January 27, 2025

Nepal to Northeastern: Applications, Passion, and Growth

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Saaket from Nepal 🇳🇵

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Baby Steps

My name is Saaket, and I’m 17 years old. I'm doing my A-Levels at Ratobangala in Kathmandu, Nepal. I got into Northeastern University through Early Decision, and this is my story of how I did that.

My high school (Rato Bangala School) is one of the most, if not the most prestigious, high schools in all of Nepal. Having only a 20% acceptance rate, I feel like being part of something this prestigious has shaped me and my journey a lot. I was inspired seeing all my friends excel at so many things, I started doing community service, joining clubs, doing things I hadn’t even thought of before.

But I’d say my journey to college started around April 2024, around the end of 11th grade. My parents, who had been hell-bent on me staying in Nepal so far, were starting to get worried about Nepal’s degrading economy. So, around this time,, they approached me and told me they thought I should start looking into studying abroad, and that’s exactly what I did.

College App Process

I began researching colleges. This was the foundation of everything. If you’re starting out, I recommend focusing on college research before diving into essays. I did my essays last, and that’s what I’d recommend to anyone else, too. I say this because you never know what life-changing event happened to you over the summer break or what bit of information was revealed by your mother over a cup of tea. It might seem like a good decision to just write the essay and get it over with, but like I said, have patience.

To organize my thoughts, I created a self-assessment form. It took me four hours to fill out, but it covered everything about me: my interests, hobbies, fun facts, accomplishments, favorite foods, adjectives I’d use to describe myself, and even the biggest challenges I’d overcome. It might sound cheesy, but it was incredibly helpful.

I then used this self-assessment with ChatGPT. By feeding it my incomplete story ideas from the Notes app, I created the first drafts of my essays. While these drafts weren’t final, they gave me a structured starting point. By October, I had polished my essays and applications and was ready to submit them.

Extracurriculars

President, Rato Bangala Entrepreneurship Club - Largest School Entrepreneurship Club In Nepal.

  • Organized first highschool case competition (80+ candidates) in Nepal; taught financial literacy courses to 30+ students; held meetings & competitions.

Additional:

  • Worked with Mr.Sakhya (Founder of Tangent Waves) to help organize a financial literacy boot camp (startup spark) for government workers.

  • Organized Shark Tank (2024)

  • Coached four teams for Budhanilkantha Shark Tank. ( 2 teams placed in top 3)

Executive member, Mentor to 5 students, Progressive Leadership Alliance for Youth (PLAY).

  • Set up 4 stalls raising $2800; taught stem course for 8 weeks at community school; led mentees to set up an e-commerce platform for rohingya refugees.

  • Additional: Raised >$800; bought medicine, hospital beds, mattresses and first aid kits to Shree Krishna Community School. Helped a cancer patient with medication, treatment and transportation.

Sponsor recruiter & Core team member at Social Welfare Project - Student-Led Initiative For Community Development

  • Coordinated & carried out fund-raising events (~$3.3k) in collaboration with 6 donors & an engineer to build a 4-stalled toilet at a community school.

Founder/Web designer at EverythingEcon - a student-run economics & business website

  • Coded & founded a website covering levels business & econ topics; 500+ active users; article publishing features with 12+ articles by student authors

  • Additional : www.everythingecon.site

Researcher, Co-Author - Research Paper on Sunk Cost Fallacy - Under Mentorship by the Research Head at MIT College

  • Conducted 600 surveys; wrote a paper on the effects of sunk cost fallacy in Nepali politics; peer-reviewed by four professors; awaiting publication.

Financial Operations Shadow at DI SKIN Hospital & Referral Center - specialized dermatology hospital

  • Shadowed the director to look over finances; managed and calculated the daily cash flow; planned & executed strategies to boost customer satisfaction.

Co-chair, Logistics at Model United Nations

  • Competed in +10 Model UN, securing awards in 6. Chaired five conferences (250 total delegates); trained, organized, and chaired one at a community school

  • Additional:

    Wins:

    • Euro MUN 2022, Rato Bangala MUN - Special Mention

    • Euro MUN (2021), Sky MUN - Best Delegate

    • Rato MUN - Verbal Mention

    • SWS MUN - Outstanding Delegate

    Chairs:

    • Durbar High School MUN - Organizer / Co-Chair

    • Vice chair [ KPKS MUN ,Rato Bangala MUN, Swastishree MUN]

    House Captain; Event Coordinator at Euro School - International k-10 in Nepal

    • Led 130 students as a House captain for 2 years, leading to victories by +40 points. Fundraised (~$2000); organized/executed 8 major,15+ minor events.

    • Additional:

      • High-School Graduation (2022)

      • Euro Basketball Cup (2022,2023)

      • Euro Football Cup (2022,2023)

      • Euro Literature Fest (2022,2023)

      • Euro Investiture ceremony (2022)

Career-oriented at Stock trader/ analyst - (Self-Initiated), Stock trading - Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) 

  • Managed a $15,000 portfolio; analyzed trends, executed trades, optimized strategies, and conducted industry research for growth opportunities.

Bronze Medalist, Duke of Edinburgh Award

  • Undertook hiking & excursions (<100km); played as a libero for volleyball training; practiced various cuisines, mastering pastas and French soups.

Finding balance

Before I decided to study abroad, I pursued most of my extracurriculars out of pure passion. For example, my interests in Grade 11 drove me to take on multiple projects and activities I loved. However, once I decided to apply to U.S. colleges, I added two more significant pursuits: a research project and launching a website.

Balancing academics, extracurriculars, and the college application process was overwhelming at times. I felt like I was juggling three full-time jobs. I was so consumed by the process that my friends were upset with me for constantly talking about college. Reflecting on this, I realize how important it is to maintain balance and not let applications take over your social life entirely.

Still, every activity I pursued had genuine meaning for me. That’s my biggest piece of advice: focus on things you’re genuinely passionate about. Admissions officers can easily spot when someone is doing something just to pad their résumé.

Resources

Borderless was one of the most valuable resources I used during my journey. It helped me in so many ways:

College search tool: This introduced me to schools I hadn’t even heard of, including Northeastern, and led me to discover about 10 colleges I applied to in the Regular Decision round.

Extracurricular shaping tool: This tool was amazing for refining the titles and descriptions of my activities. I even used it to help four of my friends optimize their extracurricular profiles.

Supplement essay tool: This feature made tackling smaller essays easier by helping me turn concise 20-word answers into full-length responses.

Stories section: Reading about students who achieved their dreams gave me hope and motivation to keep pushing forward.

Beyond Borderless, I also relied on other creators and resources. Gohar Khan’s essay editing service, which I used for $75, helped me refine my essays significantly. The Ultimate Ivy League Guide was another authentic and helpful resource. Essay Cafe and Testninja also helped me significantly.

A close friend and I were also in a friendly competition throughout the process, pushing each other to do better. This camaraderie helped me stay motivated and focused.

Finances

The cost of applying to colleges is a concern for many students, but I managed to minimize expenses. The only fee I paid was $111 for the SAT, but I don’t count that as an application expense since some schools required it regardless.

For college applications, I researched fee waivers thoroughly. Northeastern waived the application fee for Early Decision students, Grinnell offered a waiver for international students applying before December 1, and Gettysburg didn’t charge any fees for international applicants. These schools also had their own financial statement forms, so I didn’t need to pay for the CSS profile.

My advice? Be proactive and reach out to colleges. Many are willing to provide fee waivers if you explain your financial situation clearly. It’s all about researching and asking.

Northeastern Campus
Northeastern Campus

Parting Advice

The college application process is challenging and stressful, but it’s also an opportunity for growth. For me, the hardest part wasn’t just the essays or research—it was balancing everything at once. Managing academics, extracurriculars, and my social life alongside applications was no small feat.

I also learned the importance of boundaries. My friends were frustrated with me because I couldn’t stop talking about colleges. If I could go back, I’d try to maintain a healthier balance between my goals and my relationships.

That said, don’t lose hope. Platforms like Borderless and creators like Gohar Khan can provide excellent guidance. Take it one step at a time, stay true to your passions, and remember why you’re doing this.

You’ve got this. Keep pushing forward, and when you finally hit “submit,” you’ll realize how much you’ve grown through the process.

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Saaket
from Nepal 🇳🇵

Duration of Study

Aug 2025 — May 2029

Bachelor

Business - Entrepreneurship

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Northeastern University

Northeastern University

Boston, US🇺🇸

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Rose from India 🇮🇳

10th grader from India.

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