This past college acceptance season, senior Nowyshin Mridula got accepted into her dream college, Yale University with a full scholarship through QuestBridge. She plans to study mechanical engineering this fall and wanted to share her application experience with Townsend Harris students.
With an acceptance rate of 2%, QuestBridge is a highly competitive program. Although many THHS students applied to the program, only two students were matched; both to Yale.
During Nowyshin’s junior year, she applied to QuestBridge, which accepted her as a College Prep Scholar. Over the summer, she participated in the Yale Young Global Scholars program, fully funded by QuestBridge and Yale University. Nowyshin said, “[attending college fairs] helped me decide which college to apply to and research more [about].”
Nowyshin spoke about the unique qualities she acquired in high school that set her up for success. Being a STEM student that once only focused on math and science, she said she believes the Humanities courses at THHS gave her an open mind as she took various courses that initially didn’t appeal to her.
She also said that her work ethic gained during her high school career helped her during the QuestBridge program and Queens College classes. Nowyshin noted the importance of reaching out when you need help and being compassionate toward yourself.
She discussed the teachers that aided her through the process. “Mr. Scardino helped me to be organized. Whenever I asked for a recommendation, he would be more than willing to help me,” she said. “Also, Ms. Duffy’s class prepared me for college writing, converting mere words into meaningful writing.”
When asked about Nowyshin’s performance in his class, humanities teacher Franco Scardino said, “What stood out in the classroom was her enthusiasm and curiosity. It was obvious from the first day that she was going to be an academic rocket…During COVID, I had her during AP Seminar, what stood out was her resilience and work ethic, and despite all of the struggles she probably faced during COVID, she didn’t suffer at all academically. She was one of the top students in the class.”
Nowyshin dreams of becoming a woman activist in her home country, Bangladesh, and has another goal of studying “soft robotics to help develop AI that makes daily tasks more accessible for disabled individuals and children.”
