William Li is College Raptor’s latest $2500 Scholarship Winner! Congratulations, William. I had the chance to chat with this bright student about his college search journey. Here’s what he had to say.
Tell us about yourself!
I’m currently a senior attending Brooklyn Technical High School. My main academic interests are in computer engineering. I love designing circuits and coding. Outside of class, I’m a pretty avid powerlifter. I just recently hit a 1000 pound total and plan on competing in sanctioned meets when COVID restrictions are lifted. I also intern for a PPE startup called CovCare, and am also a member of my school’s solar car club.
Which schools were you considering BEFORE using College Raptor?
Mostly the big name schools that everyone knows about Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, and M.I.T are some examples.
Which schools are you considering AFTER using College Raptor?
The schools that I listed before are still on my list, but I added in new schools like CMU, Georgia Tech, UMich, and RPI.
What elements of College Raptor’s search affected your choices?
I really liked how the search tool gave me a comprehensive list of colleges and all I needed to do was put in some basic information like major interests, GPA, and test scores. I also liked how I could filter the list based off of other factors like academic fit, chances of getting in, and financial cost.
What interested you about Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan in particular?
They both have really good engineering programs that I would love to be a part of. Umich has a really successful solar car team in particular which has piqued my interest as well, and Georgia Tech offers some great opportunities in terms of co-ops and research.
Your essay tackled the question “Why do you want to apply to these colleges?” What is your answer now?
I chose to add the colleges that are now on my list for a variety of reasons. Some of them are because they are pretty affordable and are relatively close to where I live. Others I applied because of the extracurricular and career opportunities that they offered.
The curriculum offered for my intended major in computer engineering is a little different for each school, but all of them offer fascinating courses and ample opportunities for hands-on learning. Like I said in my essay, College Raptor helped point me in the correct direction to find this information.
Any advice you’d like to share to other students starting their college search?
Don’t apply to a college just because someone told you to or because of their prestige. Really look into what each school has to offer and if it would be a good fit for your personality and career goals. There are a lot of schools out there, and it’s ok to get overwhelmed. College search tools are your friend and sites like College Raptor can help you greatly in narrowing down the hundreds of schools in the country down to a reasonable amount that you can then look further into.
Congratulations, William! Everyone at College Raptor wishes you luck on your journey.
Want to find great college matches just like William did? Check out College Raptor’s free match tool.
