BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — This fall, a local student will be a Harvard freshman. But this teen’s already a TikTok sensation. It’s all because of her admissions essay that struck a chord with millions of people.
It all took off two weeks ago when Abigail Mack, an 18-year-old senior at Cardinal Spellman in Brockton, posted to TikTok the essay that helped get her into Harvard. Mack lost her mom to cancer when she was 12 years old. That Tik Tok about her college entry essay over that loss went viral; it was viewed 17 million times.
“Yes, which is crazy! I still haven’t fully grasped it,” Mack said.
That essay helped get the Cardinal Spellman senior into Harvard. Her story resonated on TikTok.
“Recognizing that, while my situation is not unique, what made my story unique is how I responded to it. And that’s what I wanted to put in my essay,” Mack said.
Mack loves school and will be valedictorian. She also loves theater and, of course, writing. All things she immersed herself into after her mother, Julie Mack, died of cancer.
“She kind of dove in, maybe as a mechanism to help deal with some of the grief, but I don’t think she was aware of that until maybe sitting down to do this essay,” said Jonathan Mack, who is Abigail’s father.
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Julie didn’t start with the essay video. Her first big video was her reaction to getting into Harvard. That led to people asking how she did it and what her essay was about. So, two weeks ago she posted part of her essay on Tik Tok.
“‘Then all of a sudden she refreshes and it’s 10,000, 100,000, 1 million, it’s 2 million,” her dad said.
Abigail believes there’s a reason for that reaction and, she said, the loss is universal.
“It’s been bittersweet to have that connection with people because, obviously, I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone,” she said.
And while getting into Harvard is fantastic, her dad said it’s the young woman she’s become that would really make mom beam with pride.
“She’s just a good, nice person, a happy person. And I know that Julie was too, and I think that would ultimately make Julie the happiest,” her dad said.
Once at Harvard, Abigail plans to study foreign relations, some French, a little theater and, of course, she’ll keep on writing.