Ethan Cole

One of 36: Ethan's Waitlist Comeback to Princeton

Ethan started looking at colleges the summer before senior year, later than almost everyone around him. He was low income, had never taken piano lessons or played varsity sports, and figured he'd end up "okay" somewhere, not somewhere incredible. He leaned on a Common App fee waiver just to apply to top schools at all, then wrote over 80 essays by grinding every night after school. When decisions came out, he was accepted to the University of Michigan but couldn't afford it, and waitlisted at both Princeton and Columbia. Instead of walking away, he sent letters of continued interest, kept racking up wins on his math team, and became one of only 36 students accepted off Princeton's waitlist that year. His story is proof that getting waitlisted isn't the end of your shot, it might just mean the work isn't done yet.