When Nora Penni clicked on her admissions update regarding Harvard, she wasn’t expecting much, but what many top students dream of came true. She was accepted into Harvard University. Penni has been a top student in the Class of 2022 and been heavily involved in the music and science departments at BHS. At Harvard, Penni plans to study evolutionary biology.

Nora Penni: Harvard 

• At what age or grade did you start thinking about college and future plans?

“Freshman year was the year I started thinking about college. I joined some clubs that had seniors and upperclassmen and they would tell me their college process. It wasn’t really a serious thing for me until the beginning of junior year.”

• Did anything change during Covid-19 and the two years that were significantly different? How were you able to stay on top of things?

“A lot of the college process was done on my own more so than in class. It forced me to take more initiative for myself and it was the same way I stayed on top of my classes during COVID.”

• Give me a breakdown of your schedule? Did you load up on all of the AP classes offered, or was your schedule based on what classes interest you? What classes interest you the most?

“I honestly haven’t superloaded my schedule with AP’s. By the time I graduate, I would’ve taken 9 or so AP classes spread over the four years, never taking more than three a year. I took classes that I decided I was interested in and it happened to be AP here or there.” 

• Did you have any particular involvement in any extracurriculars or anything outside of school?

“I have been a very avid music student over the years. I’ve done band, marching band, jazz band, vocal jazz, Tri-M (Music National Honor Society) for the most part consistently since freshman year. A lot of my high school career has been shaped by my music involvement.”

• For SATs how did you go about in terms of preparation and the whole process? Did you use a tutor, or did you self study?

“I took my SAT spring of junior year, and that was when I knew SAT scores were going to be optional for all of my schools. I was just taking it to take it, I did not study at all, I did not prepare. I told myself I was going to use the Khan Academy resources but I just ended up never using it as I got bogged down by AP exams. I did not study, I went in, took it once and never took it again”. I didn’t send my scores to Harvard.” 

• What is your advice on how to go about your high school years?

“If you find something that you’re really passionate about and enjoy, try to make as much time as possible for that. It is never too early to find and develop another interest as it is not too late. Take classes that genuinely interest you.”

• So now, let’s focus on the application process, explain the importance of the writing supplements and what tips or tricks can you give? How long did the process take?

“English is one of my favorite subjects. I love to write. For me, it was pretty easy. My English teacher during junior year was really helpful. She gave us a breakdown of all of the different prompts they give you for the Common app and asked us to brainstorm what we would say for each and then pick whichever best fitted naturally to you in terms of writing and roll with it. I took a metaphor and wrote my essay around that and it ended up working extremely well for me. My English teacher this year really helped me profreeded it so I really thank her as well. The main essay took me like a week or so and then I edited it for months whereas the supplemental essay I wrote in two hours two days before my Harvard application was due.”

• How did you keep on schedule with all of the deadlines?

“I organized it by anything that was due imminently, no matter what school or what aspect it was due for, I did that first. But, there were also a few deadlines that I ended up missing, and a lot of schools are really understanding with submitting stuff late. Try to get it done in time but don’t panic if a deadline slips by.”

• Were there any other schools that you considered that you were accepted into, or was Harvard the absolute choice when you received your acceptance? 

“Harvard was the last acceptance I got. It was not my top school, I liked Northeastern, and loved UNH when I got in. The only other schools I got into this year were my safeties. Before Ivy Decision Day, my choice was UNH, because I didn’t get into any other schools, Ivy Day then came around and it was just Harvard.”

• Explain the importance of maintaining strong relationships with teachers, who during your time at BHS were you most close to?

“I loved all my teachers at BHS and my senior superlative was ‘teacher’s pet’. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to grow close with a lot of my teachers, most notably Mrs. Briggs, my Junior year English teacher, Mrs. Salley, my AP Lit teacher, Ms. Russell, my homeroom teacher for four years, I took bio and AP Bio with her. Since I am majoring in life sciences, she has been super helpful in shaping my education over the years. There are so many teachers whom I can speak praise to.”

• If you had to do anything over whether in your time at BHS, or on the college admissions process, would you change anything?

“I would say get more on top of deadlines. I have been a very last-minute person and while I’ve been okay with sometimes getting away with it in a sense, try and set out your time wisely and be on top of those deadlines. There is more hassle and difficulties if you don’t stay on top of things.”

• Describe the moment when you read the email that you got accepted into Harvard? What were the emotions like? Do you regard this as one of your most successful accomplishments of your life?

“I forgot that the Ivy Decisions day was coming out, they released them at 7 o’clock at the last day of March and I forgot. I was about to go eat dinner and one of my friends texted me like ‘Oh hey, did you check the Ivy’s yet’. I was like ‘I will check later, I have to eat dinner afterwards’ because I had completely written it off and wasn’t expecting anything. After I finished dinner, Harvard happened to be the most recent email in my inbox and I signed in , forgot my password for the portal, had to reset it, and then logged in. I opened the application update and had to read it like four times before it kind of sunk in. I then went downstairs and told my parents the news. I was in shock for like three hours after that, and it took like a day to actually sink in.”

• So once your five years of BHS come to a close, what is one thing that you will take away from this period in your life?

“I have genuinely enjoyed my time here immensely, I’ve had a great high school experience. I will definitely take some of the friendships, whether it be with teachers and obviously people my age. I think being here, having taken the classes I’ve taken, the workload that I’ve done has taught me that if you want to do and learn something, the opportunities are there if you just take the time and initiative to find it. If you have the time and desire to do something, you can do it.”

Hannah Clark: Dartmouth

Hannah Clark has made her mark on BHS. She has established the Girls in Stem club, been the president of DECA, and served as an active leader on the Girls Field Hockey and Girls Lacrosse teams. Clark has been a face of both the Science and Business pathways at BHS and has had multiple accomplishments in both. At Dartmouth, Clark will be majoring in Engineering and Environmental Studies.

• At what age or grade did you start thinking about college and future plans?

“It’s always been in the back of my mind since I started high school. But I would say I didn’t seriously start thinking about college, as in researching schools and deciding on what exactly I wanted to study, until my junior year.”

• Throughout your years in high school, what were you driven by, what was your motivation?

“I wouldn’t say one thing gave me motivation throughout all of high school. I’ve had different motivations at different points. Maybe I was motivated to get a good grade on a test to push my grade above a certain checkpoint. Sometimes I was motivated by an interest. Sometimes it was the people around me that motivated me to pursue something or finish a project. It always varied, so that I never relied on one source of motivation.”

• Did anything change during COVID and the two years that were significantly different? How were you able to stay on top of things?

“Learning remotely was definitely a big change to adapt to. Online and hybrid school was a challenge at times but I had to work on time management and create a daily schedule that worked for me while learning from home. Like many others, I had to learn how to focus on school from my house, something I’d never had to do before.”

• Give me a breakdown of your schedule? Did you load up on all of the AP classes offered, or was your schedule based on what classes interest you? What classes interest you the most?

“My junior year was the year I decided to take on the most challenging schedule. I enrolled in five APs my junior year, which was definitely difficult but it was the right year for me to put in more work than I ever had before. After it all, I came out with better time management skills and I had really narrowed down my interests in terms of what I wanted to pursue in college. I spread out other AP courses throughout the years to create more balanced schedules. I always tried to create a good mix of classes that really interested me, ones that would challenge me more, and some that I would simply enjoy. I love my senior year schedule. I’m taking one math AP and one science AP. I love math and science and that is what I’d like to pursue, so I knew taking challenging courses in these subjects would prepare me better for the future. Other than that, I’m taking courses that involve some other interests, like creative writing, greek, and entrepreneurship.”

• Did you have any particular involvement in any extracurriculars or anything outside of school?

“During my years at BHS, I’ve been a part of quite a few different clubs. But my two most significant involvements are with DECA and Girls in STEM. DECA is a business club at BHS that has always had a large number of students and teaches skills in business topics like marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship, which are then applied to regional, state, and national business competitions with other DECA members from around the world. I started my involvement in DECA my freshman year and loved everything it had to teach. I’ve participated in competitions in the Business Law and Ethics category with my partner Maya for the last four years. I was a DECA officer my junior year, and this year I am serving as Co-President of the club. This position has helped me with so many skills that I will use in my future, like professionalism, communication, organization, and time management. Girls in STEM is a club that myself and my friend Maya Wilson-Ehrenthal founded at the end of last school year. We both have interests in the STEM field and saw a lack of STEM based opportunities at our school outside of classes. We also saw a disparity in representation of girls in certain STEM classes in our school. This trend continues into colleges, and into the working world as women are underrepresented in many STEM based jobs. We were inspired to start the Girls in STEM club to provide a collaborative space for girls in our school to discuss and pursue a shared interest. We also wanted to encourage younger girls to get involved in the amazing STEM programs that BHS has to offer. The support for the club has been amazing, both Ms.West and Mrs.Konyn have been amazing advisors to the club and their excitement and engagement with Girls in STEM has made it what it is today, and I know they will continue to nurture it in years to come. I’m so excited to see where the club goes next. I’ve also participated in Field Hockey from 8-12 grade as well as playing two years of Lacrosse, including this year. Field Hockey and Lacrosse have been such an important part of my high school experience. I love being part of a team and I’ve made some amazing relationships with my teammates and coaches through the years. Playing sports has also served as an escape from the academic bubble of the school. It broadened my involvement at BHS while allowing me to participate in something I really enjoyed with lots of amazing people.”

• For SAT’s how did you go about in terms of preparation and the whole process? Did you use a tutor, or did you self study?

“I honestly didn’t prepare much for the SAT or ACT. I think everyone is different in terms of preparation, and that practicing can be a super valuable tool to help people succeed on standardized tests. And there is nothing wrong with applying test optional if that’s an option. For me, I used my tests as application material and submitted my scores. I took both tests twice, and I would suggest that to those who want to submit scores as part of their application. On both tests, I scored better the second time around, and I think my scores ended up helping in the admissions process.”

• So now, let’s focus on the application process, explain really the importance of the writing supplements and what tips or tricks can you give? How long did the process take?

“During college applications, I felt like I’d always have the application part finished and all the information input in the matter of days, then the only thing left was the writing supplements. These were always the last things I ended up completing. I noticed that lots of schools have similar prompts. To stay organized, I made a Google Doc with all the supplements for all my schools. I answered some of the more generic questions first, and I could kind of recycle some of the material I’d written on similar questions. I think most colleges really look at supplements when considering your application, so they are a great tool to help set yourself apart. For this reason, you should be totally honest in your supplements and talk about things that interest you. I found it much easier to answer a question when I incorporated something that interests me, or an activity I care about.”

• How did you keep on schedule with all of the deadlines and such.                                                                                  “I made a Google Sheet with all the deadlines for my applications and to keep track of what I had and hadn’t completed.”

• Were there any other schools that you considered that you were accepted into, or was Dartmouth the absolute choice when you received your acceptance? 

“Once I got into Dartmouth, it was a no-brainer. That was my dream school since the start, and it made the decision pretty easy.”

• Explain the importance of maintaining strong relationships with teachers, who during your time at BHS were you most close too?

“I was able to build many strong relationships with teachers and staff during my time at BHS. This was important to me because it helped me build a support system in the school and connect with people who could offer me academic and personal resources to help me succeed. Some of my teachers have been very impactful and I could name so many people who I will remember after Barnstable High School. My business teacher and DECA advisor, Mrs.Maurice, has made a big impact on me, helped me build so many skills that I’ll use in the future, and guided some of my decisions about what I want to do with my future. Ms.Miklosky has been my Greek/Latin teacher every year since eighth grade and has been a consistent source of support. Ms.West, my engineering teacher turned Girls in STEM advisor, has given me so many resources and provided me with one of the best opportunities I found at BHS. She has been so supportive of my future interests and projects, and I’m very grateful for her enthusiasm and help in founding the Girls in STEM Club. I’m really grateful for many of my teachers I’ve had who have helped me grow and become more prepared for my future, especially all of my senior year teachers. There are many other BHS staff members that I am grateful for, like Ms.Lopes, the Administrative Assistant in the main office who is very reliable and always there when I need her, my TGA/Advisory teacher for the last five years Ms.Brown, and so many more adults in the school that have helped me grow during the last five years.”

• If you had to do anything over whether in your time at BHS, or on the college admissions process, would you change anything?

“I was pretty happy with the way I dealt with the college application process. I did everything independently but sought help when I needed it. I kept my entire application process pretty quiet, I didn’t share much about where I was applying until I got in. There’s plenty of little things I could’ve done differently, but I’ve honestly forgotten about some of those smaller mistakes. A piece of advice I would give to everyone applying is: stay active in your application even after you have submitted the initial application. For Dartmouth specifically, I posted updates about recent accomplishments/activities in my portal a few times after I had submitted my application.”

• Describe the moment when you read the email that you got accepted into Dartmouth? What were the emotions like? Do you regard this as one of your most successful accomplishments of your life?

“I was nervous the entire day leading up to my decision letter. I tried to waste time and not think about it much. But once it became 7:00 I immediately opened my laptop and logged into my application portal. I was so nervous to open my letter but when I finally did I read the first word “Congratulations!” I was so excited and shocked. I ran downstairs to tell my mom, all while rereading the letter a dozen times to make sure I read it correctly. It was the best feeling, such an immediate relief that I had gotten into my dream school and all the work I put in had paid off. I was so happy and excited, but more than anything I was really proud of myself.”

• So once your five years of BHS come to a close, what is one thing that you will take away from this period in your life?

“I learned a lot during my time at BHS. I’ve grown in a lot of ways. While learning about others and my surroundings, I also really got to learn more about myself. I’m much more prepared for my future.”