Poland, what I lost, and how I found new ways to connect with people, ideas, and technologies. 

In one section, I reflected on a trip to Brazil and how it challenged me, but also how those very difficulties helped shape the person I am today. I learned not to shy away from writing about what truly matters—even if it's personal or emotional. You need to let admissions officers see you, so I worked hard on making my essays vivid and human. 

For UPenn, I submitted a “thank you” note essay about a female founder I saw speak at a Girls Future Ready event and how her success inspired me to dream bigger.

Preparation 

I applied to over 20 schools and tried to structure and plan as much as possible.  

• August 2024: Began researching universities. 

• September–October: Started drafting essays for early schools like Stanford and the University of Miami. 

• November–December: Wrote essays for the rest (over 50 total!) 

January: Finalized and submitted. I recommend applying to as many universities as you can—especially if the application is free. But also start early, because I had to drop out of a few schools just due to time.

Helpful Resources

I mainly used two resources, Borderless and Limmy’s Essay checker. In fact, I actually found out about Grinnell through Borderless, which was really helpful in helping me apply to universities other than the famous “big names”. For the essays, I learnt a helpful tip which was that the essays should be “human”, meaning there should be natural descriptions. 

Cost and Financial Aid

From my CSS, Grinnell offered me 60,000 USD a year in financial aid, 3000 of which is from working on campus. In addition, I need to pay around 30,000 USD for housing, meal plans, and health insurance.

To my younger self