Abby Le

With many seniors committing to their colleges for the next four years, the Class of 2024 brought home impressive acceptances as they prepared for graduation. Ashna Bhandari (12), Isabella Liang (12), Laurie Park (12), and Clarisse Nikaido (12), celebrate their committed colleges, proudly wearing UCLA and UC Berkeley apparel.

With “Commitment Day” just around the corner, many Ayala students of the Class of 2024 are reflecting on the various different schools that they were accepted into and beginning to make their decisions as to where they’ll spend their next four years. This year’s graduating class’ efforts have led to impressive accomplishments with their acceptances into top schools.

Andrew Han – Brown University

After a busy four years of involvement in leadership and other activities at Ayala, Andrew Han will be attending Brown University this fall. There, he will be studying with a concentration in economics and art. Alongside Brown, Han was also accepted into UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] and Georgetown University.

“I really look forward to not only integrating my current passions and interests with my academics at Brown, but also discovering new interests and passions I would have never thought about in high school,” Han said.

In high school, Andrew Han involved himself in many extracurriculars, including leadership for all four years. However, he notes that he wasn’t joining activities for the sake of applications, but rather his own passions.

“I never made myself do anything just for ‘college’ and I think that reflected well in my application,” Han said. “I was involved with the school’s leadership team all four years of high school, not because I had to, but because I wanted to.”

With Brown’s 5% acceptance rate, Andrew Han’s admission to the university was incredibly impressive. His hard work in high school, along with his sense of passion, truly left a mark.

Natanielle Redublo – Princeton University

Natanielle Redublo’s college decisions were quite the feat, as she got into Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton, UCR [University of California, Riverside], UCI [University of California, Irvine], and UC Berkeley. However, on top of these colleges, Redublo also found herself getting into not one, but two Ivy League schools: Cornell University and Princeton University.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting to get into any of the privates I applied to, especially after getting waitlisted at UCLA and UCSD,” Redublo said. “Opening the Princeton acceptance letter was insane.”

Redublo has spent her high school career with a passionate mindset of dedication to percussion. She notes that the cohesiveness in her extracurriculars were likely a large factor in her acceptance into the different universities, as she’s been involved in the activity since seventh grade and went on to teach it to younger students.

Naturally, the Ivy schools are enticing to Redublo, especially due to the new world that she’ll get to experience in the next few years. Cornell is located in Ithaca, New York and has a 7% acceptance rate. Princeton is in Princeton, New Jersey and has a 6% acceptance rate. Getting accepted into both of these schools is no easy task, but Redublo impressively accomplished it.

“The change in scenery makes me feel nervous, but I think it’ll be refreshing,” Redublo said.

Her final decision was to commit to Princeton on a full-ride scholarship.

Andrew Hwang – UC Berkeley/Rice University

On top of getting into UCSD [University of California, San Diego] and UCI, Andrew Hwang received acceptances from UC Berkeley and Rice University, his two top choices as of late.

“I randomly heard about Rice two years ago, and became aware of the school then,” Hwang said. “I guess it was foreshadowing; I never thought I’d get in.”

Hwang is interested in the Rice Undergraduate Business Program, where MBA-level (Master of Business Administration) professors will be working closely with undergraduate students, potentially like himself. Through this, he’ll have a concentration in either finance or management. The school has a 8% acceptance rate, and the business program makes up only about 8% of those admitted students, making this accomplishment by Hwang very significant.

In high school, Hwang was involved in leadership and coached debate, which he acknowledges was an important part of his application. However, his advice to future college applicants isn’t to cram extracurricular activities for the sake of a resume.

“At the end of the day, you know your [statistics] and you have a grasp on where you’re getting in,” Hwang said. “Do what you can in high school and believe in yourself.” 

However, like many other seniors, Hwang is still on the fence as to where to commit. Both schools offer him amazing opportunities and experiences.

“I’m excited to meet new people in a new place,” Hwang said. “Both of those schools are quite the distance from here, so I’m looking forward to the new experiences and environments.”

Lauryn “Laurie” Park – UCLA

Laurie Park’s college decisions were quite local, getting into almost every UC that she applied to. While she was waitlisted at a few more eastern universities, Park ultimately declined them in favor of committing to UCLA, her dream school.

“It’s crazy how much a single moment can change your future because one minute I was a nervous wreck and the next minute I found where I’ll be going for the next 4 years,” Park said.

In high school, Park dedicated much of her time to improving the community and being involved in various activities. She played varsity soccer, led school clubs, and earned her place in the Top Ten of her class. Content with her legacy left on the school, she’s prepared to take those same interests and passions into her new school.

“I’m very blessed to be able to say I’m going to my dream school UCLA this fall as a public health major,” Park said.

The accomplishments of this year’s seniors are truly something to be celebrated. As the school year comes to a close and the seniors go off on their own, these acceptances are just the start of the great achievements these students will attain. From Brown, to Princeton, to UCLA, the Class of ‘24 is going to go far, both metaphorically and physically.