BY KYRA BACON
From late April to early May, seniors nerves were finally settled as letters from colleges filled up their mailboxes. These weeks have been filled with joy and disappointment, excitement and sadness as the truth of these letters hits home. For three fortunate Cooper City High School seniors: Vincent Ong, Simon Shuham and Camille Traslavina, these weeks were filled with bliss over their Harvard acceptance letters.
“Both Camille and I were in Florence, Italy for Mr. Tully’s Europe Trip when the college decisions came out,” Shuham said. “I truly couldn’t believe it when I saw the word “Congratulations”, I rushed outside to call my parents, but it was really too hard to believe at first. ”
Shuham, like Ong and Traslavina, was ecstatic to get into Harvard. As President of NHS, captain of the golf, soccer and volleyball teams and current Valedictorian of the senior class, Shuham fit the Harvard ideal.
“The problem with Harvard is everyone who is accepted is an incredible student,” Shuham said. “It is very hard to distinguish yourself as an applicant. I believe I stand out because I am well balanced. I bring a bit of everything (sports, academics, extracurricular) to the table.”
Shuham is not the first in his family to go to a top school. His brothers both attend highly regarded colleges; and one of them, Matt, already attends Harvard as a sophomore. Shuham didn’t expect to get accepted to Harvard, but he was confident in his application and knew he had a chance.
“College admissions are extremely random,” Shuham said. “You hear countless stories of overqualified kids getting rejected from schools and less qualified kids getting accepted. You can never really expect to get into a school.”
Shuham also applied to University of Florida, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Williams College, as well as others, many of which he was accepted to. However, Harvard was Shuham’s number one choice as he sent out his applications.
“Ever since I entered high school, it was on the top list of my achievable goals. I knew if I put in the work, I would hopefully be rewarded by the time my senior year came,” Shuham said.
A bit nervous about the workload and how different Harvard will be from high school, Shuham is certainly proud of his accomplishments and CCHS’s.
“It’s a really great feeling to have your hard work pay off,” Shuham said. “I am very excited for all of us. Vincent, Camille and I have pushed very hard these last four years and this acceptance is extremely gratifying.”
Ong had a different way of finding out his Harvard acceptance.
“It was unbelievable,” Ong said. “I was sitting at my computer waiting for an email that was supposed to come at 6. I kept waiting and when I went on College Confidential and logged into the students portal I saw ‘Congratulations, Class of 2017!’ It was probably the best moment of my life.”
Unlike Shuham, Ong found the application difficult, particularly in trying to look good without overdoing it. By the time the application deadline came around, Ong had written 14 drafts of the Harvard Supplement Essay and 16 drafts of the Common Application.
“I would say my essays exuded a fierce passion and drive that set me apart from other similar applicants,” Ong said.
Ong also believes that the application process at Harvard is so unpredictable that he did not expect to get accepted. In fact, Ong did not even think about applying to Harvard, until the last minute, when his sister encouraged him to do so.
“My sister played a large role in my decision to apply,” Ong said. “I originally was going to apply to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, but she convinced me to just apply and to see what would happen.”
Not wanting to limit his options, Ong applied to several other schools, including UF. But, like Shuham and most others making this decision, Harvard prevailed.
“Harvard has an incredible liberal arts program and networking system that will aid me in whatever career path I choose,” Ong said. “The resources that Harvard offers are undeniable. I could not imagine turning down all of the opportunities provided and the incredible students that I have the chance of meeting. I have been told countless times that I will never meet such a diverse group of incredibly intelligent and charismatic people.”
Ong, who visited Harvard in January, also sees the vast differences between high school and Harvard.
“I think it will be much more overwhelming and intimidating than high school, considering the quality of students,” Ong said.
Traslavina was with Shuham in Europe when she received her acceptance and saw the email subject on her phone.
“All applicants have good grades and are involved, but it’s the things that you chose to get involved in that shows your character. That’s why I was accepted, I think,” Traslavina said.
Being President of the senior class, founder of the Orphans of Ghana Outreach and many other achievements distinguishe Traslavina from other Harvard applicants.
As the first in her family to go to a highly regarded university, Traslavina’s feat made not only herself, but her entire family proud.
Harvard has a very different application procedure than other schools, which allowed these three to make their applications unique. There is a Common Application essay, along with two others that must be filled out, along with the usual school forms and recommendation letters. Then comes the interview with a Harvard alumnus, which is the most nerve-wracking part. The decisions are released in mid-April and those who were accepted must confirm by May 1st, which Shuham, Ong and Traslavina did. With a 5.9 acceptance rate, it’s no wonder that these seniors were pleasantly surprised to learn of their acceptances.
CCHS is also very proud to have three students accepted to Harvard. Last year, only one CCHS student got accepted (Chuka Esiobu).
“Within the past three years we have had at least one student accepted, so hopefully Cooper City’s national reputation is growing,” Shuham said.
