Isabelle from NYU

Isabelle shares her college application process that got her into NYU and her college experience.

Transcription

Kamila
Hey, college kids, welcome back to my podcast, who cares about college? On today’s episode, I’ll be interviewing Isabel. So if you could introduce yourself.

Isabel
Hi. My name is obviously Isabel, I live in New York, and I go to NYU. I’m majoring in computer science, and I’m a rising senior.

Kamila
Okay, so very, like before we even get into high school, I guess how was education viewed in your family? What were the expectations for you in terms of going into high school and then going to higher education ecology University.

Isabel
Um, so it’s, it’s really interesting for me, because I feel like so my mother is Croatian, my father’s Turkish. So I’m a first generation American, they both immigrated here in their late 20s. I think there’s this sort of pressure from first generation children to succeed and perform. But interestingly enough, my parents were very supportive about my own interest. Obviously, they wanted me to sort of lean towards stem because they’re both doctors. But they never sort of externally put the pressure on me, it was always very internal, because of where I grew up. So and especially because of the rest of my friends, I was always in like a very academically focused friend group. So I always had really big expectations, too. I mean, get into a top school do really well in high school, very little distractions. It whether or not all of my plans, like happened, exactly how I wanted them to. That’s not exactly true. But um, you know, it’s a process, right?

Kamila
And let’s talk about the, I guess, demographics, or the type of high school you went to tell me, was it a private school? Is it a public school? And then can you also add how many like AP classes IB classes, like, how many students were really striving to get into these top schools? So what was your school like in terms of higher education?

Isabel
My high school, I went to my high school, my high school is a public school. But the overall school culture is very focused on getting kids into, like, top schools, Ivy League schools, there’s a lot of like big test prep culture, the pressure is on basically everyone. So it’s, yeah, it was it was a very high intensity environment.

Kamila
And can you tell me going into high school? Did you have a set plan on what you wanted to do at least academically? Did you know that? Okay, yeah, by the end of senior year, when I’m applying for college, I’ll have this many APS, I’ll have this many IBS.

Isabel
So when I first went into college, I honestly had no idea what I was doing, because my parents had no idea what I was doing. I’m the, like, the oldest child in my family. So I never really had a plan. I just remember like going through Reddit when I was 14, and just trying to figure everything out by myself. Yeah.

Kamila
So going through high school, and then up until the end, let’s talk about like the APS and grades and such. So by the end of high school, how many APS or IVs, or honors classes did you take?

Isabel
I was always just like taking as many honors as I possibly could whether or not that was good for my mental health. And I ended up taking around seven or eight EPs in the end. Yeah.

Kamila
And did you take the test for those as well? Yeah, I took the tests. And what was your average score on those tests?

Isabel
Probably like a four. I mean, AP Latin is like notoriously impossible. And I got a three on it. And I was super happy about that. Yeah, and

Isabel
that’s a thing.

Isabel
I took Latin for seven years in high school. And I can I can, I can read it. I can’t speak it, but the test was actually impossible. Like, you have to memorize sections of like Catellus and the Aeneid. And I did, I was just too lazy to do that. And senior I just didn’t. And I like wrote like random things in the margins. So

Kamila
wow, okay. Okay. And then what about your GPA both unweighted and weighted? What did you submit to the colleges?

Isabel
My weighted GPA was around a 4.0 to two, and my unweighted GPA was like a three point like nine something. Yeah. But I guess, like, it’s, it was like 100 100. And, like 100.0, like, I think was 100.4, actually. And then my unweighted was 90. was a 99. Just flat. Yeah.

Kamila
So your school did the 100% scale?

Isabel
Yeah, they did. Like both, they gave you both. So that’s why I’m like trying to remember it was something around that, you know. Okay.

Kamila
And now, actually, I want to say, discuss one thing before we get into si t AC T. Did you have an idea of like going through high school? Did you know what you wanted to do? Like at all? Did you have any idea like, oh, I want to go into this? Regardless of the expectations put on you? Did you have an idea of what you wanted to do?

Isabel
Uh, no, I in high school, and like middle school, like for it when I’ve, as long as I’ve been alive, like, I’ve actually genuinely love to learn. So I would like watch like NOVA documentaries on like, like aliens and astrophysics, I really went down this like conspiracy theory hole about space. And so when I was like, 12, or 13, I decided, Okay, I’m going to be an astrophysicist. So I actually, that was actually the only plan I had in high school was to reconfigure my whole entire schedule. So I could take AP Physics in my junior year, because it’s only offered in senior year. But I was like, No, I’m going to take into my junior year. And then I’m going to get really good grades, I’m going to submit them to this weird program in Nevada. And then I’m going to go to like, where they have the telescopes, and like these weird NASA programs for high schoolers, and, and then I’m going to be an astrophysicist. But in terms of like, what I actually should have been focusing on and what I was spending so much time on was reading, I think that like storytelling, art, and I know I’m a computer science major, but like to that later. What have always been like, actual passions of mine music, especially I was in musical theater for a very long time. And I think that like subconsciously, that was what I was thinking of, but based on the like, the examples that I had growing up, and then also just like that weird niche interest in astronomy, I was like, really pushing for stem so hard.

Kamila
Yeah. Definitely gets your astrophysicist plans a little bit later. But let’s quickly go through sad ACC. So as at same thing with the grades. Can you walk me through when you started? What preparations you did for either the SCT or AC t? And then what did your score end up being?

Isabel
Okay. So I’m, I’m a naturally really lazy person. My parent, my mom had to force me to do LSAT prep. I’m actually really lazy, like, I mean, not exaggerating. And every single time I hated meeting with the guy who would like to give me test practice questions, I wouldn’t do them. I’m like, I’m being 100%. Honest. So I took it twice. And somehow, like, miraculously, I ended up getting a 1520. Yeah. With no more. Yeah.

Kamila
Yeah. Okay. And with the schools that you did end up applying to was a 1520. A good score, like it put you at a safe spot?

Isabel
Yeah, I think it put me at a safe spot. Um, yeah. I don’t know. I don’t, I don’t really, um, I remember there being so much discourse about what was like a good grade. And I remember being so stressed out about having to get above a 1500. Because if you were in the 1400s, like with a 1490, schools would just like take your application and throw it in like the reject pile. So I don’t think that’s how it works. But like, that’s just how I thought.

Kamila
Okay, so now on to the more fun stuff, the more fun stuff of the application, which is extracurriculars. First, let’s talk about your plans with astronomy being an astrophysicist. So, you know, what extracurriculars did you do related to that and what ended up happening there?

Isabel
Okay, so I had plans. Okay, so I live in New York. And at Columbia University, there was this thing called like the high school students, I signed the Honors Program, and you have to take like this for our tests in order to get in. And I was just like, determined because I just wanted to go to Nevada really badly. Or I think it was Arizona. Um, actually, so I took it like, two years in a row and I got in in the second year, because I like didn’t know how to do math when I was 15. I’d still don’t put. Um, so yeah, it was I think God, the science like section saved me and I was able to get in and I took a bunch of courses on, like space astronomy, I think I took a neuroscience class for fun as well. But they have all these, I guess, really cool offerings.

Kamila
Is this Columbia University of Columbia University. Yeah. What is the program called?

Isabel
It’s called the Science honors program at Columbia, the shp. So if anyone’s interested, definitely go to apply. The teachers are really cool. And yeah, if you’re like in the area,

Kamila
that’s interesting, and taking classes there at that. I guess, it’s not a subunit of Columbia. But you know, it’s Columbia University. Did that. Would that do anything? If you did apply to Columbia? Would that give you any advantage in the process? I’m just curious about that.

Isabel
I have no idea. I hoped it did. I mean, my top school at the time was Columbia University. And I was like, itching I was so hungry to go there. So I really hoped that it would help me I don’t think it did in the end, because I got rejected, which is fine. But additionally, on top of that, I, I was in musical theater. Like, for doing everything except for like, just straight acting, because I think I just had really bad stage fright. And if I wasn’t singing, then I was like, okay, feel awkward on stage or something. But yeah, and I was also like, directing a couple, like, shows as a senior for incoming freshmen and sophomores already. Um, and yeah, I was on. I also did varsity rugby as well by my forgetting map. So those were the main activities that I did. Yeah.

Kamila
You have rugby in America?

Isabel
Yeah, they have a rugby team. That right High School. Super fun.

Kamila
Okay, so let’s get to rugby a little bit. Let’s go go to musical theater first. And you said that you committed a lot of time to theater, you spent like years and years on it. So can you tell me like where you started off with theater when you started off? And then, like, I guess what was your role throughout high school with theater? What are the different responsibilities you had? Yeah,

Isabel
sure. Um, so I, I’ve always had like, horrible stage fright. And I was just really tired of having it. So I was just like, Okay, I’m effet. I’m just gonna, like do a show. So this was when I was like, 11 or 12. I was like, meta conscious about it. And so they were I was the theater actually first started at was in Maine, where Estelle lives. micelle is one of my best friends. And she was interviewed earlier, like in another podcast, but anyway, they were doing a Musical for Dora the Explorer. And I got cast as the head pirate piggy, and that was like, the best moment of my entire life. Especially since I like messed up the audition and almost started to cry. But you know, life turns out, okay, sometimes. And ever since then, I just, I was in like, I guess I was in Cinderella. I was in fame. The musical. I was in Shrek the Musical twice. I was in anything goes. I was in Legally Blonde. I was Fiddler on the Roof. A couple others? I can’t remember. But yeah.

Isabel
Did you act in all of those? Like,

Isabel
I asked you? Yeah, it was I was on stage.

Kamila
Wow. Okay. Oh, did you do this for? Um, since you were 11?

Isabel
Yeah, since I was 11. I think.

Kamila
Any other responsibilities? Like, were you ever backstage doing stuff as well?

Isabel
Yeah, um, for some of the actual like, just straight up acting like the plays, I didn’t want to do them. And I kind of regret it now. So stupid on me. But I was a stage group for those. Um, yeah, that that was basically it. I always did it through the school. I never reached out there like any private organization. I just sort of liked the more like the community that I was familiar with. I feel like when you go to theater to like a private place, things get really dramatic.

Kamila
So and then you said senior year that you also helped with freshmen coming in to help them with some plays. So can you explain what you did there as well?

Isabel
Sure. Um, so we have this program called senior scenes. And basically when you’re a senior, you can pick a script a play, I think you can even write one yourself if you want. And you cast seniors at no cost to seniors? No, you cast freshmen and sophomores just because they don’t have as many opportunities to get bigger roles because there’s usually go to the juniors and the seniors. Like, regardless of talent, which is, you know, whatever,

Isabel
and I just topic for another time,

Isabel
another topic for another time. But, you know, we want everyone to get as much experience as they want and they deserve So we cast the younger people into these roles, and then we direct the scenes and we perform like they perform them. You know, for an audience, which is super cool.

Kamila
Wow. Okay, so is that kind of everything related to theater?

Isabel
Yeah, that that’s everything related to theater.

Kamila
Okay, and now let’s go on to rugby. Can you explain for the people who are watching because I’m sure they’re mostly Americans, what is rugby?

Isabel
Rugby is like better football, okay. You basically have a ball that looks like a like a football except it’s longer and wider. And you have to get the ball from one end of the field to the other end of the field, just like with football, except in order for it to count as a goal, you have to touch it on the ground. And you can like lift people up to, like, throw the ball back. And when it goes out. It’s a very popular European game. And if you haven’t heard of it, and you like watching football, you should try watching rugby because it’s better.

Kamila
And what can you tell me? When did you start rugby? And then you said you were varsity. So, you know, when did you become varsity? And were you ever like kept in or had any other roles?

Isabel
Uh, sure. So never Captain never wanted to be captain didn’t want that kind of leadership role. But I joined when I was in my junior year because I wanted something to do. And I don’t know, I was like, pressured into it by some friends. I was like, okay, whatever. So I it’s super fun. I’m so glad I did it. So yeah, varsity. It’s really interesting, because so few people were on the rugby team, you just became varsity as soon as you like, join. Like, there was no, there was no like stress about it. So I mean, that was a positive, I guess just because you have an extra thing to put on your resume, which stupid but whatever. It’s like, I guess how the system works can really break it. Yeah. And towards the end of it, I like put a lot of effort into it, I really, really started to love it. And we started after my junior year, it was more of like a rebuilding year because a bunch of the really good seniors left and we were all terrible. But then our senior year, we got better. And at the end of it, we ended up like winning a couple of like tournament games. And like I said, I think I put I put a lot of effort into it. And finally, like, I don’t know, at the end, we usually have like team dinners at the end to celebrate. They gave me like a like, I don’t know, like the what is it called, but it’s like a like role model teammate trophy, which is like, the highlight of my life up until now. So yeah, that’s basically it was like a little, you know, like a participation thing. But I’m so happy.

Kamila
Good job. Congratulations on that. Thank you. So any other extracurriculars that you want to mention as well?

Isabel
Yeah, a couple of like clubs that I just did, because I felt like I had to I was in the JSA, which is Junior States of America for a little bit. And it’s kind of like, like Debate Club, and you go places. I was on the ski team for a little bit of time. I was seriously seriously considering moving to Killington, Vermont, to pursue skiing, like full time, forget academics, just like try and get to like, Olympic level. But then I got two concussions, and that was not going to happen anymore. And then, like, why are you playing rugby? I don’t know. I like to live on the edge. Okay. I’m sure that there were others that just like weren’t important to me, so I’m forgetting them. But yeah.

Kamila
Whoo. Can you explain this professional skier? Where did that one come from?

Isabel
Okay, so I’ve been skiing since I was like two or three years old. Um, both of my parents put me into classes super young. When I was in seventh grade, I wanted to like I was really, really into it. So we have this mountain nearby like 45 minutes away called Thunder Ridge and I joined the ski team there and I we got chased by a llama down a mountain once that was fun, fun. Live in the mountains in America. Yes, there’s just one farm that was at the top of the mountain and it got loose and it chased us all the way down during dry season in October. Great story. Yeah, so I continued up until ninth grade, but then during one this is like i This is honestly the stupidest decision I’ve ever made in my life. But it’s between between races during one competition. We were just like doing something fun, like just recreational skiing. I decided to do a jump and I like, I don’t know, like a 360 kind of thing. I ended up like going really, really fast. I should have been able to control myself but I didn’t because I want it like I just wanted to, like prove that I could do this trick. But I ended up falling getting my ski caught and my helmet hit the ground so hard. I’m pretty sure like my brain hit the sides of like my, the my skull or something. I blacked out. I woke up did not know where I was. They took me down. And I like vs. Whatever test they gave me because I just I remembered that I like I after like a couple minutes, I remembered that I have to ski and they were like, it’s fine. They will they still told me not to ski but I told them I was fine. And I ended up skiing. But I got last obviously because I literally hit a pole in the middle while I was skiing down the mountain like two stupid decisions. And that I just had to pull out of you know, that particular dream just because I didn’t want to hurt my head anymore. Yeah. Was that that was a concussion, right? That was the concussion? Yeah, it was a really bad concussion.

Kamila
So you stopped after ninth grade?

Isabel
Yeah, I stopped after ninth grade. Yeah, it was tragic.

Kamila
Where do you think you would be if that had not happened with skiing?

Isabel
If I if I decided to move to Killington, Vermont, I, I mean, I honestly have no idea. Maybe I would have been like, continually lazy like I am normally. Maybe it would have gotten anywhere. Honestly, that’s probably what would have happened. But I mean, maybe I would have gotten you know, to go to like bigger competitions, nationals really hone in on to that craft. My dream was like one of them, along with being an astrophysicist at that time was to like go to the Olympics. But I’m honestly glad it didn’t pan out just because I’m lazy.

Kamila
You have such great stories from high school, my God. Okay, so let’s go on to colleges. Now. When did you start thinking about like, not just, oh, we have to go through like essays and stuff. Let’s quickly go through essays. So with your common app essay, you apply coming up for most? And what is your write your main essay about the 600 650? Word one,

Isabel
I wrote it foes between two I was between, I guess, just talking about my own background and my parents background, and I guess like growing up as a first generation American. And then I also was between talking about the aftermath of, I guess, one of my friend suicide attempts and how I dealt with that the music and like everything that I did, and how I plan to do that in the future. And like Bridget was, yeah, wanted to talk about being a first generation like American in a very homogeneous town. Especially, you know, my dad is Turkish, my mom was Croatian, they both like have accents. I was always like, very self conscious about my hair growing up. So here’s

Isabel
beautiful, I was pretty you see so much.

Isabel
But I sort of wanted to not talk about that, because I didn’t want to like, give that narrative any power. So yeah, I just like chose not to write about that. I don’t know if that would have been a good essay topic, either. But I’m, like, I landed on this one. So.

Kamila
And with college essays, like it’s really stressful, because you don’t know what the admissions officer wants. But did you ever think like, it’s a very sensitive topic? Did you ever think I don’t want to be like, too emotional? Or did you say like, Oh, what if they don’t find this funny enough? Or something like that? Did that ever run through your mind when writing an essay? When writing an essay,

Isabel
when the only thing that stressed me out the most about? Like the thing that stressed me out the most about applying to college was this essay? Because I don’t know, I feel like so many kids have this expectation that they need to be things to have like crazy stories, or they need to really hit hard. Like, they need to be funny. They need to be everything at once. I really felt like that. And I just thought, Okay, what’s the best way that I can like really create an emotional impact? And I think that that’s why I landed on this, this one just because I wanted to be able to move the college admissions officers so that maybe they cared about me enough that they wanted to consider me.

Kamila
Yeah. And I think one more I guess, part of your application, we have to move on to the actual colleges, his recommendation letters, so you can give a quick, I guess, splurge on recommendation letters. Where did you get them from? And then I’ve come across this new thing. It’s called a brag sheet like you write what you want your teachers to put in that recommendation letter. So did you do anything like that when asking for a recommendation letter?

Isabel
No. I just like okay, I took AP Lang in high school and there’s this one teacher, he was so hard on me. He I have always been someone who like likes to share my opinions in class. Very, very ungracefully and he was also he was always really really hard on me for that. But he like, improved my writing so, so much. And at the end, we like he became one of my favorite teachers. I just asked him and he was like, Sure. Then I asked my Latin teacher because I had him forever. And I’m pretty sure I asked my math teacher as well. And that was it. Yeah.

Kamila
So let’s move on to colleges. Now, when did you start thinking about? Yes, you have your college application. But when did you start thinking about which specific schools you wanted to apply to? Whether that’s, you know, going on walking tours, or doing some online research? When did you start that search for the colleges that you wanted to apply to?

Isabel
Yeah, so my mom and I, we made like a giant spreadsheet of all the colleges that we were considering, and we color coded it. After, like, we both figured out what we were doing, because when I was a freshman, we did not so this was like, sophomore, like, I was a rising junior, we started talking colleges, then it was the whole entire process was really lacks in my house. But at the same time, it wasn’t. So yeah, we visited mostly Ivy League schools. And we, I think, yeah, that was basically it. I also think that because they don’t really understand the American college application process. And they grew up in places where everything was very, just like test score based. They were it they thought that like getting into an Ivy League school would be something where you just have to have the right grades, and they’ll accept you because that’s how it is, I guess, in Europe and, you know, learned it the hard way. That’s not how it is. But that’s okay.

Kamila
So in the end, which schools did you apply to? And can you categorize them into more safeties, targets and reaches?

Isabel
So I applied to Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, Yale. Dartmouth Brown, did not apply to Princeton, because I didn’t like orange. I also didn’t think I’d have a good chance of getting in. Um, yeah. And then I applied to NYU, I applied to Tufts, I’m pretty sure I applied to Brandeis. I applied to MIT for fun, but I didn’t really want to go or think I was gonna get in. I’m not that I thought it was gonna get into any Ivy League schools just want to preface that Ivy League schools are crapshoot, like I really didn’t think I was like, anyway, I also applied to, um, I think I applied to SUNY bang. And then I applied to I don’t know, a couple other, like a couple other state schools as safeties. Yeah.

Kamila
And then which scores did you get accepted, I guess waitlisted and then either rejected or accepted and then rejected from.

Isabel
So I got rejected from every single one. I got accepted into Boston University. That was also when I applied to him. I got accepted to NYU, I got waitlisted at U Chicago, which I also applied to, I got wait listed at Harvard, and I got wait listed at Cornell, but then eventually rejected from those three. Yeah.

Kamila
Okay. And then I have, okay, so you got into Boston University and NYU. And then did you get into your state schools as well?

Isabel
No, I got rejected from all the other schools

Kamila
you got into NYU, but you got rejected from your state schools? Yeah. That’s interesting that okay, and was money an issue for you, when you were thinking about which schools that you would like, of the schools that you got accepted into? Was money ever an issue for you? Or were you fine with? I guess, financial.

Isabel
I was fine. I wasn’t really worried about it. Just because my parents were, I guess they’ve been the I guess they’ve been saving up since I was like, before I was born. Also, to go back. I think this the schools I applied to were like in the UC system. So that’s why they were like, like hard state schools to get into, you know what I mean?

Kamila
Okay, okay. Okay. And then between Boston University and NYU, why did you choose NYU?

Isabel
Um, I, so I got in conditionally to NYU, where I have to go and be in the Liberal Studies program. And they would send me off to like London for a year. Yeah, so that’s where my first year was in London. I didn’t really want to go to Boston University just because I didn’t like the dorms there.

Isabel
What it came down to

Isabel
really came down to that I also just, it actually really came down to that because when I went to Boston University after I got accepted when they have those like, oh my god, welcome. We accepted you, haha, like, let’s all like brag about ourselves type of thing, which like, I hate, but whatever. There was this really, really, really cool Russian professor who was talking about like language evolution, and that was cooler than anything NYU had ever done. But then he was like, we’re gonna send you to London. And I was like, Alright, I guess I’ll just gonna go to London.

Kamila
And then you decided to go to NYU. Okay. So we’ve gone through your college application process now. Me You’re in NYU, and we’re going to go into colleges. experience. So you said NYU accepted you on the condition that you would spend your first year of college in London? Can you explain why that is? And? Yeah, like why that is and what you did in London for one whole year.

Isabel
Mm hmm. Um, so NYU likes, I think that they want to admit as many students as possible. When you are applying to NYU, they give you the option to, I guess, select your first choice, like sub School, which was the College of Arts and Sciences for me. But then they also have this like, sneaky little option, which is like, if you don’t get accepted into this, then would you like to be considered for our Liberal Studies or global Liberal Studies program? And me not knowing what that was? I just like checked in. I was like, Okay, I don’t even think about it. So yeah, basically, it’s a it’s like, an offset of the CS program. And you have to take a specific set of courses that are very, they’re fun and liberal, artsy. And they send you to like, a country or one of their abroad campuses, and you just have your first year there. So

Kamila
is it like completely funded by NYU? Are there dorms there that you guys stay at? Mm hmm.

Isabel
Yeah, they have a whole set of dorms, like multiple dorms in London, actually, I think it’s one of their biggest abroad campuses. And they have like, their own academic center as well with their own professors that they like outsource from other surrounding schools as well. Which is super cool. Yeah.

Kamila
Well, tell us about London. Like, I typically ask about, you know, the city or the place that your college is that where you spend your first year in London. So tell us about London? Is it as pretty as people say it is? Is it worth the visit? How was your experience there?

Isabel
It’s as cloudy as people say, um, for sure. I, I think it was a hard adjustment period, just because, like when you’re 18, and you just get sent off away from your family, especially if you’re close to your family for a whole entire year. And you have like, the whole entire internet, like all of Europe, basically at your fingertips. Because this is before the UK left the EU. It’s, it was really, it was definitely really crazy. I definitely have to say that London is is very pretty. There are lots of pretty places. The walk from my dorm to the academic center was like long every single morning. That’s the number one thing I remember. Cuz I am holy person. But yeah, no, there’s a really cool, there’s a really cool, like food scene there. Like a lot of experimental fusion restaurants. It’s always busy. Definitely not as busy as New York City, though. And everyone there is really, really nice, like nicer than in New York.

Kamila
Really, okay. Okay. And so you’re when you were in London, compared to like, when you went back to the NYU campus? Were you basically doing the same thing? Just going to classes taking a few classes each semester? Or is there like some sort of requirement for you being in London?

Isabel
Um, well, so basically, the, the way that I took classes in London differed a little bit, because so there were about only 8080 freshmen students in campus, and it decreased over time, just because a couple of kids, you know, they, I guess, dropped out, which is totally fine. And I, like I told interesting, because it’s like really hard being abroad, or they found a way to transfer back to the New York Campus. Because like, being abroad, your first year is really, really tough. But it’s also fun. But yeah, so because the classes were really small. I had classes like my maximum number of classes, like, I mean, the maximum number of kids in my classes was like, 15. So we would go on, like field trips to, I don’t know, historical sites, or like museums and stuff like that. It was it was almost like an extension of high school in a weird way. It was like a nice transitionary period, I have to say, and because I London is smaller, and like, also height wise, you definitely feel like you have I don’t know, like a closer I felt like I had a closer connection to everything just because I didn’t feel like I was like drowning and super huge buildings. Like millions. And I mean, London is full of millions of people as well. But I feel like there’s like a very specific, I don’t know, like, northeast vibe that New York City gives off. Yeah, so like the class structure was, it was super nice. And we had required classes to take. They were basically like, history classes. So writing classes, stuff like that. Yeah.

Kamila
And were you just out of curiosity, were you able to travel to other countries in Europe as well?

Isabel
Yeah, yeah. I went to I went to France. I went to I went to Turkey. I went to Italy. Um, I definitely went to others, but I’m like blanking.

Kamila
That’s amazing. And you have an interesting story about your time in London. So would you like to share?

Isabel
Yes. Oh, what a wonderful story. Okay. So it was around October of my freshman year. And I don’t remember exactly how this happened. But I was just minding my own business. And, you know, talking to this one guy, because he came up to me, I guess, I like caught his eye or something. And I thought I would never see him again. Because like, I left the area that I want to keep the details pretty general, just because yeah, because I love the area. And then two weeks later, randomly, like I saw him again, like, in the streets. And so then I was like, Okay, this is kind of weird. Just because London is really big. So we started talking, and we kind of hit it off. And he was, he was super nice to me. He would like buy me expensive wines, stuff like that. But he had this job at, like, a popular restaurant chain that’s especially popular in New York City. And it expanded to London. And I was like, Huh, okay, so he’s buying all of these things. And I don’t know, living a like a lavish lifestyle. But his current job would not suggest to support that. So I was like, a little confused. Then eventually, like, I meet his friends, and they’re all like, I don’t know, like models and like musicians, and it was really weird. And then he eventually takes me over to his apartment. And it’s a really, really, really nice place in London at very large. And at that point, I was like, What’s going on, and we’ve been seeing each other for a couple months, and then, you know, the information comes out, I get a bomb drops on me that he is the son of a prominent Brazilian drug lord. So I, um, I feel like most people would be scared. I was just, I was just like, happy that I finally got an answer as to why he was living such a lavish lifestyle. And then I just like cut it off, because I was like, Alright, this is not a good place to go down. Yeah, hope he’s doing well though.

Kamila
Are you not scary? Do you ever think like, oh, if I break up with him, what’s going to happen to me?

Isabel
No, because like he he was always like, really nice and respectful. Like, I don’t know. I grew up in like, like a really respectful family. Like, he was just like, okay. It’s like fun. We go.

Kamila
Okay, do you have any other I don’t want to ask any more because I think it’d be too detailed. If I go into more questions. Do you have any other interesting stories from London?

Isabel
Um, well, okay, I don’t know if this is an interesting story, but I do remember. I do remember getting lost in Paris for like, 72 hours with a dead phone and that was like really bad. And then trying to find my way back to London through that like train the Euros what’s it called? That like your the train that goes from London for the friends to London? You know, the underground one?

Kamila
Okay, I think I’ve heard of me, I’ve never been to Europe.

Isabel
Okay. Anyway, um, but then everyone was on strike. So it took eight hours to to get onto the train and then another eight hours to get back, which is supposed to be like a one hour 45 minute ride. Yeah. Right with it with with like a with like a dying like dead phone. So that was nice.

Kamila
Okay, so let’s go on to So second year, you go to NYU campus, right? Yes. And was this your first time on the campus? Or had you been there before? Like coming in your second year?

Isabel
I mean, like I visited it before. I remember visiting it when I visited it, actually, for the first for the first time. Not really, for the first time because like, I lived in New York, but like I actually was like, Oh my God, look, it’s the library. That doesn’t sound enthusiastic. When I was when I was turning 18 It was like literally my 18th birthday. And it was the most disgusting weather outside and it was April and it was like 32 degrees. But anyway, I remember visiting it and I’m like, oh, okay, I guess this is kind of nice. It’s a little crowded, though. But obviously it’s New York. But yeah, it was the first time that I like actually was inside buildings because I I skipped the real tour. Like what

Kamila
I and I’ve heard a lot about the NYU campus and from the videos like I I’ve watched when they like when people visit NYU, they’re like, oh, yeah, it’s a great school. But there seems to be no distinction between the campus and the city itself. New York City. Do you feel that way? Like, the NYU campus is just part of the city. It’s not its own little area.

Isabel
Um, well, I feel like yeah, I definitely agree with that. But I love it. Because I just, I wouldn’t like the idea of being in such an insular community. And I think I definitely, like felt like that, especially since coming from London, since there were like two NYU buildings. And they were like, spread over a large place. I don’t know, I just, I like the idea of having access to a bunch of like different places and different people. And I feel like when you’re on a college campus, especially an isolated college campus, you’re sort of, like, trapped in just that community. You know what I mean? So I think that’s one of the good things about NYU. And like, connecting back to when I originally like really wanted to Columbia, I definitely see how NYU is like a much better fit for me just because I honestly like the campus like Columbia is beautiful, but I don’t think that I would have like, fit in there anyway.

Kamila
Yeah. And in terms of classes themselves, can you tell me because you are a computer science and Creative Writing double major, can you tell me how you arrived upon that major? Like, I guess I

Isabel
think for hyping me up I’m actually a creative writing minor. Yeah, um, but yeah, I’m a computer science major. So I arrived on this decision. Very, not gracefully ungracefully. So my original plan was nothing. And then I was like, Okay, I’m going to be a politician. But then at the same time, I was still thinking about astrophysics. But I had kind of given that up since I got a three on the AP. And I was like, I’m too lazy now. Yeah, so then I went back and forth, like between nutrition. And then I was like, No, I’m going to become a doctor. So I actually transferred out of liberal studies into the nutrition program, which is at a different school at NYU, that I was like, This is stupid. I don’t want to be a nutritionist for the rest of my life. I want to tell people what to eat. That’s symptoms go on the internet. And then I transferred out of that. And then I was like, Okay, I’m pre med. So then I loaded my classes, pre med. stuff. And then. Yeah, so then I took an intro to CS program, just because I was like, Okay, well, like, I’m like, I just had no idea what I was doing. And then, at that point, I was just like, Okay, well, I’ll just be a computer science major. It was really just more I like, I never, like did it because I had any passion. I was just like, Okay, I don’t hate it. So I’ll just do it. But I actually I really, I like coding now. Um, yeah. And then Creative Writing was more of a thing where I had decided to be a, a minor in bioinformatics. And I was taking bio and like, I love bio, I honestly, it’s amazing. If I could do it again, maybe I’d been if I could do it again. I’m literally 21 Maybe I’d be an evolutionary biologist. But at the same time, like when I was also in the Columbia science program, I remember taking a biology course. And we were like, going on these crazy field trips in the middle of like, 90 degree humid heat, and I didn’t like that. So never, maybe not. But anyway, yeah, no, I I’ve always like books and reading so much. And I just thought, like, and I think today that I really need that creative outlet in order to bounce computer science because otherwise I will lose my mind. Yeah.

Kamila
Okay, but you like computer science now. So

Isabel
yeah, I like computer science now. Like is it isn’t my number one passion? No, but I like that. It allows me to do many things. Like I like the flexibility it gives me.

Kamila
So let’s talk about NYU as a school itself, like not just about the classes tell us about the dorms at NYU? What is the food like at NYU? The social? I guess? Yeah, part of NYU like the culture. Okay. The culture

Isabel
is very non centralized. Um, so I I’m kind of friends with people from a bunch of different schools in NYU, like, I have a couple friends from Tisch from CES. Once who were like previously NLOS, because you transfer out of Ls into the College of Arts and Science when you’re when you’re going to do when you’re going into your junior year. And then a couple of friends who are also doing CS like I am, but yeah, I actually had joined a sorority when I first got back from London just because I really wanted to make some friends. I think that the party scene is definitely It’s not necessarily hard to get into parties, like when you go to a party, they’re quite fun. But you have to sort of, like, I feel like the parties that people have are sort of group wise. So like if you’re, if you join a sorority, which and the Greek life on campus is not big at all, but like, if you want to go to parties just kind of have to get in with, I guess, like a specific genre of people, and then those people kind of host parties, and that’s basically it. Um, but you can definitely meet like so many new people, especially if you’re on campus your first year. That’s definitely helpful. Don’t go to London, if you want to meet a lot of people. And everyone’s doing a different thing. Everyone has different interests, if you like, like challenging yourself with different perspectives, then definitely go to NYU. If I feel like introverts and extroverts can both thrive there in terms of the food, so like, I’m a vegan, and I have been for seven years, but I don’t know, I don’t really eat the food and why. Just because I’ve never had to, like, have a dining hall pass. Like I’ve never had to do that. Because I was in London my first year and it’s only a requirement your first year. So yeah, like the food I’ve had there is okay. Like, it’s it’s nothing special. But you’re at you’re in New York, so you could probably get any food you could possibly dream of just by going to a restaurant, you know? Yeah.

Kamila
And what about the dorms at NYU? Oh, the dorms, like in the city too.

Isabel
So I can’t really, okay, I actually got I have a dorm horror story. So my first semester, being back at NYU, I was roomed with this with this girl and like, God bless her. I hope she’s doing okay now. But she every single. So my dorm was on was in Union Square, that’s where one of the dorms are. We had like, really nice, south facing windows. So we always get light into our dorm. And I was super happy about that. But after meeting this girl, she like she was nice to me for one day, and then she wouldn’t talk to me. Like every single time I was in the dorm, she would just like hide under her covers go into bed. And she would she would close the blinds. So the whole entire room was dark for like 24 hours, I and every single time I open them, it would be like for 20 minutes, and she’d go back and she would close them and she wouldn’t talk to me. She would not say a single thing to me. And it got to the point where I was just so sick of her presence or lack thereof, because she was just being so rude about everything that I got out of the dorm contract and moved into an off campus apartment with one of my best friends who now lives in Sweden. But she went to NYU before the pandemic. And we just like got a dorm together. So yeah.

Kamila
We, so this girl didn’t talk to you for no reason.

Isabel
She didn’t talk to me. Like I had no idea why she wouldn’t talk to me. I genuinely don’t know what was going on with her. But like, I hope she’s okay if it was like a mental health thing. But I definitely did not feel like definitely not feel good in that room is not a healthy environment.

Kamila
And this is like an extreme right? This is not most

Isabel
like, Listen, my thing is, is that if you don’t have a bad roommate experience at least once in college, then you did not go to college. You know? Yeah.

Kamila
It’s just, it’s just a part of college.

Isabel
It’s part of the process. I feel like when you’re living with someone, it’s also just like a learning experience because living with someone is hard. Honestly,

Isabel
I hate having a roommate. Like, I don’t like sharing my bedroom with anyone. It’s horrible. I don’t like their presence. I’m like, I’m an introvert.

Isabel
I need to recharge. I don’t like when you’re around. So like, I’m going to be doing my stuff and then I can go hang out with you. But yeah, it’s just that people are messy. People don’t clean up after themselves. And that’s okay. But but but but here’s the thing. But if you find like that one perfect person to room with, and you get separate bedrooms, it can be the most amazing thing. Like if you room with your best friend and you’re on the same page about everything, and there’s really good communication. It’s super fun. It’s amazing. And that’s what it was like with my best friend. Yeah, but in general, the dorms like they’re not small. They’re kind of big. You get like normal dorm furniture. The nice thing about when I was in London was that they have like a weekly cleaning service for the dorms, which they don’t have in New York. So yeah, just disappointing. Yeah, and they have like dorms everywhere. I feel like if you dorm as a freshman at NYU, you definitely like get more of a sense of community and there’s probably more drama anyway just because everyone has to dorm. Yeah.

Kamila
And I wanted to Do a few more like topics on NYU before we wrap up? So number one. I mean, I’ve heard of NYU obviously, with a lot of people have, but what is NYU like famous for? Are there any special programs that they’re renowned for? Or there are no internship opportunities that they offer that no other school offers, like what makes them distinguished apart from being a really selective school? Yeah,

Isabel
I mean, I think that the two main things, but NYU like what they’re known for is their business school and my stern and their art school, which is Tisch? Neither of which I’m a part of. But um, yeah. That’s basically it. I’m like, I’m in CES. And that’s sort of like the just like the general. Here, go do something random, like, we don’t care.

Kamila
I have a question about references postgraduate, but I was like researching, like, does the college you go to matter for like future employment. And I saw this one law firm in New York, and I think it’s the top law firm in the United States. And they recruit exclusively out of seven schools, I think, one of those schools being NYU. So does NYU have a good law program?

Isabel
Oh, yeah. NYU has a really good law program. It’s like number six in the country. And you also has a great medical school, which is free, by the way. You don’t have to pay tuition to go to the online medical school because they like, I don’t know, funded it for years and years through rich philanthropists. Yeah.

Kamila
Wow. That’s great. And one more thing, internships, have you done any internships in your time in college?

Isabel
Um, no, but that’s because I am in a startup right now. And so that’s kind of like taking a place of what an internship would be just because i don’t know i Any internship that I would really, like I’m always open to internships, and I love getting new experience. But right now, I’m just sort of, like focused on the work that I can do. And like just to solve a problem. And right now that startup is standout. I’m sure you talked about this, you can talk about if you want a little bit, and I Okay, cool. Um, yeah. So our goal right now is to democratize the internship, a finding experience for high schoolers, just because we know how difficult of a time we had sort of finding out who we were in high school, but then also like tailoring it to our college applications. And after all that struggle, and especially through Estelle’s, my best friend who I’m working on the startup with she Co. But no, but like, actually, she Co. She, she found like three internship opportunities. And she was super successful and gotten to Chicago, despite her struggles with testing, which was amazing. So I think that, like, I mean, any advice for high schoolers right now is, seriously try and take, like, take any internship opportunities that you can find that you’re interested in, really, those will help you grow the most as a person, especially since they’re in a non structured, like, they’re probably in a structured environment, but they’re not structured like school. And those are the places where you can really diversify your interests, especially since when you go to high school I, especially traditional high school, it’s very, you know, rigorous in the sense that it’s sort of like modeled after like, assembly line, assembly line learning, ya know, so eventually, we want to provide these opportunities to people who don’t have the connections, or who have more of a difficult time, like securing these high barrier to entry opportunities. Yeah.

Kamila
So Estelle did talk about in the interview I did with her, and she gave me her email and the link to the website. Do you want to give us your email? And I can put it in the description of the podcast?

Isabel
Yeah, sure. My email is

Kamila
right in the chat right in the show copy.

Isabel
Great. Do you want the website link as well? Or

Kamila
did you get I got the website, link. Okay, perfect. Now, before we wrap up here, we’ll do one more thing. I do this with everybody, which is advice, number one for high schoolers. And then number two for college students. So what advice would you give for high school students? Again, this can be about anything, it can be general life advice, or something specific to the college application process. And then same with college students.

Isabel
I mean, I think for everyone, it’s just you have to do what you asked what you’re actually interested in. I feel like so many people, like I said before, tailor their interest based on what they think will impress people or impress admissions officers. And it’s just like, it sends you down a spiral and it’s super toxic. You just really have to do what you love. And obviously me saying that comes from a place of I would say like relative privilege, just because, I mean, sometimes maybe you don’t have the time or the resources to do the things that you love, but like, if you do, please do them and please like put the your desire time into them. Because it will pay off if you put enough time into it, like everyone’s always talking about, I don’t have the talent to do something. If you if you really care about something, do it. Like, for example, one of my biggest passions is actually like music production and in like, songwriting, composing stuff like that. I just always put that on this side, and I let it out, do musical theater or whatever. But it was never something I prioritized, just because I never thought that it would wear or it would do anything for me. But if you’re really passionate about something that maybe isn’t super, I don’t know. Like, straightforward, like, like law or medicine or something. STEMI just do it anyway, just please just do it anyway, you know, like, who cares? I’m going to die. And I think that goes the same for like, people in college. If you have no idea what to major in just major in something, it’s not the end of the world. You can do something else with your life like that. I’m majoring in computer science, but I guess my dream is to go into I guess something like animation or entertainment, something like that eventually, or even just continue with entrepreneurship. So it’s, it’s I feel like so many people could pressure on colleges, this be all end all thing. And now, like as a college senior, I just honestly, I I’m realizing more and more than all the pressure that you put on yourself doesn’t matter. And you just really have to do the things that you love to

Kamila
do. Yeah. So thank you very much and have a good rest of your day.

Isabel
Thank you. Awesome. All right.

Kamila
Bye bye. That’s it for my interview with Isabel. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you subscribe. I’ll link all the information down in details to Isabel startup standout search. And also down below will be the information to my website called Reality Check and my Instagram underscore a college kid underscore. Next week I’ll be releasing an interview with Mark and Anna from the podcast, college admissions with Mark Anana where we will discuss how to create a character and a personality behind your college application. Hope to see you then