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Crimson Education
Melbourne, Australia, April 26, 2017
Former Dux of King’s College, Amay Aggarwal from Remuera, Auckland, will be among the 4.65% of student applicants accepted into Stanford University’s Class of 2021 this year, the university featuring the lowest acceptance rate of undergraduates this year.
Aggarwal also gained admission into the Ivy League’s Princeton (ranked #1 US university according to US News World Report), the Joseph Wharton Scholars Programme at the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Yale-NUS and top-ranked UK universities: London School of Economics and King’s College London, among others.
In high school, Aggarwal studied IGCSE and 11 AS Levels before taking subjects to A-Level. His subjects at school included Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English and French, while also self-studying many other subjects.
Source of inspiration
He said it was former King’s College Dux Jamie Beaton who inspired him to tackle a robust study and extracurricular regime, to get the most out of his learning.
“I remember when Jamie was in Year 13, and how he tackled many extra subjects. He made it seem quite possible.”
In addition to a stellar academic performance which saw him score perfectly on the ACT and multiple SAT* subject tests, attain an Outstanding Scholar Award in the NZQA Scholarship Examinations, and complete a Third-Year University French Paper during his final year of high-school, Aggarwal also sought to develop his leadership skills.
During his senior years of school, Aggarwal received support with extracurricular and leadership development from a Crimson Education consultant based at Harvard University.
“Rather than giving a hands-on approach and telling me what to do, the Crimson team allowed me to grow and focus on things in which I was interested.
For example, I was interested in writing and literature, so I developed an online platform to allow other students to share their own articles. I was interested in start-up businesses, so I hosted a national business competition. It helps for your own self-development. You come up with your own ideas and it’s your own work that you can be proud of,” he said.
Aggarwal’s successful application to Stanford included two essays, one which referred to the Waitakere Ranges and, existentialism in French.
‘Well-lopsided’ Students
Crimson Education Chief Executive Jamie Beaton said that US universities are looking for ‘well-lopsided’ students.
“Students who demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge, with a specific and authentic interest in one particular area which often underpins their academic and extracurricular pursuits are really appealing to these universities. Admissions officers are looking for students whose passion and critical thinking will challenge and broaden their peers’ way of thinking,” Mr Beaton said.
He said that more students are choosing to apply for US universities and are commonly pursuing Majors in Economics, International Relations and Computer Science.
“With excitement surrounding liberal arts culture, more widespread financial aid availability, relatively stronger on-campus recruiting as well as increased focus on technology and computer science (which US is disproportionately strong in), students are focusing more so on developing their candidacy for US universities,” he said.
Sound advice
Aggarwal’s advice to other students is to “explore everything and discover what your passion is. High school really is the time for exploration.”
“For me, it was trying a bunch of different subjects, and seeing which ones I liked the best. For some people, it is exploring different sports or activities, and just pushing themselves to then focus on their interests,” he said.
Aggarwal is currently overseas learning Mandarin Chinese in Shanghai, although he hopes to return to New Zealand after his undergraduate study in the States.
About Crimson
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For further information visit: www.crimsoneducation.org
