A student bragged on TikTok that he climbed Kilimanjaro, wrote about it in his essay and got into Yale. Another student thought she could use the same ploy. “No way,” says this admissions guru. (Photo: Getty Images)

A student bragged on TikTok that he climbed Kilimanjaro, wrote about it in his essay and got into Yale. Another student thought she could use the same ploy. “No way,” says this admissions guru. Here’s what admissions experts say families should focus on when going through the college application process: (Photo: Getty Images)

77th–79th flight of 2026: Ethiopian @flyethiopian ET866+ET716, and @KMMaltaAirlines KM615, from JRO/HTKJ Kilimanjaro via ADD/HAAB Addis Ababa and FCO/LIRF Rome to MLA/LMML Malta. 🇹🇿✈️🇪🇹✈️🇮🇹✈️🇲🇹