We spoke to the high schooler who got into five Ivies with an essay about Costco

Last week, Brittany Stinson made headlines across the States with her college application essay about Costco, that won her places at five Ivy League schools and Stanford.

The essay, which we reported in full here, contained choice phrases such as:

“Overcome with wonder, I wanted to touch and taste, to stick my head into industrial­sized freezers, to explore every crevice. I was a conquistador, but rather than searching the land for El Dorado, I scoured aisles for free samples. Before inevitably being whisked away into a shopping cart, I scaled a mountain of plush toys and surveyed the expanse that lay before me: the kingdom of Costco.

We caught up with 17-year-old Brittany, now known by her friends as “the Costco girl”, about how she managed to nail so many places at America’s best colleges in the year with one of the lowest acceptances rates on record.

How has the reaction been to your letter being in the media? Did you ever imagine this becoming so widely received?

All the attention has honestly been a bit overwhelming. Pretty much everyone I know has contacted me and congratulated me. My friends brag that they’re friends with the “Costco girl” and joke that I’m a celebrity now. I never thought it would have blown up like this. I honestly thought it would’ve died down by the end of the weekend.

How has your family reacted?

They really are proud. My mom doesn’t hesitate to send the articles to all of her friends. Any given time she’s on the phone, there’s probably a 90 percent chance she’s gushing about me.

Ivy League admissions this year have been reported as being really low, how did you react when you realized you had been accepted to so many top schools?

I was bracing myself for rejection. I was fully aware of how competitive those schools are. When I found out there was a lot of trembling and screaming and many phone calls were made.

Where were you when you found out about your acceptances?

I locked myself inside of my room. I figured that if anything went badly I could be alone and cry. Turns out that I ran down the stairs screaming!

Are you leaning towards any particular college or colleges?

I think I’m leaning towards Dartmouth, Yale, or Stanford. But we’ll also be comparing financial aid packages.