After a long, arduous process, Cecilia Cheng (’24) will be heading to Brown University in the fall. Despite any doubts that may have arisen along the way, Cheng proved that her years of dedication and hard work were most definitely worth it.
In the fall, Cheng will be heading to Brown University on a full-ride Questbridge scholarship. Questbridge is a national non-profit that works to connect low-income and first-generation students with their dream universities.
For Cheng, the Questbridge application process started in late July when the initial application opened. The next step came when Cheng found out that she was a Questbridge finalist. She then had two weeks to rank and write supplements for her colleges of choice. When Cheng had finally completed all of the steps, all that was left was to wait.
“I would say that waiting for the results was the longest [part],” Cheng said. “I was so nervous about if I was going to match [with her chosen universities] or not.”
Finally, on Dec. 1, Cheng received the decision from her first-choice university: Brown, while at the Winter Sports Pep Rally. Unable to wait any longer, Cheng opened the decision to find out that she was accepted. Cheng yelled out in excitement and her fellow senior classmates surrounded her, all equally excited for their peer.
“I just wanted to open the letter and get it over with, so I stopped thinking about it. I was not expecting an acceptance at all, especially to my #1 ranked school, but I got in,” Cheng said. “I was so happy and everyone around me was also really happy for me; it couldn’t have gone down any better.”
However, Cheng and her peers weren’t the only ones excited by the big news. Lesley Morter, the IB Counselor, was ecstatic, having helped and worked with Cheng through the entire process.
“Elated, I was absolutely elated,” Morter said. “Seven years running, I’ve had at least one student earn a Questbridge scholarship per year.”
Despite coming as a surprise to Cheng, her acceptance did not come without hard work. For four years, Cheng has balanced school, a job and involvement in clubs. This year she was a part of Women in STEM, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and newspaper, holding leadership positions in almost every club. However, she makes the biggest contribution to newspaper as the Print Managing Editor.
Inspired by her involvement in the newspaper, Cheng wants to further her love for journalism at university, while also pursuing a concentration (or major) in neuroscience. Although she doesn’t have a specific career in mind, Cheng’s goal is to find something that allows her to help others, which these two majors do.
“What I love about journalism is that I can give people a voice, especially when it is for minorities or marginalized communities; I can help people by doing something I love: writing,” Cheng said. “Now with neuroscience, I am also passionate about making a difference in the lives of people who suffer from diseases like Alzheimer’s. My grandpa had Alzheimer’s before he passed away. It was heartbreaking seeing his memories with us slowly drift away. That’s when I got interested in the area; I want some little girl’s grandpa to be able to remember her name again.”
Despite Brown being her number one choice, surprisingly, it hasn’t always been her dream school. Up until this year, her dream school was actually Northeastern, but due to their lack of financial aid opportunities, Cheng began to branch out and look for other possible choices.
She was initially drawn to Brown due to its open curriculum. As someone who is unsure of what exactly she wants to do, this open curriculum allows her the opportunity to take classes that she is interested in and take control of her own learning.
Cheng cannot wait to start her new journey at Brown.
“I am most excited about going out of state and meeting new people!” Cheng said. “I have already been talking to a few people that matched with Brown through QuestBridge and all of them seem like really cool and chill people. I’m excited to start somewhere new.”
