In the high-stress realm of college applications, students are navigating a complex terrain of building their applications. Although some students apply to only a few universities, there is a distinct subset of students who go all out.
On average, students apply to six universities during their application process. Throughout the college application season, over 1 million students apply through the Common App every year. The Common App allows students to apply to a maximum of 20 schools, and although it is uncommon, some students max out their Common App by applying to 20 universities. Additionally, some even apply to more schools by submitting additional, separate applications.
Seniors Nathan Musal and Achinteya Jayaram are both taking their applications extremely seriously. The two are driven in their college pursuit and share a common goal: a future in finance, specifically investment banking. Both are submitting their Common App to 20 highly selective schools, prioritizing the universities with the best business schools in the nation.
Musal and Jayaram have shaped their high school experience in preparation for their applications. Both seniors have exceptional grades, standardized test scores and leadership roles in several difficult extracurriculars.
Jayaram is unique in his application process in that he keeps the majority of his application and personal information private. However, he disclosed that in addition to maxing out his Common App, he is applying to five to seven additional schools. During his sophomore year of high school, he began to seriously prepare for his application process, taking multiple internships, participating in clubs and publishing research papers.
Since becoming serious about his collegiate future, Jayaram has dedicated his high school experience to his preparation for college. “I’ve spent nearly every single day, including weekends, on my preparation. Whether I’m doing an extracurricular or writing one of my several application essays, I’m always occupied with something related to my applications,” Jayaram shared.
Musal, like Jayaram, has also spent years preparing for his college applications. Musal has spent an extensive amount of time building his background in finance, scored a perfect 36 on his ACT, took an internship at a wealth management company and is the president of two business-clubs at PV. He is also taking full advantage of the Common App, applying to every Ivy League university except for Brown as well as several other prestigious schools across the country.
Although he has set himself up strongly for college, Musal wishes he made a stronger plan for his applications. “Reflecting on my high school experience, I wish I planned things out more. Although I joined some strong business-related extracurriculars, I was joining other clubs and activities just to join them,” said Musal.
“If you have a strong plan before going into high school, there is so much that you can do and accomplish. I guess that I have a little regret that I didn’t plan things as thoroughly as I could have,” continued Musal.
Like Musal, Jayaram has a strong understanding of what it takes to have a shot at getting accepted into a top university. “If you know early on that you want to apply to selective universities, you should maintain a good GPA, perform well on out ACT or SAT and make sure that you have strong extracurriculars that show that you are well rounded while also showing that you have a specific interest area,” said Jayaram.
As Musal and Jayaram are applying to many of the same schools. Seeking the same major and both intending to go into investment banking, the two are head to head. Both are outstanding students with amazing work ethics and a powerful drive for success. The pair highlights the small subset of students across the country who are hungry for a strong education and an impactful career.
