Each year of high school, Lila Batcheller has taken on a tremendous amount of coursework while staying highly involved in the various clubs, sports and activities LHS has to offer. Finally, all her work has paid off with a commitment to attend Stanford University next fall. 

Batcheller got involved in a wide range of extracurriculars including Cross Country, Track, SALSA and the Spanish Immersion Program, setting her apart from other applicants in order to be accepted into a prestigious university. Applying to any college proves to be an intimidating task, especially when the acceptance rate is as low as 5.2%, and Batcheller can surely attest to the lengthy requirements it takes to be accepted into such a university. Although the process is strenuous, Batcheller has experienced firsthand the results all her dedication over the years has led to.

“I think number one, making sure you are taking a rigorous course load is important,” said Batcheller. “Beyond that I think having activities that you are passionate about and dedicated to is also important, as [colleges] want to find people who are good students along with being good community members.”

However, as thrilled as Batcheller is for her next four years at Stanford, her mind has not always been set on living In California. In the end, Batcheller was able to find exactly what she was looking for in an unexpected place.

“It honestly wasn’t a school I really thought a ton about, but out of the ones I got into I felt like it had the best balance of work and play,” said Batcheller. “After visiting, I felt like the student body was really driven but also balanced and collaborative which were the main things I was looking for in a school.”

Planning one’s future and applying to schools can start to feel overwhelming amidst the chaos of a busy senior year, but Batcheller was able to make her decision after careful consideration of what she wanted out of the next four years, leading her to choose Stanford.

“I was mainly deciding between Princeton and Stanford and ultimately I thought that I would be happier at Stanford so that is how I made my decision,” said Batcheller. “I didn’t apply to many schools on the west coast, but I ended up loving the more laid back outdoorsy vibe Stanford has, and I don’t think I would have found that at some of the other schools I was looking at.”