Living outside Baltimore, Maryland, makes it hard for a kid to imagine living elsewhere. But now, almost 20 years since I was born at the ​​Greater Baltimore Medical Center, I am studying at the University of Southern California. I can’t imagine ever moving back to the East Coast. But how did I end up here?

My name is Johanna Lee and I am currently an undergraduate studying Human Biology at the University of Southern California. As someone who grew up and lived in California practically all my life, I wanted to share my personal experience throughout my high school journey and the college application process.

The first week I arrived at Brown University, everyone was asking themselves the same question: How did I get in here? While we started off intimidated by our accomplished classmates and brilliant professors, we learned that the simple truth is that most top universities are filled not with child prodigies but with smart, hard-working students.