I applied to US universities this year to study a combination of math and music composition. I got into Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, USC, Rice, UC Davis and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

I think that the fact that I had an equal interest in both math and music, along with strong extracurricular activities, projects and summer camps in both helped me get into my top choice schools. I also put a lot of work into my music portfolio and essays, and I think they turned out rather well.

My biggest takeaway from Engage was their advice on which colleges I should apply to – given the slightly unusual array of subjects I wanted to study, I had to look for colleges with a good balance of both. Ultimately, I found several colleges that fit the bill with their help. Engage was a great sounding board to bounce off ideas for personal essays. They also helped me a great deal with setting deadlines for myself to finish my applications and music portfolio in time.I found the SAT counseling Engage offered for English, especially for the reading section, to be very helpful. Their advice on how to approach each question and eliminate options certainly helped me through the process of preparation.