- How I got into MIT and Cornell | ADMITTED S5 EP8
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss the essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear from class of 2025 alum Shamonti Shamim and Aima Hossen and their journeys to being accepted into Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cornell University, respectively. You will hear about Shamonti's experience growing up to the present day as an identical twin to Aima's approach to writing about sensitive topics like the Israel and Palestine conflict. This episode will include Shamonti's Quest Bridge personal statement, four of Aima's MIT supplemental essays, and a thoroughly discussion about each essay. Next week, part two of this conversation will be released including the rest of Shamonti's and Aima's college application.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
00:00:00 Episode Intro
00:00:36 Introductions
00:01:23 Personal Statement
00:10:59 Supplemental Essays Reading
00:16:03 Supplemental Essays Discussion
00:41:31 Kweller Prep
00:42:15 Outro
Featuring
Shamonti Shamim
Aima Hossen
Hosted by
Ryan Chen
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
42m - Sep 14, 2025 - How I got into Harvard University | ADMITTED S5 EP32
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss the essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear from class of 2025 alum Rachel Zhang and her journey to being accepted into Harvard University. You will hear about Rachel's time taking care of family to her experience on Ivy Day when she got the news of both of her acceptances to Harvard University and Cornell University. This episode will include the rest of the application that lead to Rachel being accepted into Harvard University including: extracurricular activities, awards, letters of recommendation and general advice for those going through the college application process.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
00:00:00 Episode Intro
00:00:26 Introductions
00:02:09 Personal Statement
00:08:40 Supplemental Essays
00:11:48 Kweller Prep
00:12:32 Outro
Featuring
Rachel Zhang
Hosted by
Emily Zheng
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
37m - Sep 8, 2025 - How Clay Penguins got me into HARVARD | ADMITTED S5 EP31
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss the essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear from class of 2025 alum Rachel Zhang and her journey to being accepted into Harvard University. You will hear about Rachel's passion of clay sculpting to her interest in engineering. This episode is part one of the conversation with Rachel, covering her personal statement and supplemental essays. Next week, part two will be released, and will include a discussion on the rest of her college application.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Rachel Zhang
Hosted by
Emily Zheng
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
13m - Aug 24, 2025 - Essays and Stats that got me into Sophie Davis | ADMITTED S5 EP30
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss the essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear from class of 2025 alum Ramon A. Rodriguez and his journey to being accepted into Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. You will hear Ramon's work at a Sunday school teaching elementary school students to the founding of the Townsend Harris Clothing Drive. You will also hear how Ramon incorporated religion and his identity into his personal statement and why us essay; in addition to the classes he took, and extracurricular activities and awards/honors he had on his application.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Ramon A. Rodriguez
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
22m - Aug 18, 2025 - Showers for Self Reflection | ADMITTED S5 EP29
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss the essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear from class of 2025 alumni Jasmyn Pillay and Jenney Huang and their journey to being accepted into Washington and Lee University and Yale University, respectively. You will hear discussions debating between STEM and Humanities AP classes, a number of extracurricular, and awards. There will also be discussions of ways to ask for help during the college application process, whether it be essays or awards, and also general college advice.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Jenney Huang
Jasmyn Pillay
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
1h 4m - Aug 10, 2025 - Essays that got us into Yale and Washington and Lee | ADMITTED S5 EP28
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss the essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear from class of 2025 alumni Jasmyn Pillay and Jenney Huang and their journey to being accepted into Washington and Lee University and Yale University, respectively. Jasmyn, in her personal statement, shares her background from Guyana and the opportunities she gained by joining robotics and learning programming; ultimately, going back to Guyana, and started Project HOME. Jenney, in her supplemental essay, shares her experience when she had her cast removed, a reflection of her fascination of biomedical engineering.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Jenney Huang
Jasmyn Pillay
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
16m - Aug 4, 2025 - Props to AP Seminar and AP Government | ADMITTED S5 EP27
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear a discussion on the classes, extracurricular activities, and awards that got Tristin into Northwestern University. This episode is part two of the conversation with Tristin, where in part one we discussed college essays.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Tristin Hall
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
31m - Jul 27, 2025 - Tristan vs Tristin | How an alter ego got me into Northwestern | ADMITTED S5 EP26
ADMITTED is back for its fifth season! ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, where we sit down with Townsend Harris seniors and discuss essays and strategies they used to get into their dream schools. In this episode, you will hear Tristan's journey living in Brooklyn and her unique relationship with her name. Growing up with a "boys" name has led to her being more outspoken and finding who she truly is, as she shares in her personal statement. This episode is part one of the conversation with Tristin, including her personal statement and a supplemental essay that helped her get into Northwestern University. Part two will be released in a few days, which will include the continued discussion of the classes she took, extracurricular activities, and the awards she put on her college application.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Watch more ADMITTED episodes and past seasons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Tristin Hall
Filmed and Produced by
Ryan Chen
Edited by
Ryan Chen
29m - Jul 20, 2025 - How we got into UPENN | College Essays and Advice | ADMITTED S4 EP25
ADMITTED is The Classic's premier college admissions podcast where we delve into the essays and strategies Townsend Harris students use to get into their dream schools. In season 4 episode 4, we gathered a group of seniors to talk about their applications and essays that ultimately got them into the University of Pennsylvania.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
ADMITTED Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Filmed and Produced by
Isabella Zapata and Katherine Lian
Edited by
Aidan Ng
37m - Jul 18, 2025 - Keeping it Classic X ADMITTED: What to do when you are waitlisted | ADMITTED S4 EP 24
In this collaboration between ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast and Keeping it Classic, the official podcast of The Classic. Class of '24 Karen Lin and Aiden Clarke reads their letter of continued interest for a school they were waitlisted at.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
ADMITTED Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
Hosted by
Nana-Ama Kwarteng
Ryan Young
Featuring
Aiden Clarke
Karen Lin
Edited by
Aidan Ng
20m - Jul 13, 2025 - How I Got Into Princeton: Reading My Common App Essay + Princeton Supps | ADMITTED S4 EP 23
ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast that delves into the essays and strategies Townsend Harris students use to get into their dream schools, is back with a new season. In season 4 episode 2, senior and Class of '24 Carina Fucich reads her essay and discusses her journey to being accepted to Princeton University.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
Follow The Classic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Catch the latest news from Townsend Harris High School on our website: https://thhsclassic.com/
ADMITTED Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Featuring
Princeton Class of 2028 Carina Fucich
Hosted by
Isabella Zapata and Katherine Lian
Edited by
Ryan Chen
Animation by Andy Chen
15m - Jul 13, 2025 - How I Got Into FIVE IVIES: Reading My Common App Essay + Yale Supps | ADMITTED S4 EP 22
Welcome to season four of ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast. Check out our full playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt&si=x5nN6N2niCK_pdp3
Watch the Princeton episode here: https://youtu.be/R_7UjV1Qo1M?si=mlyKkFR8dwOBdM5J
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
Website: https://thhsclassic.com/
00:00 - Intro
01:11 - Common App essay
10:55 - Advice for applying to Yale
13:33 - Why Yale supplemental essay
18:26 - Yale short takes
20:31 - Advice for applying to college
22:44 - Outro
Featuring Townsend Harris senior and Yale Class of 2028 Sally Zheng
Hosted, produced, and edited by Ryan Young, Multimedia Managing Editor
Animation by Andy Chen
Thank you to Kweller Prep for sponsoring this video.
24m - Jul 13, 2025 - How We Got Into NYU | ADMITTED S3 EP 21
In this special edition of ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, we invited four Townsend Harris seniors to discuss the essays and strategies they used to get accepted into New York University. Subscribe to The Classic TV on YouTube so you don't miss future episodes, and follow us @thhsclassic on Instagram.
Hosted by Elliot Heath and Katherine Lian
Produced by Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
29m - Sep 3, 2023 - How We Got Into Cornell | ADMITTED S3 EP 20
In this special edition of ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast, we invited five Townsend Harris seniors to discuss the essays and strategies they used to get accepted into Cornell University. Subscribe to The Classic TV on YouTube so you don't miss future episodes, and follow us @thhsclassic on Instagram.
Hosted by Elliot Heath and Katherine Lian
Produced by Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
32m - Sep 3, 2023 - How I Got Into Stony Brook | ADMITTED S3 EP 19
ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast that delves into the essays and strategies Townsend Harris students use to get into their dream schools, is back with a new season. In season 3 episode 5, senior and Class of '23 Sarah Rabb reads her essay and discusses her journey to being accepted to Stony Brook.
Hosted by Elliot Heath and Katherine Lian
Produced by Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
14m - Jun 26, 2023 - How I Got Into Columbia | ADMITTED S3 EP 18
In season 3 episode 4 of ADMITTED, senior and Class of '23 Justin Linzan joins hosts Katherine Lian and fellow Columbian Elliot Heath to read his essay and discusses his journey to being accepted at Columbia.
Hosted by Elliot Heath and Katherine Lian
Produced by Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
18m - Jun 26, 2023 - How I Got Into the Macaulay Honors Program | ADMITTED S3 EP 17
ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast that delves into the essays and strategies Townsend Harris students use to get into their dream schools, is back with a new season. In season 3 episode 3, senior and Class of '23 Axyl Frederick reads his essay and discusses his journey to being accepted at Princeton.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
You can find past and future episodes of ADMITTED on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, connect with us @thhsclassic on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and thhsclassic.com.
ADMITTED Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5gl0ymaL63t9v5JfOk8KFs
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-podcast/id1562728675
Hosted by Elliot Heath and Katherine Lian
Featuring Axyl Frederick
Produced by Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
12m - May 7, 2023 - How I Got Into Princeton | ADMITTED S3 EP 16
ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast that delves into the essays and strategies Townsend Harris students use to get into their dream schools, is back with a new season. In season 3 episode 2, senior and Class of '23 Madeline Cannon reads her essay and discusses her journey to being accepted at Princeton.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
You can find past and future episodes of ADMITTED on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, connect with us @thhsclassic on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and thhsclassic.com.
ADMITTED Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5gl0ymaL63t9v5JfOk8KFs
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-podcast/id1562728675
Hosted by Kate Estevez and Katherine Lian
Featuring Madeline Cannon
Produced by Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
16m - Apr 26, 2023 - How I Got Into UChicago | ADMITTED S3 EP 15
ADMITTED, The Classic's premier college admissions podcast that delves into the essays and strategies Townsend Harris students use to get into their dream schools, is back with a new season. In this episode, senior and Class of '23 Rebecca Ortiz reads out her essay and discusses her own journey to being accepted at the University of Chicago via the Questbridge application.
Check out our long-time sponsor, Kweller Prep, and all their course offerings here: https://www.kwellerprep.com/
MORE ADMITTED EPISODES: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/5gl0ymaL63t9v5JfOk8KFs
APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-podcast/id1562728675
SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/@TheClassicTV
WEBSITE: https://thhsclassic.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thhsclassic
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thhsclassic
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thhsclassic
Hosted by Elliot Heath and Katherine Lian
Featuring Rebecca Ortiz
Produced by Allen Babakhanov and Ryan Young
Edited by Ryan Young
Special Guest Appearance by Mr. Sweeney
S3E1 - 17m - Apr 8, 2023 - The Essays That Helped These Townsend Harris Students Get Into Harvard | ADMITTED S2 EP 14
The long-awaited season finale of ADMITTED is here. Three Harvard-bound Townsend Harris seniors, Jasmine Palma, Julia Maciejak, and Zuzanna Kowalski, discuss the writing and strategies that got them into the most prestigious university in the world, with a current acceptance rate that is its lowest in its near-400-year history. Divided into three parts, this episode contains the Common Application and Harvard supplemental essays, in addition to the brainstorming processes as a whole, behind their success.
We thank you for your support of this season's ADMITTED podcast, and we are excited to continue the series in the 2022-2023 year.
Special thanks to graduating Editor-in-Chief and ADMITTED host Jasmine Palma.
For more episodes of ADMITTED, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=tb48gFuFq20&list=PLB1ZPLjfE3TDLUy1HgX3A-gKF0_uLUUqt
SUBSCRIBE TO THE CLASSIC TV: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvh6414ocfJQdXuv26-8wkA
WEBSITE: thhsclassic.com
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thhsclassic
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/thhsclassic
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thhsclassic/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thhsclassic
S1E14 - 58m - Jul 24, 2022
