It all still feels surreal, says Harvard-bound Alyssa Yap
KUCHING: Kuching girl Alyssa Yap Xin Yi will soon embark on the most extraordinary journey of her life as she pursues her undergraduate studies at Harvard University in the United States.
Competing against a global talent pool of 61,220 candidates for slots in the Harvard College Class of 2026, Yap said the moment she discovered she had been accepted still feels surreal to her and her family.
This is especially because the university’s acceptance rate for the class of 2026 was a mere 3.19 per cent, the lowest in the university’s 386-year history.
“Absolute disbelief, unbridled joy, overwhelming gratitude, and everything in between. I really didn’t expect to get in when I applied, so this came as a total shock but I was and still am incredibly grateful.
“My family was just as shocked and happy as I was!” Yap told The Borneo Post.
She plans to pursue her undergraduate degree in the fields of neuroscience and linguistics, with graduation expected in 2026.
“I really enjoy studying how both fields are interconnected with one another. I’m pretty excited for what’s to come, and I’m hoping to really take advantage of what Harvard has to offer,” she said.
Yap, who will turn 20 this year, also thanked Harvard University for granting her financial aid, requiring her family to pay just a fraction of the total cost of attendance (including tuition fees, and room and board, among others).
The university said its goal is to provide educational opportunities to the best and brightest students around the world and to serve as a haven for the world’s most ambitious scholars and leaders.
“Their incredible financial aid programme really made it possible for me to attend without being a huge financial burden to my family, and I truly have no words to express how grateful I am for the amazing opportunity,” said Yap, who has a younger brother.
She attended SK Green Road and SMK Green Road, before completing her A-Levels at Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC), Singapore under an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Pre-University Scholarship.
In school and junior college, Yap demonstrated impressive academic excellence and exceptional co-curricular participation, most notably being part of the SMK Green Road team that won the Swinburne Sarawak Interschool Debating Championship in 2019.
She was also a national finalist for the Malaysian Brain Bee Challenge 2019 and was a medallist for multiple international competitions such as the International Biology Olympiad and International Biomedical Quiz held in Singapore.
Yap was also elected Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) Debate and Oratorical Society president.
She submitted her Harvard University application and attended the online interview as part of the admissions process in October last year while preparing for her A-Levels examination the following month.
She was notified of the incredible news of her acceptance in mid-December while completing her mandatory quarantine period in Kuching after returning from abroad.
Yap is currently doing her internship at the Centre of Education Research, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus as a research assistant.
She will most likely depart for the United States around August as her classes at Harvard are expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year.
Yap will be joining fellow Malaysians for the Harvard College Class of 2026, namely Chooi Je Qin from Johor, Herman Leong Xin Yang and Ishant Shah from Penang, Carisma Michaela Wong from Sabah, and Lee Ee Jenn from Kuala Lumpur.
“The Malaysian alumni have been wonderful at organising and looking after the current students there at Harvard, and now taking us under their wing as well,” she said.
She added there are many incredibly talented and passionate Malaysians out there who can make a difference on the world stage.
“It just takes a spark of courage to apply and reach out for those opportunities. You have what it takes to make Malaysia and Sarawak proud, no matter who you are, where you come from, or where you go next,” she said.