The Product of Excellence: Harvard Bound [senior edition]

By Sydney Brammer

Senior Laine Roper is the epitome of what excellence is at Redwood High School. She has managed to quietly achieve so much success within just her four years, and a lot of it has gone unnoticed. With a grade point average of 4.55, Roper got accepted into a total of eight universities including; UC Davis, UC Irvine, Michigan State, Northern Michigan, Whitman, Cal Poly Pomona, Fresno State, and Harvard– where she has decided to commit to for the fall.

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the private Ivy League research university, Harvard, was founded in 1636 with a reputation of the highest-level of prestige in education. With an acceptance rate of only 5%, Harvard is among the nation’s most selective universities. Just about 42,749 applicants earned acceptance for the class of 2022, and Redwood’s Laine Roper was one of them. This year was the school’s first time where the overall acceptance rate dropped below five percent and the fourth consecutive year that this number has decreased from the year prior.

Throughout her four years at Redwood, Roper got involved in just about every aspect. She is a lifetime member of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF), spent freshman and sophomore year in chess club, junior and senior year in Students for Climate Action (S4CA) club, and is president of orchestra club. One of Roper’s most valued involvements is the Redwood Chamber Orchestra where she is the first chair cellist, which she has been a part of all four years. In addition, she also participated in county and state orchestras all four years. 

She is also quite the advocate for climate change and the community. She has volunteered through Sequoia River Lands Trust at the Kaweah Oaks Preserve as well as tutored for math during the pandemic. 

As far as her high school education, Roper took on a tough schedule throughout. Some of these classes include AP European History, AP English Language and Composition, AP Physics, AP United States History, AP Biology, AP Statistics, and AP Spanish Language. She also took Psychology, English, Microeconomics, Political Science, Calculus, and Chemistry at the College of the Sequioas. These classes are what has prepared Roper for the Ivy League. She says, “I learned how to handle a ton of work at the same time.”

With her studies, volunteer work, and passions, Roper plans to major in Environmental Engineering. According to her, math has been something she has always been exceptional at. She says, “I’ve developed an environmental passion while being in Students for Climate Action [club]. I think this a great way to combine the two.” Her long-term goal is to work on a team that develops solutions to modern environmental issues, as either a scientist or engineer.

Regarding the Harvard University application process, Roper began working on it in August and submitted in November of 2021. She received help from a college counselor whom suggested where she should apply and tips on how to edit her essays. According to Roper, the most difficult part of it all was structuring the essays and conveying her intended message.

Committing to the Ivy League for the fall, she is most excited about the people. She says, “Many international students come to Harvard and they all bring unique experiences.” 

Someone who has played a significant part in the whole process for Roper was her grandpa. She says, “He always reassured me of the value I would bring to a college. He made me feel confident and that I could do anything I wanted with my future.”

Shockingly enough, applying to Harvard was a recent interest of Roper’s. According to her, what built her interest was scoring a 1510 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which is Harvard’s average range and would provide her with an “application boost”, she says. Another factor was applying for early-action due to a smaller applicant pool. She says, “It was a wild card application that I assumed would lead nowhere, and I was shocked in December when I read my acceptance letter.”

As Roper leaves Redwood High School, she leaves a certain legacy behind. To underclassmen who are striving for the Ivy League, she recommends to send a specific message with each essay that accommodates who you are. “Some of my messages were my passion for music, history with math, and volunteer work experience,” she says. “Think back into your childhood and see if there’s any weird or rare events that you can connect to what you what to do now.”

Tags: Harvard, humans of redwood, Laine Roper, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, sydneybrammer