In this series, we spotlight a student who worked with Vanguard on their college admissions process. Here is our interview with Shraavya, who applied to transfer colleges for the fall of 2024 and was accepted to NYU, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and UT Austin!
1. What were you most nervous about going into the college transfer application process?
I think what I was most nervous about was being able to manage school and all the applications. It’s not like I’m going through this process like I did in senior year where everyone was doing it together. It was really scary for me to try to do this process by myself, having all the other commitments I had during freshman year of college.
2. Why did you choose Vanguard to work with you during the college transfer process?
I think the biggest reason I decided to work with Vanguard was because I knew a lot of people from my high school who worked with Vanguard and I always heard about really good results. More than that, the personalized touch that Vanguard has by putting us in touch with really good Essay Specialists to get a lot of support and have a personal relationship with them. Everyone I worked with was great!
3. How did your experience applying to transfer schools compare to when you originally applied to college on your own?
I had originally done the entire process on my own, so I didn’t have any support for essays or anything. It was pretty challenging because I didn’t really know if I was doing anything right. I wrote my essays, and they sounded good to me, but I didn’t really know if that was what colleges were looking for. Not that I didn’t get into great schools the first time around, but it was definitely better to have that support and get a lot of feedback on my essays, not just the applications. Working with Vanguard definitely made me a better writer because it forced me to dig a lot deeper when writing my essays. I found myself using the techniques I was learning in my college papers as well. I would definitely say, as beneficial as it was for the college application process, it also really helped me for my future as well.
4. How did your college counselor help you through the process and with the anxieties you had going in?
I really liked working with Ms. Alina. She gave me a lot of positive affirmations, like, “You got this! We got you! Don’t worry about anything, we’ll help you keep up with the deadlines.” And that’s exactly what they did. When I had my first meeting with her, I was under a lot of stress because I had a lot of things going on for me at that time. She was really reassuring, like, “Focus on school, focus on yourself, and we’ll help you with everything else.” That reassurance was a really important piece of what made this process easy and fun. I really enjoyed it. I didn’t feel like I was doing a chore, which is what my college application process felt like the first time around. I think she’s amazing and it was really great working with her.
5. What was essay coaching like at Vanguard?
It was good! I had to write a whole bunch of supplements and the main Common App essay. It went really well. I know that a couple times I was getting frustrated with myself, because my Essay Specialist would ask, “What did you really do? Dig deeper.” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I need to really think.” I had to do a lot more thinking and reflecting, which I probably would not have done if it wasn’t for this experience, but I liked that portion of it actually. I really enjoy writing—I will definitely take a writing class now. It taught me to be a good writer, it helped me think deeper, make connections better, and be able to articulate in a manner that is personal but is meaningful to the reader. I really liked learning those different skills. I also enjoyed the learning aspect of the experience. I think my essays turned out pretty good and I was proud of them. I think they encapsulated who I am as a person.
6. If you are willing to share, what did you end up writing your college essay about and how did the end result turn out?
I wrote about art and how it related to my nonprofit. I really liked that we focused on different things that were important to me, my experience with that in college as well, and then connecting that to my nonprofit.
One of my supplemental essays was about working at the Indiana Memorial Union’s art initiative and how that helped me work with diversifying art in my university. I enjoyed writing about things I am really passionate about and talking about the impact it made for me and other students as well.
7. How does the essay you wrote with Vanguard compare to what you would have written about on your own?
When we started, we actually went through my essay that I wrote in high school. It was very different from what I wrote this time around. I feel like I was trying to say the same things, but I don’t think it came across as powerful as it did this time, because I was a lot more detailed and my essay specialists made me dig a lot deeper. So I feel like what I was talking about wasn’t as surface level and I was able to show my feelings, so I feel like it was a lot better.
8. What colleges did you get into? Where did you choose to go and what are you studying?
I got into UT Austin, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and NYU.
At IU, I’m studying in a triple-major kind of situation. I’m doing Political Science, Finance at the Kelley School, and a Co-Major in Legal Ethics And Decision Making. It’s kind of like a bridge between Business and Political Science, kind of like Business Law without having to go to Law School, like contract law and other things that are beneficial in business. I applied to similar majors on my transfer applications.
9. What are your future goals with your degree?
In terms of Finance, I’m focusing on the investment side of things, like investment banking, private equity, and consulting. In terms of Political Science, I’ve always wanted to work in some kind of International Affairs position, like with the UN or in the government. But I haven’t decided which path to go down, so I’m working with both of them to see where I end up. I don’t think I would be disappointed with either route, I really enjoy both so I think I’d be happy either way.
10. What was your favorite part of working with Vanguard? Is there anything else you would like to highlight about your experience?
I think my favorite part of Vanguard is all the Essay Specialists and all the people I got to work with. I know they get to work with a lot of students, but I never got to work with people like that before. I feel like I connected to them and I feel very grateful to them. I’m really glad that I had these people to push me to be better. Being in Vanguard in general made me a better person, a better writer, and a better student. They kept me on track and I’m really grateful for that.
Essay Specialist Madison L.
Hamilton College