{"id":691506,"date":"2026-05-24T13:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/691506\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T13:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:00:13","slug":"tips-and-strategies-for-getting-a-place-at-worlds-top-universities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/691506\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips and strategies for getting a place at world\u2019s top universities"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Most school leavers would be ecstatic to score a spot at a prestigious university \u2013 so when Melbourne teenager Cecilia Xu received offers from six of the world\u2019s top colleges, her reaction was understandably extreme.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old from Glen Iris rolled on the floor and screamed when offers flooded in from four US Ivy League universities and another two of the country\u2019s top institutions.<\/p>\n

\"CeciliaCecilia Xu is one of just seven Australians to secure a place at Harvard this year.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was insane,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Xu this year won spots at Ivy League universities Princeton, Yale, Brown and Harvard, and also at leading US colleges Stanford and Duke.<\/p>\n

In the end she chose Harvard. She is one of just seven Australians to secure a spot at the hallowed Massachusetts institution this year.<\/p>\n

Not bad for the daughter of Chinese migrants who arrived in Australia 28 years ago with just $100 to their names. So how did she do it?<\/p>\n

\"CeciliaCecilia with her mother, Helen He.Simon Schluter<\/p>\n

Xu was dux of Melbourne Girls Grammar in 2025, with an ATAR of 99.95, though she believes her academic results alone were not what caught the eyes of the notoriously picky Ivy League admissions officers, who knock back up to 97 per cent of non-US based hopefuls.<\/p>\n

Her enthusiasm for language \u2013 she established her own online French magazine while still at school \u2013 and music helped give her an edge, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing that may have gotten me in was my story and a passion, because I had a very distinct passion for history and French and music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI received enough financial support based on what my family needs \u2013 we are able to afford the cost of four years without financial strain! I don\u2019t think they give out [merit] scholarships for undergraduates; instead this is financial aid,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Xu, who plans to study history and economics at Harvard, started playing the French horn when she was aged eight, and the instrument has become her biggest passion. Music will remain a fundamental part of her life, though she is still not sure what she wants as a career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been a constant throughout my life, and I can envision that being in my life forever,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Xu says she drew a lot from her parents\u2019 migrant story too.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom their story, what I\u2019ve learned is to just adapt quickly to all the challenges with that huge end goal in sight,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it was so difficult for them for at least the first 10 years, but they kept pushing because they knew, for my brother and me, it would all be worth it, and we would end up having opportunities that they didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019d start work at 4am and work double what a normal person might. \u201cSo I\u2019m just super grateful, I feel like … almost all of my success is owed to them and their belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xu\u2019s practical tips for students with their sights set on an elite university place include managing time well and getting one-on-one sessions with educators.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially in year 12, it was just making use of every little second that I had, like recess and lunch time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Widener Library on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I would take a break, but most of the time I would be chatting with my friends about assessments coming up, or questions we had.<\/p>\n

\u201cI booked a lot of meetings with my teachers whenever I had a SAC [school-assessed coursework] coming up, or just when I had a question in general, I\u2019d always be in with my teachers just asking them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xu also credits winning a Premier\u2019s Spirit of Anzac Prize as part of her success with her university offers.<\/p>\n

Will Yaxley, a regional manager with Crimson Education, a consultancy that helps students with international university applications, says few Australians are accepted to the top US and UK schools.<\/p>\n

Yaxley says applying to overseas universities has become more popular since the pandemic, and about 120 year 12s have applied for US and UK schools via his company this year. Of those, 38 are focused on US colleges, 31 on UK schools, and the rest are applying to both countries.<\/p>\n

But students don\u2019t need perfect scores to get in, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose Ivy League schools [each] only accept five to 10 Australian students annually, with between 40 and 80 students getting in across the network. I think for the more competitive universities, academics get you a foot in the door. We recommend aiming for a 97 or 98 ATAR.\u201d<\/p>\n

US colleges have three pillars in their application processes: academic, extracurricular and personality. With only 40 per cent of the application based on academic achievement, Yaxley says he has seen students with lower grades succeed because they had a great story to tell.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"An<\/a><\/p>\n

One student started a school scrunchie business that tanked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe essay she wrote to Stanford started with, \u2018I first declared bankruptcy at the age of 16,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was what she learnt during that experience. It\u2019s that ambition they look for. If you have a really interesting authentic story to tell, that\u2019s the real differentiator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"NicoleNicole Precel<\/a> is an education reporter at The Age. She was previously an audio video producer. She is also a documentary maker. Get in touch at nicole.precel@theage.com.auConnect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":691507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-691506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/691507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}