Crookston High School Senior Ella Weber has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and spoke with KROX about getting accepted.
Weber said getting accepted was both shocking and exciting. “I was very shocked when I found out,” said Weber. “It was exciting. I was actually talking with one of my friends asking about why she wanted to attend that school. I was like – oh yeah, my MIT acceptance (letter) came like 20 minutes ago, she was like, I’ll let you go check that. I was alone in my room when I checked it, and I saw the confetti, and I was shocked. I was not expecting an acceptance that day. I was expecting a deferral. I think I froze for like five seconds, and then my family heard me – I kind of screamed in joy.”
Weber, who is the daughter of Robert Weber and Jenipher Harper, said her family was also surprised by the news. “I was up in my room, so I ran down the stairs, and they were like – it sounded like a stampede of elephants,” said Weber. “I was like – guys, I have news – and they were fairly shocked.”
Weber applied for three schools QuestBridge National College Match program, which provides students whose families meet certain financial requirements with college applications and scholarships. “I have a few schools I’m very interested in,” said Weber. “Actually, a few months ago, if you’d asked me, my dream school was Yale, which I’m still applying for. When I applied via QuestBridge, it has this thing where you rank the colleges. I only ranked three because I didn’t want to be fully committed to a school. I only picked the top schools because you’re required to go there if you get admitted to those schools. So I ranked them in the order of Yale, Princeton, and MIT. MIT was probably my last choice, and I picked MIT because it was non-binding. I kind of fell in love with the school after I got in. Once I did my research, talked with current students, and met some of the students who also got in, I realized MIT is actually a pretty good place for me to end up at. It’s like a perfect fit.”
Weber has applied for a full scholarship to MIT and is awaiting those results but said that MIT offers generous financial assistance even without a full ride. “I’m thinking, astrophysics,” said Weber. “MIT doesn’t offer a straight astrophysics major. They offer physics and planetary science. So, if I go to MIT, I’m going to do a mixture of Course 8 and 12, with a concentration in political science or a double major. I’m not 100 percent sure yet.”
Why the interest in astrophysics? “I’ve had a dream of working for NASA for many years,” said Weber. “If you ask anybody, I have way too much NASA gear. Political Science is actually more of a recent interest I’ve developed. I developed that interest through my AP Government class with (Shelly) Thomforde. I had so much fun in that class I was like – oh, maybe I can do this too.”
Weber said she got advice on applying to colleges through a program that paired her with a current student at Princeton. “I didn’t go through the whole process alone,” said Weber. “I got free college advising through this company called Matriculate. I actually get help from a student that currently attends Princeton. She’s had my back throughout the entire process. It’s very helpful. I actually don’t think I would’ve applied to these colleges if I didn’t have help with Matriculate. I kind of thought I was going to end up at (the University of Minnesota) Twin Cities. Twin Cities is a really good school, but I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to go to these prestigious universities. I always dreamed of it, but I didn’t think it was in reach until I applied. Like my advisor told me – you only have the opportunity to apply to these colleges once, so you might as well apply and see what happens. I was very pleased with the results.”
Weber said she felt fortunate to get accepted because schools are seeing higher application numbers this year. “A lot of these schools are getting an influx of applicants that normally wouldn’t apply,” said Weber. “I did the math for MIT’s acceptance rate this time, and it was like 4.8 percent, which is absolutely insane. They said they had like 60 percent more applicants. I found out MIT doesn’t let you view your application notes. I really wanted to know what they specifically saw because I remember the night I submitted the application, I was fairly certain I wasn’t going to get in. I actually made a little video of me submitting it. QuestBridge also provides fee waivers. I was like – you guys are paying $75 to be rejected by MIT, I’d do that for free. It came as a very huge shock.”
Weber will hear back from what are her second and third choices for school later. “I’ll hear back from all my colleges by April 1,” said Weber. “Then, if I get into more, I’ll have to make a decision based on financial aid, the school itself, the programs, all that good stuff. But MIT is a huge frontrunner right now because I also enjoy their on-campus environment.”
Whichever school Weber ultimately chooses will get an active student, as evidenced by her high school involvement. “I’m a part of many different things,” said Weber. “For sports, I did tennis. I’m on the figure skating synchro team. I do track and field in the spring. I do knowledge bowl in the winter, Envirothon. I’m on a couple of advisory boards. I was on the Polk County Public Health Youth Advisory Board, and I’m on the Unity Teen Advisory Board. I do orchestra and band. I play the bass in the orchestra, and I’m a percussionist in the band.”
