Left to right: Elizabeth J, Fabliha F, Sheyla S, Jia L

Thanks to AtomicMind, a company that helps students apply to top colleges, four HPHS students have a competitive edge in the admissions process this year. Founder and CEO Leelila Strogov and her team attended CYD’s 2023 Spelling Bee, where the stories of alumni inspired them to collaborate with CYD.

Rachel Potts, Director of Student Services, visited CYD’s Summer College Prep program at HPHS to give students pointers on best ways to strengthen their college essays, and announced that AtomicMind would award four scholarships to outstanding seniors with high academic qualifications. Fabliha F, Elizabeth J, Jia L, and Sheyla S were the lucky recipients, and have been working one-on-one with AtomicMind advisors to strategize their college lists, coordinate their applications, and sharpen their essays.

AtomicMind is helping the CYD students “craft their candidacies,” as Potts describes it. “By offering scholarships, we hope to help remedy the inequities in college admissions, one student at a time. College alone changes the trajectory of young people’s lives – and top colleges kick down the door for them.”

The students have already submitted early applications to schools including Barnard and Cooper Union and will continue to work with AtomicMind until they have committed to colleges. Potts says, “Everyone working with the CYD students is crazy about them! The process has been so positive for us and for the young women, and I hope it’s just the first of many years of AtomicMind and CYD working together for the benefit of the students.”