OPERATION IVY

A GUIDE TO STANDING OUT AMONG THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST THROUGH YOUR PERSONAL ESSAY

- Bhavdeep Kang

INDIAN ROOTS, IVY ADMITS 85 essays that got Indian students into the Ivy League and Stanford

by Viral Doshi and Mridula Maluste

WESTLAND

The Indian student diaspora numbers over 1.1 million, as per the ministry of external affairs. A majority are in North America, followed by West Asia, Trans-Tasman and the UK. The pandemic reduced the outflow to a quarter of a million students in 2020, but the top destinations are seeing an uptick in applications this year.

Imagine the readership of Indian Roots, Ivy Admits—every one of the 55,000 applicants who made it to universities in the US for the Fall 2021 semester, the 67,000 who went to Canada and the tens of thousands who applied to Europe and Australia.

As every applicant knows, grades and test scores matter, but ‘soft factors’ like extracurriculars and recommendations are equally, if not more, important. To truly stand out among the best and brightest, you need a cracking good college essay. It’s easily the most stressful part of the elaborate admissions process. Ivy League schools are highly selective and devote time and resources to the screening process. Here, the personal essay carries a great deal of weight.

This is where Viral Doshi and Mridula Maluste come in. Indian Roots, Ivy Admits is a purposive and lucid guide to a wellcrafted, arresting personal essay. Each example is followed by precise and erudite commentary explaining its appeal.