Anthony Arcangelo is a senior at EHHS who has been accepted to Yale University on a significant scholarship. He is passionate about economics and plans to major in it at Yale, even though it’s not one of Yale’s most traditional majors. Anthony comes from a humble background but uses his experiences in life to excel and strives to do better, leading to his success. In terms of extracurricular activities, Anthony has participated in or is currently involved in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Science Club, National Honor Society (NHS), E-Sports Club, Math League, Peer Mentoring, and the East Haven Youth Service Commission. Similarly, Anthony is the E-Sports club’s assistant coach, head of the Science Club community outreach, Academic Leader of the Peer Tutoring and T.A. Program, and works at the teen center every other Friday for the East Haven Youth Service Commission. When Anthony was in sixth grade, he joined the Youth Service Commission and heard from the community that they were looking for a recreational center for the youth. Working alongside the team, they created an enrichment program for kids that runs every other Friday night.
Anthony has done exceedingly well throughout his school career, including earning a current 4.7 GPA score on a 5.0 point scale, a 1430 on the SAT with a 740 in English and 690 in math, 5’s on the AP Pre-Calculus and AP Government & Politics exams, and a 4 on the AP United States History exam. It has been projected that Anthony will be the salutatorian of the Class of 2025. Anthony is planning to major in economics at Yale. Yale currently does not offer minors; however, it does offer extracurricular activities dedicated to its programs.
On Monday, December 3rd, 2024, Anthony was anxiously awaiting the college decision results between 3 and 4 PM. To distract himself, he played Fortnite with his friends Connor Czaplicki and Trevor Vaccino, ultimately winning the game. Anthony originally had the University of Pennsylvania as his top choice, followed by Yale, Boston College, and Boston University, assuming he’d end up at a Boston school. Mid-game, Anthony’s other friends messaged him to let him know that the results were out. Anthony realized he had been matched with Yale, and was awarded his scholarship. Overjoyed, he first shared the news with his family and friends, including his mother, who cried with happiness.
With his scholarship, the school ultimately covers around $90,000 in total, with around $20,000 for housing, and around $70,000 for tuition. He still has to pay a bit out of pocket, but that is a requirement for every student.
On a personal level, Anthony looks up to his mother for influence and support. Similarly, one of Anthony’s biggest inspirations is LeBron James, as he finds LeBron’s story to be highly inspirational. He admires his journey from a challenging upbringing with a single mother to becoming one of the best basketball players ever. During the admissions process, one key player in his success was history teacher Mr. Bryson Wilson. Anthony described Mr. Wilson as the “G.O.A.T” throughout the process.
Mr. Wilson specifically supported Anthony throughout Anthony’s college application process by discussing schools, programs, and guidance; however, he mentioned that Anthony took what he could get and got to work on it. Mr. Wilson wrote Anthony a recommendation letter and provided feedback on his essays, but stated that Anthony earned his success through his own efforts. Similarly, Mrs. Ashley Bogart was another big help, but for another reason. Although only having Anthony as a student, Mrs. Bogart wanted to bring Anthony around to “make a big deal for him.” Mrs. Bogart was extremely excited and proud and wanted to make sure that he was recognized for this incredible achievement.
Now that the initial shock has worn off, Anthony is now focused on continuing to maintain his academic standing, required under his scholarship. Despite the excitement from others, including people congratulating his mother in public, he is taking things in stride and living as he normally would.
When reflecting on his challenging upbringing, Anthony noted that he came from a poor family with little to no support systems; however, he continued to push toward access and has now become the first in his immediate family to attend college, let alone Yale University. He says his success comes from his self-motivation, and a key lesson he noted is, “I see things I go through, and I don’t use them as an excuse, but I use them as a reason to do better.”
Anthony emphasized that just because he got accepted into Yale doesn’t make him this extraterrestrial being, stating “I’m just a guy,” and throwing out the idea of being seen as something so high and mighty.
Anthony notes that the advice he would give to someone who would want to follow in his footsteps is to find things that you’re truly interested in and stick with them. He noted that people tend to apply to a lot of clubs or do a lot of extracurriculars, but do not show any commitment to them. Another big piece of advice is to realize that the people who read the applications are people too, and to show that you are a person throughout your application as well.
The Comet wants to express our best wishes to Anthony on his journey to Yale when the time comes!
