As the school year wraps up, thousands of Central Florida students will be walking down the aisle for their graduations.
- Margarita Cruz-Sanchez is graduating valedictorian of West Shore Jr./Sr.
- Cruz-Sanchez was accepted at 17 colleges, including 5 Ivy League schools
- Cruz-Sanchez will go to Brown
The process of applying for colleges can be a long and very stressful one – especially true for Margarita Cruz-Sanchez.
The now-former West Shore Jr./Sr. High School student graduated as class valedictorian Friday night with a GPA of 4.57.
She began applying for colleges nine months ago and was accepted into 17, including five Ivy League schools.
“It was really rigorous in the beginning, because it was hard to start the essays because I didn’t know where to start at all. As I kept going through the applications it got easier and easier,” said Cruz-Sanchez, who would often hours late into the night on weekends applying.
In February, Cruz-Sanchez began receiving “likely” letters in the mail – a form of acceptance letter that is usually reserved for recruited and highly sought-after athletes.
She was accepted into Dartmouth, Brown, Penn, Cornell and Columbia, and ended up choosing Brown – the first school she applied for.
“I fell in love with Brown’s community and I felt like it was the best choice for me to achieve my dreams,” said Cruz-Sanchez.
In the fall she plans on double majoring in Biology and Public Heath, with hopes of eventually working with Doctors without Borders.
Margarita will spend the next eight years in college. She has already been accepted into Brown’s medical school.
She said school and grades never came easy for her – and all of her hard work is starting to pay off.
“The world is really at my fingertips, and there are so many doors that are going to be opened in college if I take the opportunity,” said Cruz-Sanchez.