When students think about college after high school, most aim for the best schools that are within their reach. These students at Camas High School had an extensive range to choose from.
Recently, Ashley Teng was accepted at Princeton University, a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Here, she will continue her studies in for the next few years.
Teng first heard about Princeton when she went with her brother to visit the campus. She explains, “my brother actually goes to Princeton right now, so I kind of just knew about it… I visited when I was in fifth grade, and I kind of just fell in love with the campus.” Soon after that visit, Ashley figured out what the school was like. She realized, “Wow, this is actually a really challenging school!”
Not only is Princeton an academically challenging school, but it is also extremely hard to get into, with an acceptance rate of around 5%. Ashley stated that the challenging courses here at CHS helped prepare her for college by allowing her to explore her interest.
While her classes helped her explore, her most significant help was the MST Magnet program: “I think the environment Magnet gave [and] the research projects helped me explore computer science [Ashley’s expected major] because [otherwise] I would have just had to do it on my own.”
A piece of advice from Ashley would be, “If you have a dream or vision for what college you want to go to, you should definitely go for it. I know a lot of people say that but it really is important to just remember that where you end up is exactly where you should be, so it shouldn’t stress you out that much.”
School programs are a great way to help gain experience and exposure to different areas of work students would like to try. Another Magnet student, Maia Kawamura, was accepted into Dartmouth.
“Through Magnet, I was able to learn about the scientific research process and interned in a lab,” claims Kawamura.“I think that the wide variety of opportunities at Camas High School definitely helped me find my passions”. With these different opportunities, Maia has been able to learn a lot in her high school career. “Science Olympiad let me explore science while band expanded my artsy side… the numerous classes allowed me to find interests in physics and economics,” says Kawamura.
Kawamura already has an idea of what major she wants to study: “Engineering Physics and Economics, but since I don’t have to declare a major until the end of sophomore year, I have plenty of time to change my mind,” says Maia. “Dartmouth’s flexible ‘D-plan’ means I can choose whether to be on or off campus for my sophomore and junior years,” explains Maia. Not many schools have this kind of flexibility.
During school, “the Ivy League has been on my mind for a while,” says Kawamura. While she will be attending Dartmouth, she was not so sure about the school at first. She explains: “What sold me was the genuine care the professors had for undergraduate students, especially since there are almost no graduate students (hence Dartmouth College, not university) which means most of the research is done by undergrads.”
These students have worked hard and got to where they are today because they went for it. Even though ivy league school may seem scary and out of reach, it cannot hurt to try.
