Cranberry goes ivy

Cranberry Goes Ivy

By Abby Sloss and Will Bennett | 6/6/23

For three Cranberry High School students, college is on a whole new level. Ady Carter, Gillian White, and Brooke Whitling are going Ivy.

For seniors in high school, one of the most stressful and rewarding times of their lives is figuring out what they are going to do once they step out into the real world. Some students will be diving straight into the workforce; others will be moving to a higher education to pursue a degree. 

Ivy League schools are colleges that are known for their difficulty to get accepted into and their prestigious nature. There are only eight of them in the North Eastern United States. The universities are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale. They are regarded as some of the best schools in the world.

For senior Brooke Whitling attending Yale for English Literature, it was a dream she had reached for ever since she was young: “Honestly, it's just like any other school. I visited New England for a family vacation when I was nine, and I knew that I wanted to live there someday. As I grew up, I set my sights on going to college there. Truly, it became my dream. I worked incredibly hard to be competitive in the application cycle--both in my academics and activities. In all honesty, like anything in life, there were necessary sacrifices. For me, going to Yale means that, in the process of reaching for the stars, I was lucky enough to get my hands on one.”

When it comes to Senior Ady Carter, attending University of Pennsylvania for Comparative Literature, it was more of a new opportunity and an exciting challenge in her new adult life: “Ivy League means a whole different level that I’m sure to find challenging… an opportunity to truly find myself while surrounded by people across the world.”

There are many reasons to choose a particular college, and Gillian White, a senior at Cranberry who was accepted into Cornell University´s Transfer Option Program, and will pursue Animal Science, said, “I discovered what I wanted to do, study animal science to become a vet, and Cornell has the #1 animal science program in the country. Once I visited it, I fell in love with the campus and traditions, overall it was my first-pick school. I never felt like I wanted to attend just because it was an Ivy League school. There are so many schools that are very comparable that don’t have that title.”

It isn’t often that someone is accepted from a smaller school like Cranberry, but this year we have a new record of three students attending. Last year we also had a student accepted into an Ivy League school: Hannah Neideritter. Hannah was accepted into Harvard where she is currently studying neuroscience. 

A year into her tenure at Harvard, Hannah has had many experiences: “You never know who you’re going to meet, and it’s incredible, but it can also be intimidating. Socioeconomic divisions can be discouraging and overwhelmingly present, and it can be difficult to adjust to things that are “typical” at ivy league colleges, like applying for prestigious summer research positions, organizing political campaigns with thousands of people, or founding nonprofits.”

Many hours of work and effort was put into their applications in order to be accepted into schools with such low acceptance rates. 

Getting into an Ivy League isn’t just about having perfect grades; it also requires diversity in activities, both academic and within your community. 

Carter, Whittling, and White were all extremely involved in Journalism, and, over the years, have written many published articles and been part of community partnerships.

White, involved in many clubs such as CRANA, Science Club, Student Council, World Language Club, and National Honors Society(NHS), has participated in Soccer as the captain for two years, in club and winter soccer, and volunteered for younger soccer programs. 

Carter’s writing abilities keen, she wrote an essay for her application about overcoming adversity and living with a disability. She had roles that could be considered staff-like, such as being secretary for World Language Club, NHS, and student council, as well as the treasurer of the senior class. Carter also participated in an Intercultural Exchange program and was a Questbridge college prep scholar and Questbridge National College Match Finalist. 

Whittling was always very involved with her school and community, taking on plenty of leadership roles. She was the senior class president, president of the golf team, president of NHS, vice-president of Student Council, and president of World Language Club. She has also been part of the Youth Choir HOLeY JEANS since she was little and danced at the Thomas School of Dance. 

Whitling offers this piece of advice for anyone who may want to try and get into an Ivy League School: “Above everything, you have to be authentic to yourself. There is no point filling your resume just to fill it.You should be passionate about how you spend your time, and allow yourself to explore interests. The most important advice I can offer is to realize that every college wants a class of real people, not a stack of statistics on paper. You aren’t going to be perfect--no one is--and they don’t want you to be!  Every person has little things about them that make them unique; the right college will recognize and appreciate those.”