Faith Nyasuguta
Bill Gates, widely known as a Harvard dropout, has shared fascinating details about his Ivy League application process, revealing a unique and strategic approach that helped him gain admission to multiple prestigious universities.
In his memoir Source Code: My Beginnings, Gates describes his teenage uncertainty about the future and how he tailored each college application to fit a specific persona. He treated the process as a performance, drawing inspiration from his brief experience in a high school drama club.
“As I learned in drama class, each was a performance, one actor, three characters,” Gates wrote, explaining how he shaped his applications to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton differently.
For Princeton, Gates positioned himself as a future software engineer, emphasizing his impressive coding background and strong math grades. For Yale, he played the role of an aspiring public servant or lawyer, drawing on his experience as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Harvard received the most intriguing application. Gates focused on his deep involvement with computers but ended his essay with a surprising twist, stating:
“Work with the computer has proved to be a great opportunity to have a lot of fun, earn some money, and learn a lot. However, I do not plan to continue concentrating in this field. Right now, I am most interested in business or law.”
Despite his remarkable achievements in programming, he seemingly downplayed his passion for technology, keeping his options open.
Interestingly, Gates had no interest in applying to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), despite its reputation as a top school for science and technology. Instead of attending his scheduled summer interview, he chose to play pinball, later admitting he didn’t want to be “a math nerd surrounded by other math nerds.”
His strategy paid off as he was accepted into Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Eventually, Gates chose Harvard, but fate had other plans. He dropped out to fully commit to Microsoft, the company that would revolutionize the tech world and make him one of the richest people in history.
Looking back, Gates’ unconventional application approach offers a glimpse into the sharp thinking and strategic mindset that later defined his success. Whether crafting college essays or pioneering the personal computer industry, he always knew how to play the game -and win.
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