18-Year-Old’s Harvard Admissions Essay Is Going Viral And It Speaks To Everyone Who Has Lost A Parent
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Meet Abigail Mack, an 18-year-old high school senior from Massachusetts, whose heartfelt essay has tugged at the heartstrings of many. Not only has it touched many people online, it also got Abigail a place in the 2025 class at Harvard University. The odds looked impossible at first since the prestigious university just announced its lowest-ever acceptance rate, 1,968 out of 57,435 first-year applicants, which made it less than 4%.
Abigail has shared her Harvard entry-winning essay on TikTok where it immediately went viral, amassing 1.5M views just for part 1. “The common app essay that got me into Harvard was about the letter ‘S,’” she said, referring to the word “parents” in plural and the subtle spelling difference Grammarly made when adding “S” to its singular form.
“I used to have two parents, but now I have one, and the ‘S’ in ‘parents’ isn’t going anywhere,” Abigail said about losing her mom to cancer. See her powerful letter in full right below that tells a story of a teen navigating through the greatest loss of her life and accomplishing the seemingly impossible on the way.
18-year-old Abigail’s common app essay, a powerful metaphor of going through the loss of a parent, has earned her a place at Harvard University
Image credits: a_vmack
Abigail Mack, a high school senior and soon-to-be student of Harvard University’s class of 2025 has captivated the hearts of many on social media, and multiple university admission teams. It turns out, she also got invitations from schools like Northwestern and Notre Dame.
“I received a Likely Letter, which informs an applicant that they’ve been admitted prior to the official decision release date in the hopes that the applicant will make the school their first choice,” Abigail told BuzzFeed.
The high school senior shared her powerful common app essay in the series of now-viral TikTok videos
@a_vmackMy Harvard Common App Essay introduction ##harvard ##grammarly ##IFeelWeightless ##ChipsGotTalent ##fyp ##college ##commonapp ##xyzbca ##loss ##s♬ original sound – Abigail Mack
@a_vmack♬ original sound – Abigail Mack
@a_vmack♬ original sound – Abigail Mack
@a_vmack♬ original sound – Abigail Mack
“Likely Letters are really rare, and I’m so fortunate to have received one! My reaction was… interesting. There was a lot of screaming—I didn’t have a voice for about a week afterwards—and I was on the verge of tears.”
Incredibly, in the most competitive admission year at Harvard, Abigail was offered a place
Image credits: abigail_vmack
Image credits: a_vmack
@a_vmackI didn’t have a voice for a week after this 🥰 #harvard #college #accepted #fyp #foryou #xyzbca #MakeMomEpic♬ original sound – Abigail Mack
Abigail also said that she grew up in a very artistic family. “My mother opened a dance studio that my father still runs, and my father is a piano teacher, so theater has always been part of my life,” she said. Unsurprisingly, it became one of her passions. “There [is] something cathartic in escaping to a new world and being someone else for even just a few hours on stage.”
Image credits: abigail_vmack
But the woman’s hobbies don’t end just there. “Politics is a newer passion,” the 18-year-old continued. “When the Black Lives Matter demonstrations were occurring this past summer, I realized how passionately I felt about politics. I knew that I could no longer stand idly by and watch as the world made leaps forward without me. I became a fellow on Senator Ed Markey’s re-election campaign and also taught volunteers how to phone bank for Joe Biden’s campaign. It was extremely gratifying to feel like my voice was being heard.”
The multi-talented teen is now on the path of choosing what she will do next. But right now her career paths are all open as long as he chases her double “S,” her motivating paSSion.
And people praised Abigail for her inspirational essay that got her into Harvard
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This resonates with me so much. The default is to assume you have two parents, both of whom are still in your life. Correcting people usually results in you both being uncomfortable. For example (This last Sunday was Mother’s Day in the US): Grocery store clerk: “What pretty flowers! Are they for your mom?” Me: “Um...yeah.” Grocery Store Clerk: “Oh, she’ll love them! Are you taking her out for her special day?” Me: “Um...no. Just taking these to the cemetery.” Grocery Store Clerk: *awkward silence* Me: (Thinking, “You asked. I just wanted to buy the flowers and leave.”)
***Disclaimer: dark joke. I don't want to harm anyone's grieving process, so please stop reading now if you are** If you're ready to joke: tell her the cemetery won't let you take her out for Mother's Day. She's grounded. Or tell them you're dropping by the hardware store after this to buy a shovel to take her out. Or say you would take her out, but you forgot where you buried her, and the flowers are to feed the gnomes (or unicorns).
After work one day during the COVID lockdown, I told my boss that I was going to see my dad for his birthday but not to worry, we would stay six feet apart. My dad would have LOVED the joke.
I love it too :)
Wow. You’re dark. And a little twisted. I think we could probably be friends.
reminds me of when, after my mom passed, i was taking care of her business such as closing accounts, etc.. i can't remember exactly the issue but one company insisted that she to needed to respond this letter they kept sending. this was after i even provided a copy of death cert. so, on the next call, i gave them her address w/the mausoleum number as the apartment number. never heard from them again.
Me too. My dad passed right before my 13th birthday. Certain holidays are really hard even though it's been over 30 years now. My mom passed in 2011. I hate the questions in Mother's day and Father's day. I just say I'm spending time with my family. It's the easiest thing.
"How are your parents?"..... "Mom's okay. Dad's in an urn.".... *awkward* "How's your sister?" .... "Dead."..... And that's why I don't attend school reunions.
Also there are monomarental families...
Which is a beautiful Spanish word.
Wow! I've just learnt a new word! Thanks Miss Cris! :)
This resonates with me so much. The default is to assume you have two parents, both of whom are still in your life. Correcting people usually results in you both being uncomfortable. For example (This last Sunday was Mother’s Day in the US): Grocery store clerk: “What pretty flowers! Are they for your mom?” Me: “Um...yeah.” Grocery Store Clerk: “Oh, she’ll love them! Are you taking her out for her special day?” Me: “Um...no. Just taking these to the cemetery.” Grocery Store Clerk: *awkward silence* Me: (Thinking, “You asked. I just wanted to buy the flowers and leave.”)
***Disclaimer: dark joke. I don't want to harm anyone's grieving process, so please stop reading now if you are** If you're ready to joke: tell her the cemetery won't let you take her out for Mother's Day. She's grounded. Or tell them you're dropping by the hardware store after this to buy a shovel to take her out. Or say you would take her out, but you forgot where you buried her, and the flowers are to feed the gnomes (or unicorns).
After work one day during the COVID lockdown, I told my boss that I was going to see my dad for his birthday but not to worry, we would stay six feet apart. My dad would have LOVED the joke.
I love it too :)
Wow. You’re dark. And a little twisted. I think we could probably be friends.
reminds me of when, after my mom passed, i was taking care of her business such as closing accounts, etc.. i can't remember exactly the issue but one company insisted that she to needed to respond this letter they kept sending. this was after i even provided a copy of death cert. so, on the next call, i gave them her address w/the mausoleum number as the apartment number. never heard from them again.
Me too. My dad passed right before my 13th birthday. Certain holidays are really hard even though it's been over 30 years now. My mom passed in 2011. I hate the questions in Mother's day and Father's day. I just say I'm spending time with my family. It's the easiest thing.
"How are your parents?"..... "Mom's okay. Dad's in an urn.".... *awkward* "How's your sister?" .... "Dead."..... And that's why I don't attend school reunions.
Also there are monomarental families...
Which is a beautiful Spanish word.
Wow! I've just learnt a new word! Thanks Miss Cris! :)