Read the College Essay that Harvard Grad uses to get offers from multiple ivies

“I hadn’t spent any summers abroad or done any fancy programs,” he said.

He wanted to show his personality

He read Harry Bauld’s book, On Writing the College Application Essay, which made him realize that college admissions officers would not have time to read every essay diligently.

He said he realized his main goal should be to entertain the admissions officer by reading his essay.

“For the most part, they’re just looking for character,” Wang said. He decided to write about studying at McDonald’s.

He told BI that he thought it might pique the interest of an admissions officer and illustrate his character: someone who did well in school but also hangs out at a McDonald’s.

Wang said she wanted to use her essay to challenge assumptions admissions officers might have. “I’m an Asian-American with a perfect SAT score. Maybe it looks pretty good on paper,” he said.

Authenticity is key

The essay summarizes how Wang discovered that the local McDonald’s was an ideal place to study and meditate. He mentioned that he enjoyed interacting with different members of the community and that it was a more efficient and accessible study space than other options. The underlying message is finding joy or peace in unusual places.

“For the most part, it was a pretty authentic essay,” Wang said, adding that he included some “intellectual references,” such as a novel and a physicist, to show the admissions officer he was smart. He said that if he were to write it now, he would leave out the big words and the references.

His parents were worried the subject was too risque, but Wang said he felt confident and if an admissions officer didn’t like it, the school wasn’t right.

He got into Yale, Harvard and Princeton

Growing up, Wang dreamed of going to Yale in his home state of Connecticut. He applied to Yale under early decision, using his essay on McDonald’s.

He entered.

Wang received a financial aid offer from Yale, but told BI he wanted to see if he could get more from other colleges.

He applied to Harvard, Duke, Princeton, MIT and others with the same essay. He got into both Princeton and Harvard and received financial aid offers from both. Business Insider verified these offers with documentation.

Wang chose to study computer science at Harvard in 2015 because he said it was the best for STEM subjects and he wanted to be further from home.

Still trying to live authentically

Wang said that if his friends read his essay now, 10 years after he submitted it, they would recognize his personality in it. It shows his “scrappy” attitude to life, he said.

After graduating from Harvard in 2019, he started working as a software engineer for a technology company in San Francisco. He then quit in 2023 to found his startup Exa, an AI search engine.

Wang believes prioritizing authenticity has helped her success since college. “If you do things that you feel are authentic or that are right, you will be rewarded for it,” he said.

Do you have a college admissions success story? Email Ella Hopkins at [email protected].