Ripdaman's Road to UBC Engineering & $75,000 in Funding

Ripdaman had everything he needed to succeed in the university admission process on his own. The grades, the extracurriculars, and the confidence were all there.  However, procrastination and a busy schedule got in the way. Here's how he got into his dream program.

Written by Adam Griffiths and Ripdaman Malhans

There are certain moments in life that make you feel proud and amazed at what you did when you can't help but think, “Wow… I really did that”. 

Personally, I had a few instances of these moments throughout my high school life. 

One of them was joining AdmissionPrep. 

I never had any major aspirations for getting into a really competitive program or winning tons of scholarship money. I knew that I could do it, but like many others, I had fallen victim to procrastination. Being an IB student, I couldn't really afford that.

I was around a month into Grade 12, and I had practically no idea what I was going to be doing in terms of university. 

Then near the end of September, my dad texted me about something called AdmissionPrep. I heard it, and instantly I thought to myself, “I don’t need that.” I was an excellent student; why would I need extra support?

I felt that if I let someone help me, it wouldn’t be my work.

That was one of the reasons why I felt I didn’t need AdmissionPrep. 

Trust me, that was a bad judgment.

Up till that point, I had always felt that I was just "unlucky".

What I didn’t realize was that I'd got luckier than I could ever imagine. 

After doing the assessment, we signed up and I got started with my AdmissionPrep advisor. 

All of a sudden, things started to click. The day I signed up, my dad told me something that I would never forget:

“You’re only lucky if you take more chances. The more chances you take, the luckier you get.” 

He was basically saying to apply for every university so you can “get lucky”.

So that’s what I did. I started applying to quite a few scholarships and my top universities. From the Schulich to the Vimy Pilgrimage Award, I tried to apply to as many scholarships as possible while handling IB, robotics at the international level and multiple clubs.  

And doing so much made me a better candidate for competitive programs…? Right?

RIGHT? 

Nope.

Before AdmissionPrep, I was so busy I didn’t even want to think about preparing for university much less do anything about it. And applying to multiple universities? All with unique applications & interviews? 

I’ll pass on that one. 

I still shudder at the thought of trying to do all of that myself.

Having AdmissionPrep present as a support system made my job a lot easier. 

Not only was I able to learn the most effective ways to write essays, but I was also able to get professional feedback that helped me understand the mistakes I was making so that I didn’t make them the next time I wrote an application. 

To be honest, the first time I submitted an essay for editing, I thought I would only get compliments.

Let’s just say I have never seen that many comments on a Google Doc in my life.

The whole essay was essentially one continuous highlight. In a sense, this humbled me, and I slowly realized that I made the right choice sticking with AdmissionPrep.

AdmissionPrep will show you what you do wrong but make it nearly impossible for you to make that same mistake again once you see it.

Alongside all of the edits I received for my essays, the monthly webinars and various mentorship calls I was a part of helped me polish my personality academically and even socially. 

I got to meet some of the most talented, friendly and intelligent individuals in all of Canada. 

Getting countless tips on how to prevent procrastination and find the motivation to excel in everything I do truly helped me become a better version of myself. 

By winning around $75,000, I gained priceless knowledge and experience that I can apply to my studies at the University of British Columbia.

I can pursue my passion for STEM through Biomedical Engineering because of the decisions I made and the opportunity I took advantage of. Whether you decide to use AdmissionPrep or not doesn’t matter at the end of the day. What matters is if you are happy with your decisions and are making an honest effort to grow. “Your success is in your happiness.” 

My future could have been completely different had I ignored my dad’s messages to look into AdmissionPrep in.

I guess… Maybe, you should listen to your parents?

Just kidding - let’s not get too crazy, here. 

If there’s one thing I can say from all of this, it’s to seize the opportunity. Only then will you get lucky.

Ripdaman Malhans is a 2022 AdmissionPrep Academy program alumnus and a former AdmissionPrep Mentor.

If you want to achieve success like Ripdaman, AdmissionPrep can help. We provide personalized consulting, essay editing, and mentorship from past winners to maximize your success. Complete our short program eligibility quiz to learn how AdmissionPrep can help you achieve your post-secondary goals.

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