Hey, SWENexters! This month’s SWEet Wisdom was written by members of the SWENext Advisory Board. What’s the SWENext Advisory Board, you wonder? Read on!
The SWENext Advisory Board is made up of SWENexters just like you. Their mission is to support and advise the SWE member volunteers working on the SWENext programs. The Advisory Board reviews and provides feedback on all aspects of the SWENext “Member Experience” and the Future Focus areas being developed. Advisory Board members are volunteers.
Be on the lookout as SWE will be recruiting a few new members of the Advisory Board for the next school year!
During a quarterly conference call, a rising senior Advisory Board member asked an excellent question, relevant to all high school students applying to college. And our two graduating Advisory Board members responded with insightful answers. So we are sharing them with you!
Advisory Board member Aimee Xu, a rising high school senior from Fresno, California, asked:
Congratulations for getting accepted into such prestigious colleges! What advice do you have for a rising senior who is looking to apply to colleges in the Fall?
Swathi Parthibha, SWENext Advisory Board member
Cornell University class of 2023, electrical & computer engineering
“Since your essays are the only opportunity for you to showcase your authentic personality to college admissions officers, you should definitely have your essays reviewed by multiple people prior to submission! Ask a friend or someone close to you to read over your essays to ensure that they best reflect your personality and aspirations.
Also, try to reach out to students in colleges that you are applying to so they can also lend their perspectives. Their advice will be particularly valuable to you because not only were they successful in their essays, but they are also unbiased and viewing your essays from an admissions officer’s standpoint.
When I was in the college application process, my dream school was Cornell, so I decided to reach out to a member of Cornell’s SWE chapter who I met at WE18. She reviewed my essay and offered extremely valuable advice that gave me an entirely new perspective on my essay!”
Jothi Ramaswamy, SWENext Advisory Board member
Harvard University class of 2023, computer science and applied math
“When it comes to college applications, one thing I would make sure to do is start as early as possible! The more time you have to work on and edit your essay, the better. It’s also a good idea to get as many people to read over your essays as possible so you can get lots of advice regarding your application.
Plus, if there is any college that you feel is definitely your top choice, research the college to see if it has an early action/decision application deadline. Applying early conveys to your college that you are extremely interested in them, and your chances of getting accepted are definitely higher. Keep in mind that early decision is binding, which means that you have to go if you are accepted, so this is a great choice for those of you who know for sure that you will go to your top school if you are accepted.”
(Pssttt—read Jothi’s recent SWE blog here!)
Thanks to Aimee, Swathi and Jothi for being SWENext Advisory Board members!
Have a question for other high school students or engineers? We’d love to hear from you! Send your questions to swenext@swe.org. We’ll answer you, and your question may become a future SWEet Wisdom column!
