How I got into Harvard, UCLA, and UC Berkeley | Stats, ECs, Tips!

Sharing the stats and extracurriculars that got me into Harvard and the UCs!
Thanks for waiting, I hope this helps the juniors and younger students out there. Want to say good luck to those applying this next application season, I’d definitely be willing to talk more, answer questions, and give advice. I know you guys are going to do really well!
Tips for the UC application: use all the spaces for honors and activities (you can write more and there are 5 more spots!) Again, anything you want me to answer or make a video about just leave in the comments. Art portfolio video is coming by the way :D
Also shoutout to Sebastian for filming my reaction in my college decisions video, thanks man :)
00:00 Intro
00:48 General info
01:55 Stats/GPA/scores
03:57 High school courses taken
04:20 Extracurriculars/honors
10:43 Rec letters, LOCI, extras
12:41 Tips for high school
15:57 Outro
SHOUTOUT TO CATRINA!
#harvard2026 #harvard #ucberkeley #ucla #ivyleague #collegeadmissions #commonapp #collegestats

[@Jasmine-it7vn]

Thank you so much for sharing this!! It’s a relief to know that I don’t have to stuff my summer with activities or do tons of research to get into top colleges! Also, congratulations on Harvard, UCLA, Berkeley, etc. 🎉🎉🥳

[@studiosoy]

no problem, thanks for the the kind comment! agreed, it was relieving to me to realize that i didnt have to fill my summer/time with activities that "sounded good", because what you're writing about is really just the experiences themselves which can come from anything you're passionate about and putting time in, not just what you apply to or pay for :)

[@the_real_andresjorgeortiz]

Hello! Thank you for sharing this! You have great content to the video! Also, congratulations on your academics and extracurriculars! Good luck with everything you do! You did a great job with your studies. Good luck with university no matter where you go! God bless you and your family. 🙏❤️

[@studiosoy]

Hi! For those of you asking about essays, here are my essay topics with the word counts in parentheses: 1. Personal Statement (650) - what i learned from teaching and how it instilled in me a better love for learning and deeper way to connect with my community 2. Additional info (650, controversial but i did use this space) - my junior tennis career, how injuries made me work harder, grow resilient, and learn more about myself 3. COVID (250) - leadership during uncertainty, how i helped adjust and improve one of my clubs (BEAM) during online distance learning Harvard supplements: 1. Extracurricular (150) - how i use art to express myself as a vehicle for change 2. Intellectual interest (150) - my interest in math through math competitions and why i want to pursue applied math in college 3. Additional (unlimited, I wrote 650) - how i learned about business in high school through clubs and my own endeavors, then used that passion to continue teaching more students through clubs and my own course Thanks for watching, and hope this helps!

[@EKmaster2005]

Did you send all 6 to harvard?

[@studiosoy]

@@EKmaster2005 yes! these are the 6 essays i sent to harvard in particular. to the other schools i applied to, much of the content appeared again depending on the essays (as i wanted to continue to show my full profile to each school) but in a different written form/answering different questions. so id say that the first school you write essays for is the most work!

[@chibuikemdavidenujiugha790]

Really really nice of you to take out your time and do this.

[@bambi6014]

THANK U SM STEPH

[@studiosoy]

aw im glad it helped, thank you and yes!! will be vlogging in college in the fall too :)

[@roslynlee]

thank you for sharing this! by far the most helpful uni info video!

[@studiosoy]

aw youre so kind, im glad it helped

[@catrinayang9002]

love the video 😍😍😍 ur an inspiration to underclassmen everywhere 💕💕💕 wow ur gpa is incredible and amazing 😍💖 showstopping never done before 😗😗

[@studiosoy]

thanks for watching omg

[@kaipumastehlik6878]

I'm a junior in highschool and this really helped. I wish you the best luck in college cause you killed it in high school

[@studiosoy]

thanks so much!! im glad it helped and wishing you a good senior year and college apps season :)

[@Pastellaxart]

THANK YOU SM AND CONGRATS ON EVERYTHING ❤️

[@studiosoy]

thanks!! hope this helps you :)

[@xinabubblegum]

Another amazing video. Love the advice and authenticity of everything you shared. Sure to be a helpful video for many others near and far. Can’t wait to see the art portfolio video too 🥰🥰🥰 and… congrats on 100+ subs. Let’s do a card making collab video 😍😍😍

[@studiosoy]

thanks so much for the kind words!! it should go up this week :)

[@alyssanasya9240]

ahh thank you so much this is so helpful >:D, im a junior in high school and thinking about college is scary sometimes

[@studiosoy]

aw im so glad it helped, good luck!! youre better than you think :)

[@Lisa-de1gj]

i'd love to see some study tips from you, your stats are so impressive

[@studiosoy]

ooh that is a good idea! thanks so much :) ill consider it

[@iceex3365]

do colleges consider awards and activities for the last 4 years only?

[@oui.adventures]

i am SUCH a big fan omg

[@studiosoy]

tyyyy

[@humanitieslover1082]

OMLLL, wake up stephanie posted!!

[@studiosoy]

whoa tyty

[@Bwnsonn]

FOR REALLL, two videos in one month??? Unheard of haha

[@Joy-yg8nl]

Thank you for this, Stephanie! Congrats on Harvard 🥳 can I ask what you wrote your essay and supps on?

[@kiwi9660]

this!

[@studiosoy]

hi! thanks so much for the kind words, im going to write a comment with overviews of my essays as a pinned one on this video, hope that helps :)

[@vintagesyndicate1017]

Congrats on everything. Can you make a essays videos. It would help me a lot. Thanks

[@studiosoy]

thank you!! i might consider it, but if not you can reach out to me and i can give advice as well as show what i wrote for my personal statement as well as topics i chose for my supplements

[@catrinayang9002]

NOT FIRST BUT ILY ANYWAY

[@studiosoy]

ILY TY FOR YOUR DEDICATION

[@Bwnsonn]

Wow, caught lacking again smh haha :)

[@Pastellaxart]

💕💕

[@cecehardinge2776]

BIG congrats !! how many essays do u have to fill in for the uc application?? do u have to fill in a personal statement too

[@studiosoy]

thanks so much!! for the uc application, there are 4 essays you have to write, and there is an additional space of 550 words which i did use for my personal statement (shortened) but it is optional

[@tripathinupur]

Where did you publish your art pieces online?

[@itscrafttimeroadto200subs2]

Wow!! Congratulations!! Wish you a interesting and brightful years at Harvard ahead!! Can you tell me in computer activities of common app's activity section what we can add there? Can you tell me some example??

[@studiosoy]

hi! thanks so much for the kind words :) there is a word count for activities, but you can put 10 activities with your title and description, the drop down categorizations are just to help but you can put anything! sports, clubs, jobs, projects, family responsibilities, hobbies, etc

[@itscrafttimeroadto200subs2]

@@studiosoy Thank you so much stephanie didi you helped me a lot!! :)

[@David.124]

What about the essay

[@kaipumastehlik6878]

Please do a letter of continued interest

[@studiosoy]

i will consider this one!! thank you :)

[@L0veD1ve]

Hi! You said you submitted your art portfolio but how do you do that? Do you have to title your work and is it required to upload your art portfolio?

[@studiosoy]

hi, you do need to title your work and submitting your art portfolio is optional! please read the school's specific guidelines for instructions and use my art portfolio video if it helps :)

[@andrewtatelivespeech]

can you please tell us how you went from scoring 650 in sat english to 730??

[@studiosoy]

hi! sure, i can give a short version here--mainly used the practice questions and full tests on khan academy to practice, would recommend focusing on writing/grammar section to improve your score (easier than reading). i also became better at reading passages through english classes at school (multiple choice questions from AP English language and composition class were much harder than SAT so it made it easier once i got used to those). one tip is annotating the passages if you don't already do that--i switched to doing it and it helped my understanding a TON. hope this helps :)

[@bereketsete2317]

I wanna apply for a medical school but dued my grades are bad I guess I’m not gonna make it. I’m in my senior year btw.

[@calistawoo6584]

wowowowow gaining that intel about the beam presidency :

[@studiosoy]

whoa is that the new beam vp? thanks for stopping by :>

[@rajkanwarsingh8773]

Did u applied for financial aid

[@rajkanwarsingh8773]

Did u applied on your own or got help from some counsellor btw loves ur style

[@studiosoy]

ty! i did have a counselor who was able to answer a lot of my questions and help offer another set of eyes on my application. a lot of the work is truly your own though (its a lot), i would recommend utilizing the resources around you. some good ideas are teachers, school counselors, parents, trusted relatives/siblings/older friends!

[@joanadivertos9315]

Did you do 4 years of foreign language? I noticed you only did it in grade 9. I'm planning to apply but I don't have 4 years of foreign language, is that ok?

[@studiosoy]

i did 1 year but did a higher level (AP Chinese), so at the time in my high school it was enough requirements to graduate. you can ask your high school teachers, but you should be just fine in most cases as it varies by high school

[@a.m.6847]

This young woman is very superior and extremely intelligent

[@studiosoy]

thanks so much!! you are really kind

[@a.m.6847]

@@studiosoy You are welcome. When I watched the video and heard you call yourself inferior, I thought that you needed some encouragement and to be reminded that you are superior because you worked hard at excelling in your academics and were rewarded with acceptance at very good schools. Good luck, talented scholar!!!

[@a.m.6847]

So what will you study in college? i studied psychology.

[@studiosoy]

@@a.m.6847 ooh! psychology is super cool :D i am planning to study applied math with economics

[@sunny-zx9gw]

Hi! Did you publish your online course anywhere? (do you know places where ppl can post their online course?)

[@studiosoy]

i did not although i was planning to! you can search up "creating online courses" to find the most recent platforms that creators can use :)

[@sunny-zx9gw]

@@studiosoy thanks for the response! Also, did you happen to link your course in your application?

[@studiosoy]

@@sunny-zx9gw i did not but it would be good practice to do so

[@classifiesconfidential4330]

How do you write a good resume for your teachers writing letters of rec?

[@studiosoy]

your teachers should be super understanding, so no need to make it very formal/perfect, but make sure you give them enough material to know about your profile - gpa/overall courseload/scores - any awards or honors - a section for each of your main activities - any jobs/responsibilities/extracurriculars they know about you in class, so do your best to give an image of your life outside their classroom. hope that helps!

[@classifiesconfidential4330]

@@studiosoy Thank you so much! That was amazing advice!

[@YAS9112]

Is it possible to see your drawing online ??

[@studiosoy]

my art portfolio work is very different from what i post online these days, but my current art account on instagram is @pip_the_chip425 if you'd like to see some small doodles :)

[@itscrafttimeroadto200subs2]

Can you tell me how to apply for these colleges's scholarship as an international student? Please didi

[@studiosoy]

i do know you can apply to colleges as an international student, im not too sure if i can help regarding scholarships but there should be a lot of online material and resources to help with that! there are many like you :) dont worry

[@itscrafttimeroadto200subs2]

@@studiosoy okay thank you didi😊

[@aaylafatima5881]

Hii, I really appreciate the video because I'm someone who's currently going in to grade 11 and my interest in Harvard sparked again, you said that we could contact you through email to discuss about this but I can't seem to find yours. If you could share it, it would mean the world to me as I have SO many questions!

[@studiosoy]

[e-mail] - feel free to contact me!! would love to answer some questions and get to know you more :)

[@yuvrajchouhan7325]

Please can you share your essay that you submitted to harvard

[@studiosoy]

i might share my personal statement and the topics of what i wrote for my essays, still thinking though

[@yuvrajchouhan7325]

@@studiosoy it will be great if you do that

[@royalflutes]

If it were okay with you, could you read my college essay and see if it makes me stand out/competitive? I can send a link if you want. Thanks!

[@studiosoy]

id be happy to read it over and give advice, my email is [e-mail] if you want to reach out :)

[@royalflutes]

@@studiosoy Oh, thank you so much! I actually added you to my google doc called “College Essays” so that you can write comments on the actually document, since I figured it was easier than doing it by email. And then after you make suggestions I can remove from the doc whenever you want. Thanks!

[@Sariiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

You seemed kinda panicky in the intro, is everything going alright? Also thank you for making this

[@studiosoy]

glad this helped! also no worries, i did the intro as a joke :) thanks for checking in on me though haha

[@Sariiiiiiiiiiiiiii]

@@studiosoy no prob 😂😂😂

[@jacoblebroda]

Why are we the SAME person.. we have the same SAT score and breakdown, same business research extracurricular (about the flaws in the financial education system), and same amount of recommendation letters..

[@jacoblebroda]

So many congratulations to you though!!

[@studiosoy]

thanks so much!! and omg we are the same person confirmed... are you a junior or senior?

[@jacoblebroda]

@@studiosoy rising senior (‘23)!!

[@studiosoy]

@@jacoblebroda good luck this year in college apps!! you've got my support from your fellow same person :)

[@jacoblebroda]

@@studiosoy omg so sorry I'm just seeing this but tysmmm! good luck to you in college!☺

[@khinhnin5318]

claim

[@Bwnsonn]

4TH (unles?)

[@studiosoy]

unless you like humanities more than applied math :)

[@audreyshhh8824]

ur so cool stephanie hsu

[@ethansolomon6059]

20th comMENt SHEESHSHSHHSH

[@studiosoy]

impressed :D

[@InfiniteLemurs]

SIGN MY FOREHEAD, PLEASE

[@studiosoy]

if you sign mine :D

[@EKmaster2005]

So you had 1 foreign language year, so I don't have to worry if I have 1 too. :D

[@user-bg5cf6gs1z]

I’m worried about that part too. I thought top tier colleges would require at least 3 years of learning a foreign language.

[@studiosoy]

@@user-bg5cf6gs1z @EKmaster hi guys!! depends on your high school's rules, but in my case my school allowed me to take AP level in 9th grade which counts as the "4th year" of that language, and thus cleared the requirement yours might be different! check with your school, but in terms of college apps itself there isn't a strict requirement as long as youre compliant with your school :)) hope this helps

[@oui.adventures]

subpar stephanie??? excuse me we gotta rebrand rn

[@studiosoy]

when you make your channel :)

[@ethansolomon6059]

UWU

[@studiosoy]

i n i

[@oui.adventures]

pls notice me stephanie

[@studiosoy]

don't needa ask B)

[@blublover]

u seem camera shy haha

[@wayne2630]

🙌 p̳r̳o̳m̳o̳s̳m̳