As Ivy League colleges diversify, a Mackay, QLD native gains admission

This year, Harvard admitted a record high 20.3 per cent of students from modest or low-income backgrounds. Also, for the first time in a decade, a majority (50.1 per cent) of its admissions were female. There’s even an argument it's becoming so diverse it's sidelining merit in its admissions process, but that's another story. Swept up in this wind of change is Australian and incoming Harvard undergraduate, Corbin Duncan. Hailing from Mackay, a small city halfway up Queensland's coast, he never expected to study at the venerable Ivy League institution. "I applied to Australian universities with the expectation of attending one of them," the former St Joseph's College, Nudgee student said. After applying to Harvard thinking it was a long shot, he was shocked to receive an admission offer. His entry to the globally top-ranked university is more profound considering neither of his parents went to university. In fact, his father dropped out of school in Year 10 to pursue a mining apprenticeship in the Bowen Basin. Ironically, his father's story is what helped him impress Harvard admission officers. In one of many application essays, he wrote about his family's move from Mackay to Brisbane just before the economically-crippling mining downturn, and how this got him politically engaged. "[It] taught me a lot about voters' disenchantment," he said. "...It also allowed me to focus on moments in my life that have really shaped who I am." This, he said, is the key to a successful Harvard admission essay. You needn't be disadvantaged. But you must demonstrate how you're "following your passion in new, innovative ways". So, what is Duncan's passion? There are two: politics and economics. He is spending his 'mini gap year' working for a local councillor until he moves stateside in August. At Harvard, he intends to focus on macroeconomics, while concurrently studying democratic structures. "For example, the difference between Republics and the Westminster system, Prime Minsters versus Presidents," he explained. "[Harvard] has thrown more doubt into my career path because it unlocks so much more potential," he said. A first-world problem - one likely shared by the several other Australians who were recently offered admission to six out of the eight Ivy League universities, with the help of education consultancy firm Crimson Education. Their success is amplified in the context of record-low admission rates for these institutions, due to increasing applications. Nonetheless, Duncan thinks anyone interested in studying at an Ivy League university should begin the year-long application process, "even just for the experience of self-discovery". "I've been really lucky. I've had a great upbringing and have a nice family," he acknowledged. "It's up to the individual to form their [application essay] story. When you really dig in, you find out that everyone has a unique reason for their passion. "I absolutely encourage all to apply."