From Unconventional Beginnings to Ivy League: Jeremy Galang’s Journey

When people think of the Ivy League, they often imagine a straight path — elite schools, perfect grades, and early certainty. Our US Strategist, Jeremy Galang, took a very different route. 

Featured in Mothership, Jeremy’s journey began in Singapore’s Normal (Technical) stream before progressing to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), where he studied Aerospace Avionics. From there, he took a path few would expect: he pursued an associate degree in economics and mathematics at Pitt Community College after serving in the Singapore Navy —  eventually earning a place at Columbia University, where he is now completing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

What makes Jeremy’s story remarkable isn’t just the destination — it’s the route. A journey that might traditionally take over a decade was completed in just seven years, shaped by intentional decisions, resilience, and a willingness to take the road less travelled. 

So what made the difference?

Here are 3 key strategies behind Jeremy’s journey — and how you can apply them to your own admissions path.

1. Owning a Non-Traditional Path

Rather than trying to “catch up” to a conventional route, Jeremy leaned into his unique journey — from ITE to national service to community college.

Instead of seeing this as a disadvantage, he positioned it as a distinct personal narrative that reflected his key traits: resilience, adaptability, and direction.

👉 Key Strategy: Your path doesn’t need to be typical — it needs to be intentional and well-positioned.

2. Prioritizing Depth Over Checklists 

Jeremy made unconventional choices — including skipping internships to focus on building projects and exploring interests that genuinely mattered to him.

This allowed him to build a profile that wasn’t just impressive on paper, but coherent and aligned.

👉 Key Strategy: Admissions is no longer just about doing more — it’s about doing what matters, deeply.

3. Moving with Clarity, Not Timing Pressure

Jeremy’s journey didn’t follow the “standard timeline” — yet each step was deliberate. 

As he puts it:  “The big lesson here is that there is no right timing but your own timing.”

👉Key Strategy: The strongest applications are built with clarity and direction, not rushed to meet peer-pressured timelines.

Jeremy’s journey is a powerful reminder that there is no single path to top universities — only the right strategy.

At Sedifly, we work with students to uncover and apply the strategies to their own journeys — turning individual stories and backgrounds into compelling applications that bring acceptances to top universities.

If you’d like to uncover more strategies, explore our 5 Winning Strategies to Stanford and Ivy League Schools E-book — where we break down practical frameworks on positioning, narrative-building, and strengthening your applications.

👉 [Download the E-book]