Scholar Success Story: International Student Conquers Uphill Battle and Earns Scholarship to Top U.S. School
None of our students walks an identical path to success. While some Scholar Launch alumni have enjoyed a straightforward journey to higher education, marked by sky-high test scores and numerous acceptance letters, other students face a little more adventure and a little less certainty. One such alum, Student V, had his fair share of challenges. However, with the support and guidance of his Faculty Advisor, he overcame his uphill battle and earned a scholarship to one of the world's most renowned universities.
Student V came to us as a recent graduate of a public high school in Brazil, having achieved a couple of notable accomplishments that stood out on his resume. He was the co-founder and CEO of the Constructive Revolutionary Changes Project, a student-run nonprofit dedicated to educating Brazilian youth and democratizing knowledge. Student V was also a prolific writer and artist, and in addition to his published works, he was a 2021 changemaker at Global Citizen Year Academy.
Despite these high points, he couldn’t access, let alone participate in, the extracurriculars he needed to excel in his academic career due to limited resources and scant opportunities. By the time we met, he'd already been rejected from all the American schools he’d applied to and was forced to take a gap year to regroup. Was this demoralizing for Student V? It likely was. However, it was far from the end of the road.
While his passion for history, politics, and sociology was evident, he was unsure of where to start with his advanced research project. Also, like many international students with English as a second language, he struggled with the nuances of academic writing. Luckily, the Scholar Launch education team knew exactly how to help. First, we paired Student V with a Faculty Advisor from Harvard University who specializes in history and international politics. From there, the FA encouraged the student to survey the community around him and choose a research topic that was both deeply personal and reflective of broader issues. Student V eventually decided to investigate systemic problems in his hometown and spotlight the history of widespread oppression present there. By taking field trips to local villages and interviewing community members, he collected firsthand evidence to support his theories. In the meantime, he worked one-on-one with his Teaching Assistant and FA to polish the grammar, structure, and flow of his research paper.
Ultimately, Student V’s time with Scholar Launch proved to be a resounding success. Not only did he publish his comprehensive final paper in The Scholarly Review, a competitive academic journal for high school students, but he also earned a $251,000 scholarship to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts! It’s important to note that a setback or two (or three) is not what determines a person’s future. Instead, it’s the resilience and determination of a student that accurately predicts their success. We’re trained to introduce students to the possibilities that await them and encourage all middle and high school students to pursue their academic dreams fervently. For more information about how Scholar Launch can help you design a better future, contact us today.