How Arsalan Turned Fog into a Full-Ride to Queen’s Commerce

I still remember the hum of the classroom fans that last week of Grade 11. Finals were done, but inside my head a different exam was beginning: How do I get into the business schools I’ve only ever whispered about? I’d never written a supplemental essay, never practiced a video interview, and—truth be told—never believed someone with my last name and my postal code could say “yes” to Rotman, Smith, Ivey, and Alberta all at once.

That summer I opened a fresh Google doc titled “Plan?” The question mark loomed larger than the font. My parents hadn’t gone through the Canadian admissions maze; guidance counsellors were stretched thin. I could taste how big the dream was, but I had no recipe for baking it. That’s when AdmissionPrep stepped in.

Learning the Rhythm

From the first kickoff call, my mentor didn’t ask for miracles; she asked for a calendar invite. We mapped every deadline backwards: U of T’s awards profile first, Queen’s and U of A next, Western’s video later. “Right work, right time,” she said, and suddenly the mountain turned into a staircase.

They weren’t just editors with red pens. They were translators—turning jitters into a voice admissions officers could hear. My first draft of the Rotman essay read like a résumé bullet-point parade. The editing team pushed me deeper: Where did that community-service idea come from? What problem kept you up at night? Each revision felt like peeling an onion until the story finally smelled like me.

And the interviews? Just before I hit “record,” my advisor looked straight through the webcam and said, “You are the student they’re looking for.” It sounded corny—right up until the moment confidence overtook fear and I spoke like I belonged.

The Notifications

Acceptance season is surreal. One by one the portals flashed Congratulations! I screenshotted each, sent them to my family group chat, then sat back in a kind of stunned silence. Getting into every single program on my list wasn’t the hard part anymore; choosing was. That’s a problem most teenagers never get to stress over, and I’ll never take it for granted.

Yes, scholarships followed—about $90,000 worth. But the real prize was freedom: the freedom to select a campus because it fits my future, not just my budget.

The Skills Nobody Can Take Away

People think admissions coaching is all about polished sentences. For me it was time management boot camp. My Google Calendar went from blank squares to a color-coded mural—class, homework, essay sprints, mock interviews. The discipline I built this year is already spilling into everything else I do, and I know it will carry me through case competitions and 3 a.m. group projects next fall.

Most of all, I learned to own my narrative. There are students with higher averages, fancier internships, louder extracurriculars. What separated me was clarity: I could explain, in 90 seconds or 900 words, why I wanted business school and how my experiences connect. That clarity came from the relentless “but why?” questions my mentors asked until the answers felt like muscle memory.

Why Queen’s

Rotman had the skyscrapers, Ivey had the case-method swagger, but Queen’s felt like family the moment I stepped onto University Avenue. Smaller cohort, tight community, professors who know your name—exactly my speed. Choosing wasn’t easy, but it was the right kind of hard.

A Note to the Next Grade 11 Kid

Start earlier than you think. Those 7 % acceptance rates aren’t walls, they’re doors that swing for students who prepare. Build your profile with intention, get feedback before the eleventh hour, and keep a human being in your corner who’s done this a hundred times before. The journey won’t always be smooth, but it will be yours—and that makes every late-night draft worthwhile.

Where I Stand Today

I haven’t finalized my whole life yet; convenience and career goals are still wrestling in my head. What I have finalized is belief. I belong in those lecture halls. I belong in boardrooms I haven’t stepped into yet. AdmissionPrep didn’t manufacture that belief—they uncovered it, sharpened it, and handed it back to me.

One word for the journey? Inspiring. Because when a roadmap meets relentless effort, the destination is never a surprise—it’s the next logical step.

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