Since I recently created this channel, and many of you joined hoping to get insights into the U.S. admissions process, I want to make one thing clear: while I’ll do my best to share valuable content, I don’t claim to be an admissions expert. My acceptance to Babson doesn’t make me better than anyone else, nor does it define me. It simply means that my hard work was recognized and paid off. I don’t want my content to revolve solely around being a "Babson student" because there’s more to me than just a college acceptance.
So, let me introduce myself and give you a quick glimpse into my background.
I’m originally from Samarkand, where I lived most of my life. I studied at Public School 37 till the 10th grade, after which I went to the US as a FLEX exchange student.
During my time in the US, I was so caught up in my daily routine - going to school, playing varsity tennis and track & field, and spending time with my host family, that I didn’t think much about applying to universities. I loved shopping with my host family, cooking Uzbek food together, and watching movies - it was a stable, carefree period of my life.
But when I returned home, it hit me. It felt like my life had been abruptly cut off. The people I saw every day were suddenly gone, and the world I had built for a year just disappeared. I was in the middle of an existential crisis, and having to take state exams in Uzbekistan didn’t make it any easier.
By May 2024, I realized I was lagging behind. I had no SAT or IELTS. The only thing I had going for me was my high GPA both in Uzbekistan and the U.S, my nonprofit work, and a decent number of school awards and ECs that I could leverage on my CommonApp.
I knew I was doing everything I could do at that time, but deep down, I knew that my chances of getting into a US university —let alone winning a full scholarship—were low. That’s when I oddly all of a sudden moved to Tashkent and enrolled at WIUT.
After my life in the U.S., returning to a slow-paced life in Samarkand felt suffocating. Tashkent was my escape, even though WIUT wasn’t the best choice, I thought I would get caught up to the uni life and that would help me deal with my existential crisis. But once I got there, I felt completely out of place. I isolated myself, spending all my time in the library, working on my Common App.
Months passed. I took the IELTS and scored an 8 which wasn’t surprising, since many FLEXers get similar scores with minimal prep. Language immersion definitely helped. But my SAT? That was a different story.
With time running out, I completely wrecked my sleep schedule, staying up until 5-6 AM because my anxiety convinced me that if I didn’t work on my essays, I’d fail. December rolled around, right before my birthday, and I finally made the decision to drop out of WIUT. I knew I wouldn’t be able to juggle midterms, SAT prep, and college applications all at once.
I took the December SAT, got a subpar score, and realized I had no choice but to apply test optional. That’s when I narrowed down my college list and just prayed for a miracle—hoping that, somehow, I’d find the inspiration to write standout essays.
Even on New Year's While everyone was celebrating, I was working on my application. IN fact, on that day, I even got a one-hour consultation from Umid (Yale ‘26), who roasted my personal statement and told me to rewrite it, knowing damn well I had less than 24 hours before the deadline. That didn't help at all and only destroyed my self-esteem further💀💀.
But even with very little hope left, I refused to give up. I worked until the last moment and submitted my applications.Then I tried to get back to a normal by fixing my sleep schedule and improving my mental well-being. I started going to the gym, running regularly again, and doing my best to not tweak from waiting for my results.
And Then… My Hard Work Paid Off.
I got a full ride to Babson.
The moral of the story? Do your best even if you think your chances are almost equal to 0. What is meant for you will find you and no one can take away what is truly meant for you.
