College Bound: the myth, the legend, the Linosaur

Editor’s note: This year, the Falcon will be following the trials and tribulations of the college application process. Linus is the first of two seniors who will be profiled in this series.

 

Senior Linus Lu is the epitome of what one might call an eclectic mind. A quick online search of his name yields conflicting results: He's defending Shostakovich, a 20th-century Russian composer on ask.fm, and debating between favorite classical pieces (Mahler Symphony No. 2 or 6?) on Facebook. He's reading T.S. Eliot (not just "The Waste Land") in his spare time, and writing his fair share of poetry.

He's also asking his then-girlfriend to prom in cheesy, rainbow-colored bubble letters, and striking an awkward pose with an umbrella, left leg outstretched, on a music department trip to Spain.

Perhaps Lu is best characterized by his old Facebook profile photo — "the myth, the legend, the linosaur." A hasty pencil sketch of what perhaps was intended to be a T-rex, as the short chicken arms and large head might suggest, breathes a wild irreverence into the page with its outstretched tongue.

The time has come, Lu said, to talk of many things: of humanities, English and history. Of high school and college applications.

So far, Lu has finished the Common Application, his essay for the University of Chicago, the majority of his supplements for Yale, his green sheets and the guidance packets. Unlike many seniors, he isn't stressed yet about the application process.  

"Emphasis on yet," Linus said. "At this point, I'm quite fine with where I'm at."

Last spring Lu asked for recommendation letters from his teachers. He asked English 10 and 11H teacher Ken Nguyen, who he’s had for three years, and AP and regular Physics teacher Kirk Davis. He considers himself one of Nguyen’s favorite students.

During those crucial months, he was also talking to his private counselor, former assistant principal Karen Hyde who owns the business “Hyde Consults,” frequently to hone in on his college list.

It is equal parts impressive and daunting: It includes Ivy Leagues and Top 20 schools like Stanford, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Northwestern, Pomona and Swarthmore, in addition to a smattering of the best UCs — Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego.

"I’ve always been one to purposely overload myself [with work] and force myself to finish," he said. "That helps me in terms of motivation and work ethic."

Perhaps that's the story of his high school experience. As a senior, he's enrolled in five AP classes, and is taking both AP Literature and AP Language and Composition. In junior year, he packed his schedule with three AP and three Honors classes. Even as a lowly sophomore, he managed to stick an AP into his schedule with Music Theory.

"I try not to worry about [it]," he said. "I just do it."

Through high school, he came to a slow realization that he wanted to pursue the humanities. In his words, he just realized that he enjoyed, and was better at, the humanities over the STEM subjects.

It was cemented, however, in what he did the summer before junior year: The Stanford Humanities Institute.

"Before, I was more interested in history, but the program really got me into English," Linus said. "I got a hold on some short stories and that got me into creative writing, and after writing a few short stories I decided to do poetry.”

It's undeniable Linus has blazed through high school with a startling clarity. He looks and plays the part of a person who knows exactly what he wants, and how to get it.

Just looking at his extracurricular activities is enough proof of that. He's a principal violist at the El Camino Youth Symphony, and has played there since 2009. He won the 2014 Young Violists Competition, received a Gold Key in the 2013 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and is currently working on submitting to more literary magazines.

For him, applying early to Yale was simply the natural next step.

"Yale seemed to fit my interests, such as their music program," Linus said. "[It also] has this record study program. It's interdisciplinary, [has] philosophy, literature …"

The school also boasts a 2014 acceptance rate of 6.3 percent.

Still, Linus is confident — why shouldn't he be, given his accomplishments?

"I haven't visited Yale yet, but I will once I get in," he said. “If I get in,” he corrected himself with a smug smile.

The clear-cut outlines fade shortly after college applications end, though.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure [what I want to do in the future]," Linus admitted. "The humanities path isn't so kind in terms of money."

He said he put "college professor" on his Common Application as his career aspiration, but he isn’t 100 percent sure of that choice.

"An alternate would be law. My dream is being a writer, but that doesn't work out for 99 percent of people," Linus said. "I want to be slightly realistic."