March 28 started like any other day for East Hartford High School senior Christiana Zembrowski. But when the clock struck 7 p.m., she received some life-changing news.
Zembrowski learned that she had been accepted to three Ivy League schools - Harvard, Yale and Columbia - and she now has a very important decision to make.
While waiting in a longer-than-usual line for some food at McDonald's, the senior signed into the application portal to see which colleges accepted her and was pleasantly surprised.
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“My sister and I were rushing to get food before they released decisions at 7 p.m., but we ended up getting stuck in the McDonald’s line longer than anticipated. I started crying when I opened my acceptance letter to Yale, and then cried even harder when I opened my Harvard acceptance. I cried for an hour straight after opening the decisions, I was in total shock!” she said.
Zembrowski said she recently attended accepted student events for Harvard and Yale, and she says it's going to be a tough decision choosing which college she attends in the fall.
“I am super grateful and incredibly thankful that choosing between Yale University and Harvard University is even a choice that I am allowed to make,” Zembrowski said. “It will definitely break my heart to have to choose."
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The teen credits her success to the course selection and rigor at her high school, where she took 11 AP classes.
“I believe a big part of my application were my writing supplements, and they would be nothing without the help I received from [my English teacher] Ms. Cutkomp," she said.
Zembrowski plans to pursue a pre-law track for her undergrad studies, with a major in English and a possible minor in history or philosophy.
