Yes, sadly the last post has to be followed by this one.
On Friday, one week after I received my Pitt letter, I received a very different kind of letter. It wasn't for a university, just for a major scholarship program. The program was for low income students who have succeeded in their academic endeavors. I was rejected. It sucked.
The program said, "We are sorry to inform you that you are not a finalist. The application pool was very strong this year." At first I was fine with it. Or I at least acted fine with it. I laughed and joked, said I was happy because I wouldn't have to fill out six apps by November 1st, but I knew that wasn't true. I had spent hours on that application. I wrote two 500 word essays and one 800 word essay. Sent each of them through 5 different drafts; all to be rejected.
As I sat staring at email on my phone once I got home, I really just started to feel bad. I mean they said, "For low income students who have succeeded in their academic endeavors." I could help but focus on the second half of that sentence. Does this mean I haven't succeeded in my academic endeavors? Am I a failure? I must have laid in my bed for an hour and a half, headphones in, trying not to tear up as those words burned hotter and hotter in my mind, like a iron brand, labeling me; "Failure".
I had the ACT the next day and really didn't want this on my mind. I sat trying to review the rules of semicolons and commas yet couldn't shake that feeling that it didn't matter. I wasn't good enough for them, wasn't successful enough for them, so why should this ACT matter? Then it hit me all at once, who is this organization to define me as a student? Who is some organization in California to tell me that I'm not successful as a student? I know who I am and what I am capable of. I know I will succeed without this scholarship program, despite the fact that it was a lot of money. I went to bed then, with a feeling of rejuvenated potential. I am my own person and I will not let the college process define me.
The point of this was to let you guys know what it is not fun to get rejected. It makes you feel small and insignificant. The fact of the matter is that you have to get past this. You are your own person, you've made it this far and I promise you will keep going. One rejection letter isn't going to stop us, because we are some of the brightest students in the nation, and I'll be damned if anyone wants to argue otherwise. So keep pushing forward guys, I promise you will all make it.
- Joey
Sunday, October 23, 2011
First Acceptance Letter! Pros and Cons
So, as many of you already know I applied to the University of Pittsburgh and got in. This post is about the pros and cons of getting accepted this early to a school and the feelings that go along with it.
First of let me just say, it is the biggest feeling of relief in existence when you get into your first school. After working all that time on your essays and sending off the app, waiting several weeks, when you find out that you are accepted, you can't help but want to jump for joy. It truly is one of the best feelings one can experience, yet with an acceptance to a school this early, there are several downsides.
Outside of the reassurance that you are, in fact, going to college, a rolling admission school acceptance can bring on some very negative effects. The first of these, and probably the largest, is the amount of senioritis that hits at that very moment. Not only is the sigh(or scream) of relief about the relief of worrying about college, it is also about the relief of amount of work left to do in school. I will not lie I got my acceptance letter and the first thing I thought after, "I'M IN COLLEGE!!" was "I don't have any reason to do school work at all! I'm in college!" This is a bad thing. Just because you think it does not mean you have to act upon it. Even with an early acceptance you should still continue to work on your school work. This is because schools do check Mid-Year reports and often determine financial aid and merit based aid upon these grades. This brings me to my next con, financial aid. Now that you are in the school you feel like you are completely done. Yet, you still have to fill out the CSS and FAFSA. But the CSS isn't available until October and the FAFSA isn't available until February. So you can’t allow yourself to lose sight of the other deadlines that go along with getting into college. These are the two biggest things you need to keep in mind when it comes to early admission to schools.
On the positive side, not only are you in college, but it allows you to think more about your college list. Before Pitt, my list was 11 colleges long. It is now six. I dropped five schools all because I realized that I don't need that many, especially if I am already accepted. Once you are accepted to a school it allows you to realize that you don’t need to apply to 10 other schools, only the few others that you are genuinely interested in.
In closing, I hope all of you get to share this amazing feeling with me come December 15th! To those of you who have already been accepted to schools, congratulations! To those of you who are applying for their EA or ED school as they read this blog, good luck!
-Joey
First of let me just say, it is the biggest feeling of relief in existence when you get into your first school. After working all that time on your essays and sending off the app, waiting several weeks, when you find out that you are accepted, you can't help but want to jump for joy. It truly is one of the best feelings one can experience, yet with an acceptance to a school this early, there are several downsides.
Outside of the reassurance that you are, in fact, going to college, a rolling admission school acceptance can bring on some very negative effects. The first of these, and probably the largest, is the amount of senioritis that hits at that very moment. Not only is the sigh(or scream) of relief about the relief of worrying about college, it is also about the relief of amount of work left to do in school. I will not lie I got my acceptance letter and the first thing I thought after, "I'M IN COLLEGE!!" was "I don't have any reason to do school work at all! I'm in college!" This is a bad thing. Just because you think it does not mean you have to act upon it. Even with an early acceptance you should still continue to work on your school work. This is because schools do check Mid-Year reports and often determine financial aid and merit based aid upon these grades. This brings me to my next con, financial aid. Now that you are in the school you feel like you are completely done. Yet, you still have to fill out the CSS and FAFSA. But the CSS isn't available until October and the FAFSA isn't available until February. So you can’t allow yourself to lose sight of the other deadlines that go along with getting into college. These are the two biggest things you need to keep in mind when it comes to early admission to schools.
On the positive side, not only are you in college, but it allows you to think more about your college list. Before Pitt, my list was 11 colleges long. It is now six. I dropped five schools all because I realized that I don't need that many, especially if I am already accepted. Once you are accepted to a school it allows you to realize that you don’t need to apply to 10 other schools, only the few others that you are genuinely interested in.
In closing, I hope all of you get to share this amazing feeling with me come December 15th! To those of you who have already been accepted to schools, congratulations! To those of you who are applying for their EA or ED school as they read this blog, good luck!
-Joey
Brain Storming College Essays
Sorry about the lack of posts lately guys, I've been crazy busy with precisely what this post; college essays. Last post was about how to get those college essays cleaned up perfectly, but some of you wondered how do you get them in the first place? It's not an easy process.
For those seniors who didn't go to Lisa and Celinda's talk at the beginning of the year about college essays, let me say it was fantastic. The tips from that talk are actually the very tips I used to develop my big common app essay, which is also the essay I used for my University of Pittsburgh app. So what exactly are the tips, is what you are wondering now. Well I'll tell you.
The first was to start off with a list of everything that has ever influenced you or still influences you. This is the hardest part. You basically open a word document, or get out a piece of paper and just start writing anything that has held agency in your life. When I did this I got out paper and actually wrote because it allows you to slow down and really think about what you are writing. I started with just bullet points. I got the big ones out of the way, mom, dad, church, then it got hard. What else has influenced me? I wanted to write school, but that was too broad, so I listed teachers. I went all the way back to my 4th grade teacher who pushed me to apply to Uni, and moved forward. I wrote down the teachers from 7th grade that did my letters of rec for Uni, up to the teachers who are doing my letter of rec this year. Then I was done with school, but I knew there were more than just these four things. Then I realized I was holding back for the sake of preserving my own image. And at that moment it hit me that there's nothing to hide, no one is going to read this but me.(except for you guys, now...) Thus, I wrote Juliana cause she has been a major part of my high school experience. I wrote sports because they shaped my work ethic. I put down clothing because the way I present myself is important to me. After I finished the list and looked down and thought to myself, "Wow." as I read over the list. It was interesting to see so many different things that influenced me and see how they can all connect. This took me to the second step.
From here I picked three of the things, got out my computer and wrote for 10 minutes straight on each topic. I did not stop typing for the whole 30 minutes. If I didn't know what to say I typed "ummmmmmmmmmmmmm" or "I don’t know what to say here but I'm going to keep going." remembering in the back of my head that no one is going to read this so it doesn't matter. From here I took the best of the three free writes and highlighted three recurring main topics. I repeated the free write for each of those. At that point I choose the most specific, meaningful free write and that was my topic.
From here the final step is to then relax and think about that topic. Let it develop further in your head. Give it an hour or so and then sit back down at the computer. Go back and rewrite what you have with the information and detail that you have come up with in that hour of relaxation. Once you've done this all that's left to do is take it to the writing workshop for clean up.
During this process make sure you SAVE EVERYTHING. You need to save because those other two specific free writes and the other two general free writes can actually provide perfect launching places for great essays. My final tip is that if you ever, EVER, have an idea for an essay come to mind and you think, "That's perfect!" WRITE IT DOWN! Don't let yourself forget the idea, even if you wake up at 3am, at least write it on a piece of paper so you can read it in the morning.
Using this process I promise you guys that you will get some quality essays down. My big one I used for Pitt actually ended up getting me emailed by the college to say it brought real emotion to the college essay process and they liked that, so don't hold back. If these essays involve your real emotions that's a good thing! That means you actually put effort into your essay. It shows you took the time to care what you presented yourself as. Ultimately following these steps can be one of the most helpful ways to write your college essays.
Best of luck to you all!
-Joey
For those seniors who didn't go to Lisa and Celinda's talk at the beginning of the year about college essays, let me say it was fantastic. The tips from that talk are actually the very tips I used to develop my big common app essay, which is also the essay I used for my University of Pittsburgh app. So what exactly are the tips, is what you are wondering now. Well I'll tell you.
The first was to start off with a list of everything that has ever influenced you or still influences you. This is the hardest part. You basically open a word document, or get out a piece of paper and just start writing anything that has held agency in your life. When I did this I got out paper and actually wrote because it allows you to slow down and really think about what you are writing. I started with just bullet points. I got the big ones out of the way, mom, dad, church, then it got hard. What else has influenced me? I wanted to write school, but that was too broad, so I listed teachers. I went all the way back to my 4th grade teacher who pushed me to apply to Uni, and moved forward. I wrote down the teachers from 7th grade that did my letters of rec for Uni, up to the teachers who are doing my letter of rec this year. Then I was done with school, but I knew there were more than just these four things. Then I realized I was holding back for the sake of preserving my own image. And at that moment it hit me that there's nothing to hide, no one is going to read this but me.(except for you guys, now...) Thus, I wrote Juliana cause she has been a major part of my high school experience. I wrote sports because they shaped my work ethic. I put down clothing because the way I present myself is important to me. After I finished the list and looked down and thought to myself, "Wow." as I read over the list. It was interesting to see so many different things that influenced me and see how they can all connect. This took me to the second step.
From here I picked three of the things, got out my computer and wrote for 10 minutes straight on each topic. I did not stop typing for the whole 30 minutes. If I didn't know what to say I typed "ummmmmmmmmmmmmm" or "I don’t know what to say here but I'm going to keep going." remembering in the back of my head that no one is going to read this so it doesn't matter. From here I took the best of the three free writes and highlighted three recurring main topics. I repeated the free write for each of those. At that point I choose the most specific, meaningful free write and that was my topic.
From here the final step is to then relax and think about that topic. Let it develop further in your head. Give it an hour or so and then sit back down at the computer. Go back and rewrite what you have with the information and detail that you have come up with in that hour of relaxation. Once you've done this all that's left to do is take it to the writing workshop for clean up.
During this process make sure you SAVE EVERYTHING. You need to save because those other two specific free writes and the other two general free writes can actually provide perfect launching places for great essays. My final tip is that if you ever, EVER, have an idea for an essay come to mind and you think, "That's perfect!" WRITE IT DOWN! Don't let yourself forget the idea, even if you wake up at 3am, at least write it on a piece of paper so you can read it in the morning.
Using this process I promise you guys that you will get some quality essays down. My big one I used for Pitt actually ended up getting me emailed by the college to say it brought real emotion to the college essay process and they liked that, so don't hold back. If these essays involve your real emotions that's a good thing! That means you actually put effort into your essay. It shows you took the time to care what you presented yourself as. Ultimately following these steps can be one of the most helpful ways to write your college essays.
Best of luck to you all!
-Joey
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Ultimate College Essay Tip
So, I know we all have different opinions on the adoption of the Uni Period schedule as our permanent system, but there is one thing that I believe is under utilized by all the seniors. Despite this thing's outstanding potential to be one of the top college related Uni Period activities. And it's not even run by Lisa, no offense Lisa. If you're wondering what I'm referring to at this point, I'm talking about the English Writing Workshop.
Every Wednesday our English teachers have two representatives sitting down in room 106N who are willing to sit down with you, read your college essays and edit them for clarity, content, and proper grammar. I go down each Wednesday at Uni Period, talk to one of the teachers and give them my essays, then I LEAVE. That's one of the best parts, you don’t have to sit awkwardly while they edit your essay, they actually tell you to leave and come back in about fifteen minutes. So you get to both enjoy your Uni Period time and get your essays done. After you go back in fifteen minutes later the English teachers sit you down and walk you through everything they think you should change and explain why they believe it should be changed. It is a really good way to hammer out the best essays possible for your college apps. I have sent three different essays through the writing workshop, for my Questbridge app. I have even sent my biggest one through four times now. The English teachers want to help, that's why they set up the workshop.
In conclusion, you should go to the English teacher's writing workshop for your college essays. The workshop really helps you to get essays that are concise and grammatically correct. The teachers want to help you but you have to take the first step, go to 106N on Wednesdays during Uni Period.
Every Wednesday our English teachers have two representatives sitting down in room 106N who are willing to sit down with you, read your college essays and edit them for clarity, content, and proper grammar. I go down each Wednesday at Uni Period, talk to one of the teachers and give them my essays, then I LEAVE. That's one of the best parts, you don’t have to sit awkwardly while they edit your essay, they actually tell you to leave and come back in about fifteen minutes. So you get to both enjoy your Uni Period time and get your essays done. After you go back in fifteen minutes later the English teachers sit you down and walk you through everything they think you should change and explain why they believe it should be changed. It is a really good way to hammer out the best essays possible for your college apps. I have sent three different essays through the writing workshop, for my Questbridge app. I have even sent my biggest one through four times now. The English teachers want to help, that's why they set up the workshop.
In conclusion, you should go to the English teacher's writing workshop for your college essays. The workshop really helps you to get essays that are concise and grammatically correct. The teachers want to help you but you have to take the first step, go to 106N on Wednesdays during Uni Period.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
First Post...and Its About Me Messing Up
My phone buzzes. I lazily roll over to swat at it and shut it off. I see who is calling and answer, asking what they need. I'm greeted with a frantic, "Where are you?!?" I ask what they mean and realize that I had a college panel to attend. As I frantically jumped out of bed, putting on my shoes and yelling obscenities as I ran out the door. My parents called me as I sped down Florida to the Hilton Garden Inn, asking where on earth I went. I told them I had a panel to attend at the Hilton with Georgetown, Duke, Penn, Stanford and Harvard; no big deal or anything that I was THIRTY MINUTES LATE. As it turns out my being late wasn't a big deal. I walked in being greeted by the Harvard and Penn reps, apologized for my tardiness, made up and excuse about a violin lesson, cracked a joke and went on in. The point of my telling you this story isn't about that I was late and thus my college apps to some of those schools are now ruined. No, in fact this blog is about time management. So let's rewind to around 4 o'clock yesterday.
4pm: As I walk to my car I am pondering what I have to do after school. I could vaguely remember something, but not what that something was. I ran through my head all the things that usually take up my after school activities. It wasn't a volleyball game; that was last night. Basketball open gym wasn't until Thursday. But what was between them? I dismissed it as nothing and drove home, ignoring the feeling of some unknown activity looming in the horizon.
5pm: I had just gotten home, eaten and started homework, only to fall asleep with college essays strewn about my bed. You would think that the college essays would have reminded me, but no, I remained unaware of the meeting. I managed to sleep for 2 and a half hours. Seeing as I have a cold this isn't that surprising. Now we are back to the beginning of this post.
7:30pm: I wake up and sprint out of the house, making it to the college meeting at around 8pm.
So where did I go wrong? Basically I went wrong around a week ago when I RSVPed to the event. Instead of setting an alarm or an event on my calendar, like a responsible student would do. I simply let myself forget about the meeting. The point of all this is to let you guys know, juniors and seniors, that setting events on calendars is always a good thing to do. If you know you are forgetful, like I am, write it down somewhere. Put a calendar up in your room. Set an alarm on your phone. Do anything to remind you that you have something important to go to.
Although this meeting wasn't a huge deal to be late to, when it comes to a college interview, an SAT, and ACT, a application or scholarship deadline, calendars are your friends. Because if you are late on one of these there is no making a joke and simply strolling in. You waste about $50 on an SAT/ACT sitting or you miss a chance at free money (and who doesn't like free money?). So basically my first blog can be summed up by one sentence; get some form of a college calendar and fill it out as you make appointments.
4pm: As I walk to my car I am pondering what I have to do after school. I could vaguely remember something, but not what that something was. I ran through my head all the things that usually take up my after school activities. It wasn't a volleyball game; that was last night. Basketball open gym wasn't until Thursday. But what was between them? I dismissed it as nothing and drove home, ignoring the feeling of some unknown activity looming in the horizon.
5pm: I had just gotten home, eaten and started homework, only to fall asleep with college essays strewn about my bed. You would think that the college essays would have reminded me, but no, I remained unaware of the meeting. I managed to sleep for 2 and a half hours. Seeing as I have a cold this isn't that surprising. Now we are back to the beginning of this post.
7:30pm: I wake up and sprint out of the house, making it to the college meeting at around 8pm.
So where did I go wrong? Basically I went wrong around a week ago when I RSVPed to the event. Instead of setting an alarm or an event on my calendar, like a responsible student would do. I simply let myself forget about the meeting. The point of all this is to let you guys know, juniors and seniors, that setting events on calendars is always a good thing to do. If you know you are forgetful, like I am, write it down somewhere. Put a calendar up in your room. Set an alarm on your phone. Do anything to remind you that you have something important to go to.
Although this meeting wasn't a huge deal to be late to, when it comes to a college interview, an SAT, and ACT, a application or scholarship deadline, calendars are your friends. Because if you are late on one of these there is no making a joke and simply strolling in. You waste about $50 on an SAT/ACT sitting or you miss a chance at free money (and who doesn't like free money?). So basically my first blog can be summed up by one sentence; get some form of a college calendar and fill it out as you make appointments.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
My Final Blog :'[
Over a year ago, I started this blog without a clear picture in mind. Sophomore year I had written a personal blog, and so on a whim I suggested using Blogger for college help. It was a way to provide information to the whole class, WITHOUT the work of talking to the entire class. Thus, College Corner Blog was born.
The best teachers are the ones who continue to learn. Throughout this year, as I provided blog posts, I learned so much about the college process myself. While I learned of recommendations, division sports, applications, and essay writing, I also learned of celebration, stress, rejection, triumph, realism, and perseverance. This college process takes a tremendous amount of work, heart, and patience to make it through. Like life, your plans will change, some dreams will not be realized, and you mature through trials and tribulations. I have to say, where I am now and who I was when I started this process are two completely different Celindas. So, thank you for allowing me to blog. It helped me help you, and it changed me. In about three weeks I am moving into my college dorm, ready to begin a new stage in my life. It's terrifying, and wonderful, and unbelievable all at the same time. This fall, sophomores will become the new juniors, the new audience. Revathi, Stef, Ashley, Katy, Sheela, Will, and I will relinquish our PCC titles to the new PCCs. Chris, Joey, Hannah, Annie, Tahar, Robbie, Joseph, and Elena will carry on the tradition, and I can already tell they will do wonderfully. I have to say, of all the things I did at Uni, being a PCC was one of the very best. If any of you need help this fall, please don't hesitate to message me, or even call me at college. I will be your PCC until the day you send in your enrollment fees :D
I will end as I began, with my final thoughts and tips on the college process:
-Remember to build strong relationships with teachers. Don't be afraid to ask the teachers who know you work hard, despite the grades you might get.
-Show, don't tell when writing an essay. You can say it made you happy, but it's going to make more of a difference to create a picture for the reader
-Scores matter, but they don't define your college process
-Encourage your passions by volunteering or getting involved with extracurriculars
-In ten years, it won't matter where you went to college, just what you did in those four years. Choose the school that brings you joy.
-Be on top of deadlines, because colleges are less forgiving about being late.
-Be respectful of your peers and their college processes.
-At interviews, ask the standard questions in subjective ways. Instead of "Is there a Greek life?" ask "How involved are students in Greek life? Does it dominate the campus?"
-Don't be afraid of colleges you have never heard of. There are hidden gems everywhere.
-Don't overstress, you will get into college. I promise.
-Try to avoid senioritis as much as you can! Colleges are going to get senior grades!
-Follow your passions, find schools that make you excited for your future, help each other out, and remember there IS an end to the process.
And now, 56 blogs later, I will say my goodbye...
Goodbye Uni, for five intense years. Goodbye Lisa, you are an angel on earth who works tirelessly to ensure that this process is managable. Goodbye Lisa's office, with your chocolate and peace from the crazy first floor hallway. Goodbye all the teachers that provided support and recommendations to the Class of 2011. Goodbye Kathy and Ellen for helping us get those forms completed and out the door. Goodbye Class of 2012, best of luck in senior year and the applications. Goodbye Uni parents for coming to meetings and being the support behind the college process. Goodbye to the many college reps that came to visit during Brown Baggers (sorry I didn't go to as many as I should...). Goodbye all the members of the Class of 2011 who helped with blogs. Goodbye (again!) to all the members of the Class of 2010 who helped with blogs. Goodbye Revathi, Katy, Stef, Ashley, Sheela, and Will, and thank you for being the best PCCs to work alongside. And finally, goodbye College Corner Blog.
All the best in the world to you Class of 2012, and THANK YOU for allowing me the pleasure and honor of being your PCC. Reach for the stars, because you are all amazing,
Celinda Davis <3
The best teachers are the ones who continue to learn. Throughout this year, as I provided blog posts, I learned so much about the college process myself. While I learned of recommendations, division sports, applications, and essay writing, I also learned of celebration, stress, rejection, triumph, realism, and perseverance. This college process takes a tremendous amount of work, heart, and patience to make it through. Like life, your plans will change, some dreams will not be realized, and you mature through trials and tribulations. I have to say, where I am now and who I was when I started this process are two completely different Celindas. So, thank you for allowing me to blog. It helped me help you, and it changed me. In about three weeks I am moving into my college dorm, ready to begin a new stage in my life. It's terrifying, and wonderful, and unbelievable all at the same time. This fall, sophomores will become the new juniors, the new audience. Revathi, Stef, Ashley, Katy, Sheela, Will, and I will relinquish our PCC titles to the new PCCs. Chris, Joey, Hannah, Annie, Tahar, Robbie, Joseph, and Elena will carry on the tradition, and I can already tell they will do wonderfully. I have to say, of all the things I did at Uni, being a PCC was one of the very best. If any of you need help this fall, please don't hesitate to message me, or even call me at college. I will be your PCC until the day you send in your enrollment fees :D
I will end as I began, with my final thoughts and tips on the college process:
-Remember to build strong relationships with teachers. Don't be afraid to ask the teachers who know you work hard, despite the grades you might get.
-Show, don't tell when writing an essay. You can say it made you happy, but it's going to make more of a difference to create a picture for the reader
-Scores matter, but they don't define your college process
-Encourage your passions by volunteering or getting involved with extracurriculars
-In ten years, it won't matter where you went to college, just what you did in those four years. Choose the school that brings you joy.
-Be on top of deadlines, because colleges are less forgiving about being late.
-Be respectful of your peers and their college processes.
-At interviews, ask the standard questions in subjective ways. Instead of "Is there a Greek life?" ask "How involved are students in Greek life? Does it dominate the campus?"
-Don't be afraid of colleges you have never heard of. There are hidden gems everywhere.
-Don't overstress, you will get into college. I promise.
-Try to avoid senioritis as much as you can! Colleges are going to get senior grades!
-Follow your passions, find schools that make you excited for your future, help each other out, and remember there IS an end to the process.
And now, 56 blogs later, I will say my goodbye...
Goodbye Uni, for five intense years. Goodbye Lisa, you are an angel on earth who works tirelessly to ensure that this process is managable. Goodbye Lisa's office, with your chocolate and peace from the crazy first floor hallway. Goodbye all the teachers that provided support and recommendations to the Class of 2011. Goodbye Kathy and Ellen for helping us get those forms completed and out the door. Goodbye Class of 2012, best of luck in senior year and the applications. Goodbye Uni parents for coming to meetings and being the support behind the college process. Goodbye to the many college reps that came to visit during Brown Baggers (sorry I didn't go to as many as I should...). Goodbye all the members of the Class of 2011 who helped with blogs. Goodbye (again!) to all the members of the Class of 2010 who helped with blogs. Goodbye Revathi, Katy, Stef, Ashley, Sheela, and Will, and thank you for being the best PCCs to work alongside. And finally, goodbye College Corner Blog.
All the best in the world to you Class of 2012, and THANK YOU for allowing me the pleasure and honor of being your PCC. Reach for the stars, because you are all amazing,
Celinda Davis <3
Friday, July 15, 2011
The Art of College Visit
Hey all!
Inspired by one of the juniors texting me frantically at 5 in the morning about a college visit, I decided to do a blog about college visiting. I will give helpful tips on how to ask the right questions, different "optionals" that some might take during a visit (meet with a coach, audition for theater, etc.), and my own thoughts to add to the mix.
1. Best Times for Visits
While some of you won't have as much control over this, what with extracurriculars, school, and money, there are "hotspot" times to visit schools.
-During Uni's spring break, many schools are still in class (they have a different calendar, for example)
-Summer is a good time because you won't miss assignments/games/school days, but the downside is you won't see the school when it's really, well, a school. You also won't get to see a class.
-Days off are excellent, especially if they are days we have off, but the school doesn't (Columbus Day for example, most colleges don't celebrate it!)
-Beginning/Middle of a Uni quarter is usually a great time because there won't be too many assignments you will miss. Avoid visiting schools during crunch time!
2. Scheduling
Many of you have already begun visiting schools, and so know how to schedule. For those who don't, most colleges have an online scheduling system. Unless you are visiting more than one school in a day, I highly recommend scheduling as many activities as you can during the visit. It'll make for a long day, but the experience is invaluable. For most people, that will mean you will have an informational session, a tour, lunch, a class, meeting with a professor, and/or chilling with a current student. Some of you might also use this time to meet with a coach, director, music-y person (lol at my life), or other particular leader, such as a priest or community service director. If the choice of meeting with a particular person is not available on the online scheduling, go ahead and shoot an email to the admissions staff of your school. Don't forget to provide them the particulars of your visit, including day of visit, time of tour/info session, etc. so that they can schedule your meeting with a particular person in a way that doesn't mess up your visit schedule.
3. Dress Code
Here, you want to strike a balance between comfort and dressy. Try to avoid the jerseys, the doorags, the t-shirts with messages on them, drooping pants, midriff-baring, and baseball hats. Jeans are quite okay, and khaki doesn't hurt :]. Shorts are fine too, as long as they aren't too inappropriate in length. Be sure you're comfortable, especially with your shoes--you will be walking a lot!
4. Questions
Okay, here is the crux of my college visit philosophy. There are two kinds of college questions: objective and subjective. While it is important to ask an objective question, many of those can be answered going through their pamphlets/website. To get the most out of your visit, do your research beforehand, and ask the SUBJECTIVE questions. Here is what I mean:
Instead of...
Do you offer (insert major here)?
You ask...
Is (insert major here) a popular major? or What kind of opportunities does this major provide? or On average how many people stick to this major? or What graduate schools/jobs do graduates with this major go to/get?
Instead of...
What club sports do you offer?
You ask...
How many students participate in club sports? or Is it a big part of the social life? or How much flexibility is there in practice/games?
Instead of...
Is there a Pre-Med program?
You ask...
What are popular majors for students in the Pre-Med track? or How does the advising staff work with students on the Pre-Med track?
Pretty much, you are taking objective questions which you probably already know the answers to, and changing them to subjective questions that fit your needs AND help you understand the school on a deeper level.
5. Tours
Well, the tours. Based on the time of your visit and the size of your school, the tour can range in size from just you and your posse, to 20 or so people. Types of people you might run into during your tour:
The Safety Parent: No, they aren't doing the Safety Dance or something like it. They are the parent worried beyond reason about safety. They will ask about cops, escorts, violence, accessibility to campus, accessibility to dorms, parties, drugs, and alcohol. Yes. They will ask about all of it. Their precious child is leaving home, so it is fully understandable. Please bear with it. In fact, tune in to the answers, some of that info is really helpful!
The Parent Full of Questions: 9 times out of 10, their child is the one in the very back, zoning out or texting. The parent is the one actually doing the visit. It is imperative that their child gets into the school. They will ask many questions. They will ask personal or obscure questions ("Johnny doesn't eat olives. How many dishes, on average, do you think serve olives in them?"). A touch of sympathy for these parents is necessary, because they have a kid who is not taking an active role in their college process. Please, seniors, don't be the kid in the back texting. This is YOUR future.
The Stuttery, Nervous Tour Guide: Many tour guides are funny, personable (a few are cute, like the Mario Lopez look-a-like I had one time...I mean what?). But some are nervous, all of them are college students (so they are young and inexperienced), and some just don't remember answers to questions. Some will find themselves repeating the same phrase "This is our new Gym, renovated in 2002, which is really cool. Over there is the main quad, which is really cool." Remember to give them patience, this is a hard job
Old Alums/Weird Parents: Old alums and weird parents have one thing in common. They monopolize. They ask questions, or have anecdotes, or general comments constantly. They will ask about old traditions. If they're youngish, they might ask about professors. They might ask questions that no 20 year old current student would ever know the answer to. Again, patience is necessary. If you have a question, wait for a moment when the parent pauses, then tap the guide on the shoulder and bring the attention to you. Trust me, the guide will be thankful.
A couple more general tips:
-Stay as close to the front as possible, so you can hear the info
-Don't be afraid to ask questions, it might help more than just you
-Avoid texting/phone calls
-Don't ever get caught up with the "Let's see who can care less" game that some fellow visitors might play
6. Meeting with a Professor
This is like a reverse interview. The professor might ask questions like "why are you interested in this major" or your opinions on certain topics relevant to the major. However, you get to ask most of the questions. Ask about classes, projects, internship options, homework load, type of homework (writing vs. reading vs. problems), teaching philosophy, types of books read (especially for humanities/social science classes), why they chose to go into that particular field of study, and expectations. Relax during the conversation! This should be even more natural than the conversation with the admissions counselor because you know going in you at least share one thing in common: interest in the same academic subject! I really enjoyed meeting with the college professor at Knox :D
7. Coach/Audition
If you are meeting with a coach, remember to have your numbers known, or if possible, an official document with your numbers. Ask about the program, expectations, weight lifting/training, practice times and intensity, games, rivalries :], dress code/supplies, level of involvement, and academic requirements (such as minimum GPA in order to be an athlete).
As for an audition, make sure you have the cd, dvd, written monologue, etc. as well as your artistic resume with you before you leave home, and again before you leave the car and/or hotel. Practice a couple of times, but don't over practice. Relax. Get plenty of sleep the night before, because little sleep can make you sluggish, or affect your voice. Be professional and friendly to the people you are auditioning to. Shine, you performer you :D. For particular requirements, be sure to look at your school's requirements.
8. Miscellaneous
-If a Uni alum goes there, don't be afraid to ask about meeting up. I met up with Lizzy Warner during my Knox visit, and it really was helpful.
-If there is something you dislike about the school, record it down before the end of the day, so you remember for your next college visit!
-Ask plenty of questions!
-Be prepared to dislike a school intensely. Conversely, be prepared to fall in love. It happens :]
WHEW. If there is anything I didn't address, but I should have, PLEASE let me know. I want to give as much helpful advice as possible, but this is a two way street.
-Celinda <3
Inspired by one of the juniors texting me frantically at 5 in the morning about a college visit, I decided to do a blog about college visiting. I will give helpful tips on how to ask the right questions, different "optionals" that some might take during a visit (meet with a coach, audition for theater, etc.), and my own thoughts to add to the mix.
1. Best Times for Visits
While some of you won't have as much control over this, what with extracurriculars, school, and money, there are "hotspot" times to visit schools.
-During Uni's spring break, many schools are still in class (they have a different calendar, for example)
-Summer is a good time because you won't miss assignments/games/school days, but the downside is you won't see the school when it's really, well, a school. You also won't get to see a class.
-Days off are excellent, especially if they are days we have off, but the school doesn't (Columbus Day for example, most colleges don't celebrate it!)
-Beginning/Middle of a Uni quarter is usually a great time because there won't be too many assignments you will miss. Avoid visiting schools during crunch time!
2. Scheduling
Many of you have already begun visiting schools, and so know how to schedule. For those who don't, most colleges have an online scheduling system. Unless you are visiting more than one school in a day, I highly recommend scheduling as many activities as you can during the visit. It'll make for a long day, but the experience is invaluable. For most people, that will mean you will have an informational session, a tour, lunch, a class, meeting with a professor, and/or chilling with a current student. Some of you might also use this time to meet with a coach, director, music-y person (lol at my life), or other particular leader, such as a priest or community service director. If the choice of meeting with a particular person is not available on the online scheduling, go ahead and shoot an email to the admissions staff of your school. Don't forget to provide them the particulars of your visit, including day of visit, time of tour/info session, etc. so that they can schedule your meeting with a particular person in a way that doesn't mess up your visit schedule.
3. Dress Code
Here, you want to strike a balance between comfort and dressy. Try to avoid the jerseys, the doorags, the t-shirts with messages on them, drooping pants, midriff-baring, and baseball hats. Jeans are quite okay, and khaki doesn't hurt :]. Shorts are fine too, as long as they aren't too inappropriate in length. Be sure you're comfortable, especially with your shoes--you will be walking a lot!
4. Questions
Okay, here is the crux of my college visit philosophy. There are two kinds of college questions: objective and subjective. While it is important to ask an objective question, many of those can be answered going through their pamphlets/website. To get the most out of your visit, do your research beforehand, and ask the SUBJECTIVE questions. Here is what I mean:
Instead of...
Do you offer (insert major here)?
You ask...
Is (insert major here) a popular major? or What kind of opportunities does this major provide? or On average how many people stick to this major? or What graduate schools/jobs do graduates with this major go to/get?
Instead of...
What club sports do you offer?
You ask...
How many students participate in club sports? or Is it a big part of the social life? or How much flexibility is there in practice/games?
Instead of...
Is there a Pre-Med program?
You ask...
What are popular majors for students in the Pre-Med track? or How does the advising staff work with students on the Pre-Med track?
Pretty much, you are taking objective questions which you probably already know the answers to, and changing them to subjective questions that fit your needs AND help you understand the school on a deeper level.
5. Tours
Well, the tours. Based on the time of your visit and the size of your school, the tour can range in size from just you and your posse, to 20 or so people. Types of people you might run into during your tour:
The Safety Parent: No, they aren't doing the Safety Dance or something like it. They are the parent worried beyond reason about safety. They will ask about cops, escorts, violence, accessibility to campus, accessibility to dorms, parties, drugs, and alcohol. Yes. They will ask about all of it. Their precious child is leaving home, so it is fully understandable. Please bear with it. In fact, tune in to the answers, some of that info is really helpful!
The Parent Full of Questions: 9 times out of 10, their child is the one in the very back, zoning out or texting. The parent is the one actually doing the visit. It is imperative that their child gets into the school. They will ask many questions. They will ask personal or obscure questions ("Johnny doesn't eat olives. How many dishes, on average, do you think serve olives in them?"). A touch of sympathy for these parents is necessary, because they have a kid who is not taking an active role in their college process. Please, seniors, don't be the kid in the back texting. This is YOUR future.
The Stuttery, Nervous Tour Guide: Many tour guides are funny, personable (a few are cute, like the Mario Lopez look-a-like I had one time...I mean what?). But some are nervous, all of them are college students (so they are young and inexperienced), and some just don't remember answers to questions. Some will find themselves repeating the same phrase "This is our new Gym, renovated in 2002, which is really cool. Over there is the main quad, which is really cool." Remember to give them patience, this is a hard job
Old Alums/Weird Parents: Old alums and weird parents have one thing in common. They monopolize. They ask questions, or have anecdotes, or general comments constantly. They will ask about old traditions. If they're youngish, they might ask about professors. They might ask questions that no 20 year old current student would ever know the answer to. Again, patience is necessary. If you have a question, wait for a moment when the parent pauses, then tap the guide on the shoulder and bring the attention to you. Trust me, the guide will be thankful.
A couple more general tips:
-Stay as close to the front as possible, so you can hear the info
-Don't be afraid to ask questions, it might help more than just you
-Avoid texting/phone calls
-Don't ever get caught up with the "Let's see who can care less" game that some fellow visitors might play
6. Meeting with a Professor
This is like a reverse interview. The professor might ask questions like "why are you interested in this major" or your opinions on certain topics relevant to the major. However, you get to ask most of the questions. Ask about classes, projects, internship options, homework load, type of homework (writing vs. reading vs. problems), teaching philosophy, types of books read (especially for humanities/social science classes), why they chose to go into that particular field of study, and expectations. Relax during the conversation! This should be even more natural than the conversation with the admissions counselor because you know going in you at least share one thing in common: interest in the same academic subject! I really enjoyed meeting with the college professor at Knox :D
7. Coach/Audition
If you are meeting with a coach, remember to have your numbers known, or if possible, an official document with your numbers. Ask about the program, expectations, weight lifting/training, practice times and intensity, games, rivalries :], dress code/supplies, level of involvement, and academic requirements (such as minimum GPA in order to be an athlete).
As for an audition, make sure you have the cd, dvd, written monologue, etc. as well as your artistic resume with you before you leave home, and again before you leave the car and/or hotel. Practice a couple of times, but don't over practice. Relax. Get plenty of sleep the night before, because little sleep can make you sluggish, or affect your voice. Be professional and friendly to the people you are auditioning to. Shine, you performer you :D. For particular requirements, be sure to look at your school's requirements.
8. Miscellaneous
-If a Uni alum goes there, don't be afraid to ask about meeting up. I met up with Lizzy Warner during my Knox visit, and it really was helpful.
-If there is something you dislike about the school, record it down before the end of the day, so you remember for your next college visit!
-Ask plenty of questions!
-Be prepared to dislike a school intensely. Conversely, be prepared to fall in love. It happens :]
WHEW. If there is anything I didn't address, but I should have, PLEASE let me know. I want to give as much helpful advice as possible, but this is a two way street.
-Celinda <3
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Interview with a College Admissions Counselor!
Seniors!
I have some exciting news. I've been keeping this a secret to its finality, but here it is!
I emailed my admissions counselor Sam Duplessis from UChicago. He happens to be the Assistant Director of Admissions, and also a friendly person :]. Though I am not attending UChicago, he graciously agreed to an interview about applying to highly selective schools. I want to say that many selective schools are fantastic, and you would have the time of your life there. Just remember to apply for the right reasons. Pretty much, only apply if it's a fit for YOU. I am so pleased to present the results of this interview. This is a person IN the college process, the one reading the applications, so you are all really lucky!
1) What kinds of courses do you recommend they take their senior year?
Students looking for admission to a highly selective school should maintain a broad and rigorous curriculum throughout high school. For many this entails four years of core subjects, such as math, science, English and history. Students are also encouraged to pursue rigorous courses in the arts, language and additional subject material of personal interest. Students can help themselves get noticed by taking extra classes in their area of interest at school, local colleges, online and by studying other course material in their free time (right, I know, “free time”).
2) How important is "showing interest" (visits, responding to emails, etc.)?
Showing interest in a school can be valuable and comes in many forms. Many colleges and universities appreciate it when a student is knowledgeable about the institution. Asking good questions, staying informed about current developments and spending some time with the website are all easy ways to do this. Showing interest and knowledge can be helpful to the admissions staff in determining a student’s fit with the school, particularly in cases where the college has distinctive academic or structural aspects, such as those that exist at UChicago. We know that many of our applicants may not be able to afford the time or expense of visiting each school and for this reason a campus visit does not affect the admissions decision. In the same vein, we do not require an interview as a part of the application process, though we are happy to provide one if possible.
N.B. When responding to emails, remember that every interaction with the admissions office is an opportunity to make a good impression. Avoid informal language or emails with just one word. You also might want to think about which email address you use to contact the institution (you choose: PrincessPancake@glittermail.com or Jane.Doe@gmail.com) [Blogger Note: I have mentioned this in a previous blog, but I will point it out again. BE PROFESSIONAL].
3) What are the three most important factors to you in the application process(essays, test scores, etc.)?
At UChicago, we practice holistic admission. This means that all parts of the application are considered equally. Rather than list areas where seniors have little or no control, like grades from freshman year, I’ll focus on some areas where students can exert some control. We encourage you to work hard on your essays and always allow time for revision. Essays are a great opportunity to demonstrate fit, intellectual qualities, deeper understanding of larger issues and individual personality. Much valuable information about an applicant can be gleaned from the essays, which is why we offer engaging and challenging essay prompts as an opportunity for our applicants to display the above mentioned skills. We also value leadership and broad involvement in your community, so make sure your résumé reflects this. As mentioned above, evidence of success in a broad and rigorous high school curriculum is also important. Course-work at UChicago (and many other highly selective schools) is demanding and engaging, thus we want to ensure that our incoming students are well-prepared for the challenge.
4) How focused should students be on test scores?
The deal is that most of the students who are admitted to UChicago do quite well on standardized tests (SAT or ACT), but because we read applications holistically, we are able to accommodate lower testers who show their academic and intellectual potential in other ways. That being said, there are many free opportunities to prepare for these exams by taking practice tests and learning about the types of questions and answers expected in each format. Do remember that no matter how you score, this is not a measure of you as a person.
5)What advice would you give to someone who is scared to apply?
Just go for it! The worst thing that can happen is that you won’t end up at UChicago next year. This is particularly good advice for someone who really wants to attend but doesn’t feel secure about it. Demonstrated passion for UChicago is something for which we read carefully in the application. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our admissions staff with questions or concerns of any kind. It’s our job to help you through this process and make it as painless and stress-free as possible. Also, think about starting your application early. It will feel great to have it taken care of before you get into the stress of your senior year.
6) This might be more of a question for a financial aid counselor, but I'll ask it anyway: Applying to a school the expense of UChicago is reasonable for low income families (because of need based aid) and for very wealthy families, but what advice can you give for students of the middle class? Is UChicago even possible?
UChicago is absolutely a possibility for all kinds of families. One thing to remember is that UChicago is committed to meeting 100% of a family’s demonstrated financial need. We recognize that there are many aspects to a family’s financial situation that are difficult to explain, so we welcome additional supporting documents and information that might be relevant to our financial aid office. Every family is considered individually using a variety of criteria with an end goal of making UChicago a viable financial choice for each admitted student.
7) Which teachers should they be asking recommendations from?
Students should consider teachers from core classes, math, science, history and English. We also recommend, but don’t require, that you choose teachers from later in your academic career, as they are more likely to have recent, relevant information about your academic and intellectual qualities. Feel free to consider additional letters from coaches, elective teachers and other mentors, but remember that we read over 60,000 letters of recommendation a year, so make sure this person has something unique and relevant to say.
8) If you have any other pieces of advice/reassurances, feel free to add them
Remember to keep breathing and ask for help when you need it. You are lucky to be at a school with a wonderful college counselor and a multitude of resources available to you. Take advantage of the advice of teachers and mentors and know that each college to which you apply wants to help you through this process. The most important thing to keep in mind is that each and every one of you will end up at a wonderful college or university and have the time of your life, learning and living with distinguished faculty and wonderful new friends from around the world!
A large part of the advice here is universal, whether you are applying to Georgetown, UChicago, or Stanford. However, remember to talk to the admissions counselors at your particular school about admissions criteria, expectations, and the overall personality of the school. Not all highly selective schools are the same, so do your research, keep in touch, and stay informed.
-Celinda :]
I have some exciting news. I've been keeping this a secret to its finality, but here it is!
I emailed my admissions counselor Sam Duplessis from UChicago. He happens to be the Assistant Director of Admissions, and also a friendly person :]. Though I am not attending UChicago, he graciously agreed to an interview about applying to highly selective schools. I want to say that many selective schools are fantastic, and you would have the time of your life there. Just remember to apply for the right reasons. Pretty much, only apply if it's a fit for YOU. I am so pleased to present the results of this interview. This is a person IN the college process, the one reading the applications, so you are all really lucky!
1) What kinds of courses do you recommend they take their senior year?
Students looking for admission to a highly selective school should maintain a broad and rigorous curriculum throughout high school. For many this entails four years of core subjects, such as math, science, English and history. Students are also encouraged to pursue rigorous courses in the arts, language and additional subject material of personal interest. Students can help themselves get noticed by taking extra classes in their area of interest at school, local colleges, online and by studying other course material in their free time (right, I know, “free time”).
2) How important is "showing interest" (visits, responding to emails, etc.)?
Showing interest in a school can be valuable and comes in many forms. Many colleges and universities appreciate it when a student is knowledgeable about the institution. Asking good questions, staying informed about current developments and spending some time with the website are all easy ways to do this. Showing interest and knowledge can be helpful to the admissions staff in determining a student’s fit with the school, particularly in cases where the college has distinctive academic or structural aspects, such as those that exist at UChicago. We know that many of our applicants may not be able to afford the time or expense of visiting each school and for this reason a campus visit does not affect the admissions decision. In the same vein, we do not require an interview as a part of the application process, though we are happy to provide one if possible.
N.B. When responding to emails, remember that every interaction with the admissions office is an opportunity to make a good impression. Avoid informal language or emails with just one word. You also might want to think about which email address you use to contact the institution (you choose: PrincessPancake@glittermail.com or Jane.Doe@gmail.com) [Blogger Note: I have mentioned this in a previous blog, but I will point it out again. BE PROFESSIONAL].
3) What are the three most important factors to you in the application process(essays, test scores, etc.)?
At UChicago, we practice holistic admission. This means that all parts of the application are considered equally. Rather than list areas where seniors have little or no control, like grades from freshman year, I’ll focus on some areas where students can exert some control. We encourage you to work hard on your essays and always allow time for revision. Essays are a great opportunity to demonstrate fit, intellectual qualities, deeper understanding of larger issues and individual personality. Much valuable information about an applicant can be gleaned from the essays, which is why we offer engaging and challenging essay prompts as an opportunity for our applicants to display the above mentioned skills. We also value leadership and broad involvement in your community, so make sure your résumé reflects this. As mentioned above, evidence of success in a broad and rigorous high school curriculum is also important. Course-work at UChicago (and many other highly selective schools) is demanding and engaging, thus we want to ensure that our incoming students are well-prepared for the challenge.
4) How focused should students be on test scores?
The deal is that most of the students who are admitted to UChicago do quite well on standardized tests (SAT or ACT), but because we read applications holistically, we are able to accommodate lower testers who show their academic and intellectual potential in other ways. That being said, there are many free opportunities to prepare for these exams by taking practice tests and learning about the types of questions and answers expected in each format. Do remember that no matter how you score, this is not a measure of you as a person.
5)What advice would you give to someone who is scared to apply?
Just go for it! The worst thing that can happen is that you won’t end up at UChicago next year. This is particularly good advice for someone who really wants to attend but doesn’t feel secure about it. Demonstrated passion for UChicago is something for which we read carefully in the application. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our admissions staff with questions or concerns of any kind. It’s our job to help you through this process and make it as painless and stress-free as possible. Also, think about starting your application early. It will feel great to have it taken care of before you get into the stress of your senior year.
6) This might be more of a question for a financial aid counselor, but I'll ask it anyway: Applying to a school the expense of UChicago is reasonable for low income families (because of need based aid) and for very wealthy families, but what advice can you give for students of the middle class? Is UChicago even possible?
UChicago is absolutely a possibility for all kinds of families. One thing to remember is that UChicago is committed to meeting 100% of a family’s demonstrated financial need. We recognize that there are many aspects to a family’s financial situation that are difficult to explain, so we welcome additional supporting documents and information that might be relevant to our financial aid office. Every family is considered individually using a variety of criteria with an end goal of making UChicago a viable financial choice for each admitted student.
7) Which teachers should they be asking recommendations from?
Students should consider teachers from core classes, math, science, history and English. We also recommend, but don’t require, that you choose teachers from later in your academic career, as they are more likely to have recent, relevant information about your academic and intellectual qualities. Feel free to consider additional letters from coaches, elective teachers and other mentors, but remember that we read over 60,000 letters of recommendation a year, so make sure this person has something unique and relevant to say.
8) If you have any other pieces of advice/reassurances, feel free to add them
Remember to keep breathing and ask for help when you need it. You are lucky to be at a school with a wonderful college counselor and a multitude of resources available to you. Take advantage of the advice of teachers and mentors and know that each college to which you apply wants to help you through this process. The most important thing to keep in mind is that each and every one of you will end up at a wonderful college or university and have the time of your life, learning and living with distinguished faculty and wonderful new friends from around the world!
A large part of the advice here is universal, whether you are applying to Georgetown, UChicago, or Stanford. However, remember to talk to the admissions counselors at your particular school about admissions criteria, expectations, and the overall personality of the school. Not all highly selective schools are the same, so do your research, keep in touch, and stay informed.
-Celinda :]
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
More Financial Aid!
Long time no blog...but, I promised to blog until I went to college, so here I am! First, long overdue thanks to the Wylde Q. Chicken award committee for choosing the blog as their 2011 recipient. I also wanted to thank my fellow PCCs, because this blog wouldn't exist without their invaluable thoughts and blogs. I also want to thank my numerous guests, such as Elenita, Adam, Seth, etc. for their wonderful and insightful blogs on topics I won't even pretend to be knowledgable in. Finally, a warm thanks to Lisa Micele, for her faith in the blog from its inception, and for her guidance throughout the process. You rising seniors are really lucky :D
And now, I would like to get to the actual blog :]
During the fabulous (whyamInotthererightnow??) Italy trip, I was talking about my finanical aid with some of you rising seniors. I want to take a moment to talk about several points of interest, namely your finanical aid options (now that I have a finanicial aid package) and about contesting your particular financial aid package.
When you finally get your package, there will be a blur of numbers and categories, which might induce headache. First, I want to clear up those categories. Then, I want to talk about gauging a good package vs. a bad package. Finally, how do you contest a package if your family is truly worried about making ends meet?
Grants: Ulysses S. Grant was our 18th president, and frankly, he was kinda useless and nondescript. Jump forward to the 2000s. Seniors, I would like you to meet the essential, useful, and wonderful Grant. These are the federal and college grants. Grants in the financial aid world are like the pony you always wanted for your birthday...in that it's a gift. That's right, grants are money that is promised to you, that you never have to pay back. So, when you see the word grant, throw confetti in the air and sing "Celebration".
DIRECT loans: Alright, put the mic down young Kool there. Now it's time to talk about loans. When I first thought of loans, I thought of loan sharks, Barbershop style, or like the Mafia. Or, alternatively, I thought of 45 year old me still paying off loans, or worse, defaulting and having thousands of dollars of debt. Basically, not the best image of loans. However, although loans are never a "good" thing, they can be necessary. Further, they can be manageable.
So, there are two types of direct loans:
-Direct Subsidized loans are based on your financial need level, which is calculated from filling out the FAFSA and EFC (expected family contribution). You do not need to begin paying this loan off until after you graduate and the 6 month grace period has elapsed. Further, interest does not begin to accumulate until after graduation and the grace period has passed. There are actually multiple payment options, because not all graduates follow the same life plan. Out of all the loans, the subsidized is the best kind.
-Direct Unsubsidized loans can be taken out by anyone. The catch is that the minute the loan has been given to you, interest will begin to accrue. Like the subsidized loan, you do not have to pay until you graduate, or your enrollment drops under half-time (this being measured by credit hours). Now, it is in your best interest to begin paying off interest from the get-go, because unpaid interest is added to the principal (a process known as capitalization). Then, interest is charged on the raised principal. It's really quite fascinating. Anyway, these loans are again, not "bad", if you work with your parents and maybe a financial advisor (a bank person, a family friend) in making a financial plan.
For me personally, I am taking our the amount of subsidized loans I am qualified for, and refusing the unsubsidized.
Federal Work Study: Federal Work Study is basically a program where colleges and the government are in cahoots to make you work partime. Here's how it works. You go to college, you get job offered on campus, you work, money comes to you, you use it to pay for books, personal expenses, etc. This is quite an interesting award, because it's not guaranteed. Remember the pony? Yes? Okay. Think of the pony analogy this way. You can have the pony, if you clean the stalls, feed it, give it exercise, take it the vet, clean it, and give it a sugar cube from time to time. Pretty much, you work to get the award, and the amount of money you get is based on how much you work. Now, that doesn't mean you can work all the time. You have a glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is how much money you are eligible based on YOU GUESSED IT, FAFSA and the EFC. I hope that all made sense....
Academic/Talent Scolarship: Yay you! You are given this because of your grades, because you can eat fire, because you have known complex calculus since age three, whatever floats your boat. But, let's look at the pony situation in an academic setting. You take care of your pony really well, you keep your grades up. However, if you go two weeks without going to the barn, your pony will be worse for wear. Similarly, if you start sliding by, your scholarship might slide on out. These scholarships are a year by year thing--meaning, if freshman year you were a lazy bum that never went to class, sophomore year you will be a lazy bum without your scholarship.
Now, you have your financial aid package. How can you check if it's good? There are several things you can do. First off, look at your parent's income for the past fiscal year, or if that isn't available, the previous fiscal year. On Collegeboard, they have an EFC calculator. Use it to check numbers. Talk to a financial expert. Review your family's expenses. You might consider vacationing closer to home, or not building your mini Seaworld in the backyard. You might do some soul searching. If it's the school of your dreams, then you could take out a loan that's a little bigger than you were hoping. If the package is not feasable, but you think it could be, then let's talk contesting.
One important thing I want to bring up. If you apply early decision and are accepted, you can't really contest the package. The idea is, you enter the agreement regardless of financial aid. If financial aid is going to be an issue, you might want to have a conversation with Lisa Micele. There are students who apply to schools ED, get in, get their package, and are completely fine. But, have the conversation with your parents and with Lisa before jumping right in.
For EA and Regular decision kids here's how it works:
You are going to get your financial aid package. (IMPORTANT: As you get financial aid packages, especially really good ones from schools you're not as interested in, save them! SAVE THEM! You'll see why ;]) If it seems that maybe, with a few more thousands or so, the school could be a viable option, then the next step is to think. Think if you like this school a lot. If you really can see yourself there, then you are in a position to contest it. Next, get in contact with your admissions counselor or financial aid counselor. Tell them something like "I love this school, but financially I'm not sure it's viable...".
Your school might do it somewhat differently, but it's the same basic principle. You will mail a copy of your other financial aid offers, along with a statement about how much you love the school and why you want to attend. That's pretty much it.
Two questions I know will come up:
1) What if it doesn't work?
2) What if my dream school is my best offer/I have no schools to bargain with?
1) You are at a crossroads young grasshopper. You can either try to contest it a second time (nicely of course), or you can give it up and try to make ends meet. If you are unsure which one to choose, have a meeting with Lisa, or with your admissions counselor. They have already accepted you, which means they want you. Maybe the college is feeling stretched thin, maybe you haven't looked at your finances thoroughly, whatever. But talking to them will show your commitment, and give you a better chance at success. No promises here.
2) Talk to your counselor. They might be really happy to have been the school to give you the best offer. They might be able to bump it up, even without schools to bargain with, especially if you show interest. You are not actually in as bad a position as you think. Genuine, mature, interest from a person looking at their finances logically will go a long way for these people.
Worst case? You don't get it bumped up. But look at the bright side. You have been accepted! You have a financial aid package! And, sometimes you can choose the college you love, even if it means a little more loans. Conversely, you might choose your second, or even last favorite, and find your happiness there.
Best of luck!
Celinda
And now, I would like to get to the actual blog :]
During the fabulous (whyamInotthererightnow??) Italy trip, I was talking about my finanical aid with some of you rising seniors. I want to take a moment to talk about several points of interest, namely your finanical aid options (now that I have a finanicial aid package) and about contesting your particular financial aid package.
When you finally get your package, there will be a blur of numbers and categories, which might induce headache. First, I want to clear up those categories. Then, I want to talk about gauging a good package vs. a bad package. Finally, how do you contest a package if your family is truly worried about making ends meet?
Grants: Ulysses S. Grant was our 18th president, and frankly, he was kinda useless and nondescript. Jump forward to the 2000s. Seniors, I would like you to meet the essential, useful, and wonderful Grant. These are the federal and college grants. Grants in the financial aid world are like the pony you always wanted for your birthday...in that it's a gift. That's right, grants are money that is promised to you, that you never have to pay back. So, when you see the word grant, throw confetti in the air and sing "Celebration".
DIRECT loans: Alright, put the mic down young Kool there. Now it's time to talk about loans. When I first thought of loans, I thought of loan sharks, Barbershop style, or like the Mafia. Or, alternatively, I thought of 45 year old me still paying off loans, or worse, defaulting and having thousands of dollars of debt. Basically, not the best image of loans. However, although loans are never a "good" thing, they can be necessary. Further, they can be manageable.
So, there are two types of direct loans:
-Direct Subsidized loans are based on your financial need level, which is calculated from filling out the FAFSA and EFC (expected family contribution). You do not need to begin paying this loan off until after you graduate and the 6 month grace period has elapsed. Further, interest does not begin to accumulate until after graduation and the grace period has passed. There are actually multiple payment options, because not all graduates follow the same life plan. Out of all the loans, the subsidized is the best kind.
-Direct Unsubsidized loans can be taken out by anyone. The catch is that the minute the loan has been given to you, interest will begin to accrue. Like the subsidized loan, you do not have to pay until you graduate, or your enrollment drops under half-time (this being measured by credit hours). Now, it is in your best interest to begin paying off interest from the get-go, because unpaid interest is added to the principal (a process known as capitalization). Then, interest is charged on the raised principal. It's really quite fascinating. Anyway, these loans are again, not "bad", if you work with your parents and maybe a financial advisor (a bank person, a family friend) in making a financial plan.
For me personally, I am taking our the amount of subsidized loans I am qualified for, and refusing the unsubsidized.
Federal Work Study: Federal Work Study is basically a program where colleges and the government are in cahoots to make you work partime. Here's how it works. You go to college, you get job offered on campus, you work, money comes to you, you use it to pay for books, personal expenses, etc. This is quite an interesting award, because it's not guaranteed. Remember the pony? Yes? Okay. Think of the pony analogy this way. You can have the pony, if you clean the stalls, feed it, give it exercise, take it the vet, clean it, and give it a sugar cube from time to time. Pretty much, you work to get the award, and the amount of money you get is based on how much you work. Now, that doesn't mean you can work all the time. You have a glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is how much money you are eligible based on YOU GUESSED IT, FAFSA and the EFC. I hope that all made sense....
Academic/Talent Scolarship: Yay you! You are given this because of your grades, because you can eat fire, because you have known complex calculus since age three, whatever floats your boat. But, let's look at the pony situation in an academic setting. You take care of your pony really well, you keep your grades up. However, if you go two weeks without going to the barn, your pony will be worse for wear. Similarly, if you start sliding by, your scholarship might slide on out. These scholarships are a year by year thing--meaning, if freshman year you were a lazy bum that never went to class, sophomore year you will be a lazy bum without your scholarship.
Now, you have your financial aid package. How can you check if it's good? There are several things you can do. First off, look at your parent's income for the past fiscal year, or if that isn't available, the previous fiscal year. On Collegeboard, they have an EFC calculator. Use it to check numbers. Talk to a financial expert. Review your family's expenses. You might consider vacationing closer to home, or not building your mini Seaworld in the backyard. You might do some soul searching. If it's the school of your dreams, then you could take out a loan that's a little bigger than you were hoping. If the package is not feasable, but you think it could be, then let's talk contesting.
One important thing I want to bring up. If you apply early decision and are accepted, you can't really contest the package. The idea is, you enter the agreement regardless of financial aid. If financial aid is going to be an issue, you might want to have a conversation with Lisa Micele. There are students who apply to schools ED, get in, get their package, and are completely fine. But, have the conversation with your parents and with Lisa before jumping right in.
For EA and Regular decision kids here's how it works:
You are going to get your financial aid package. (IMPORTANT: As you get financial aid packages, especially really good ones from schools you're not as interested in, save them! SAVE THEM! You'll see why ;]) If it seems that maybe, with a few more thousands or so, the school could be a viable option, then the next step is to think. Think if you like this school a lot. If you really can see yourself there, then you are in a position to contest it. Next, get in contact with your admissions counselor or financial aid counselor. Tell them something like "I love this school, but financially I'm not sure it's viable...".
Your school might do it somewhat differently, but it's the same basic principle. You will mail a copy of your other financial aid offers, along with a statement about how much you love the school and why you want to attend. That's pretty much it.
Two questions I know will come up:
1) What if it doesn't work?
2) What if my dream school is my best offer/I have no schools to bargain with?
1) You are at a crossroads young grasshopper. You can either try to contest it a second time (nicely of course), or you can give it up and try to make ends meet. If you are unsure which one to choose, have a meeting with Lisa, or with your admissions counselor. They have already accepted you, which means they want you. Maybe the college is feeling stretched thin, maybe you haven't looked at your finances thoroughly, whatever. But talking to them will show your commitment, and give you a better chance at success. No promises here.
2) Talk to your counselor. They might be really happy to have been the school to give you the best offer. They might be able to bump it up, even without schools to bargain with, especially if you show interest. You are not actually in as bad a position as you think. Genuine, mature, interest from a person looking at their finances logically will go a long way for these people.
Worst case? You don't get it bumped up. But look at the bright side. You have been accepted! You have a financial aid package! And, sometimes you can choose the college you love, even if it means a little more loans. Conversely, you might choose your second, or even last favorite, and find your happiness there.
Best of luck!
Celinda
Monday, May 9, 2011
Breaking Tradition: Elenita's Post-Uni Plans
I sat down metaphorically (aka sent a Facebook message) to Elenita for an interview on her post-Uni plans. Here is the exciting interview!
1) What are you up to next year?
Organic farming in two superb locations! I'm going to the Nantahalla Mountains, NC for four months then Maui, HI for four more. I could not be more psyched, I made the perfect decision for myself. I was initially going to do one year in one location but I am utterly incapable of making decisions so I just split up a year into semesters. Also I wanted summer ‘12 free because I don’t get to see people otherwise.
2) How do you stumble across this opportunity?
Well, long story. It has a lot to do with my being overly flexible in my life or somewhat rash, one might say. You see, in the very beginning, I was planning to go straight to college. So I was really excited and constantly looking for colleges that I thought would fit me and I visited them to make sure and such. Then I decided I need to take a gap year, which was no biggie, but I had to cut our any state schools on my list essentially. So I started applying and all and they were mostly all done when I realized that I hated every college on my list. I didn’t like the people or the places so I decided I’d do a year in Parkland Pathways then transfer to a place I’d like better. But then sometime in March, after I finished my Pathways application too, I remembered that I hate it here (which is not a dig at anyone who does, it all has to do with the individual, you know, and I happen to not function well in the CU).
At the this point I had to really think about what I like, which wasn’t hard, I like nice people and hate material goods. So a commune I was set on seeking. However, after only a week of online commune seeking I realized that about 70% of what I had seen were cults, and though I wanted to join two in particular, my parents were not enthused. But that was okay, because I noticed what also attracted me to those particular communes was their sustainable development, in particular, farms. So I then just stumbled upon growfood.org, the best website on the interweb perhaps. It’s great, just hundreds of farms. So at that point, planning next year was just gravy. I chose the farms that looked funnest.
3) What were your initial thoughts about the college process?
It completely overwhelmed me. I was not into the idea of trying to explain my essence to strangers in tiny essays and grades. I was convinced that no college, no matter how good the rest of my application, would accept me based on my lowly GPA. Of course, this is not true at all, but I was very self conscious of college admissions. I mean their job is just judging people based on very little and I hate that. Who doesn’t? But when it actually came down to putting my applications together, it wasn’t that bad at all. It’s so over-hyped but it’s really not that bad, I think people just like to scare applicants. That’s what’s up.
4) Did you feel supported by your peers during the process? Your family?
Well, honestly, I don’t talk to that many of peers. It’s not good, especially because it seemed like my class was really supportive of each other throughout the application process, I think most classes are. The people I talk to most, however, I generally against the whole systems for applying, and a lot of what we say is true, but it’s entirely unhelpful while you have to go though it.
My parents, on the other hand, I just lied to them a lot about my progress and didn’t tell them when I decided not to turn anything in, which was silly. They’re not pushy at all, it probably would have helped to keep them in the know a bit more. If they were pushy though, it probably would have been easier lying to them than having them on my butt the whole time.
5) Do you feel supported by your peers with your decision? Your family?
Oh I do! Everyone I tell about next year says something really positive and enthusiastic, which is nice. In general, students are always at least pleasant about others’ college plans. Sometimes younger classes get all sassy and say obnoxious things but they haven’t done it yet! Once students have everyone gets so much more supportive and cordial. Actually the only people who are really rude about students’ college choices are the the parents, which is so absurd. Like grown up strangers who antagonize teenagers about where they’re going or not going to college? They just need to go away. Not my parents though, they’re so into my decision. They think it’s so rad and they’re whole mantra is “do what you feel is right”. I really wish more students had that, it’s so unfair that your own parents would berate your plans, I mean unless you’re doing something completely self destructive.
6) Why did you choose to do this instead of the "traditional" Uni route of college?
My decision came from 50% indecision and 50% getting in touch with my inner desires, I think. I mean I just have this sort of flexibility for my future or inherent rashness, one might say, that allowed my to constantly revise my plans until I got them right. I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself to “conform” or that I’m pushing the contradictory on myself. My decision feels 100% right for me right now and not that I’m saying everyone should boycott college, but everyone should be allowed time to think, without any constraints that they might have now, hard about what they want to do. And I mean what they want to do right now, not in ten years. Uni grads can be 16 to 19 at any age in between is too young to have to decide they’re whole future right now. Though on the other hand, some people might now right now exactly what they want to do forever, but either way there shouldn’t be so much pressure like “your life is going to end if you don’t do this”. Silly.
7) What are your fears with this experience?
I like to think that I don’t have any, but I think I’m just not thinking. It all sounds so gnarly right now and I’m so excited to start, but there’s definitely going to be some difficult adjustments like non-easily accessible electricity. I sounds so cool that I’m going to get to live in a tepee or yurt but when push comes to shove or whatever its probably going to be hard. Not the manual labor though, I only have to work 30 hours a week because both farms indulge in lots of play time.
8) What do you hope to gain from this experience?
Oh I have no idea. In North Carolina, I get to spend hands on time learning about environmental design, which is one of the many things I might want to study if I decide to go to college later, and fermentation and a whole booty load of great things. But in terms of something deeper, per se, let anything enlightening come as it may!
9) Do you have any advice for the juniors?
Stay in touch with your peers and what they’re doing throughout applying. I always found it reassuring to find someone who was doing the same thing I was or someone who had already filled out their U of I app, for example, to help me. Also talk to Lisa a lot, which everyone says, because everyone should because she is so so helpful. Make sure you only apply places you’d actually want to go, even fall back schools that you’re sure you won’t have to go to, just get yourself real jazzed about all the places on you list. Lastly, entertain all ideas you have about college, don’t rule anything out. I kept myself from applying to better schools because I was sure I wasn’t going to get in. But I realize this is the reverse for a lot of people, so don’t be afraid to apply to less “prestigious” schools even if you think your peers will think worse of you (because they really won’t, and even if they did, who cares) or your parents aren’t a fan because later you might be able to change their minds. That happens.
Remember to listen to your "inner-self" in regards to your wants, needs, happiness, etc. throughout the college process. Elenita paused and thought deeply about what she wanted, which all you juniors should do. Remember, this is your life and your decision.
-Celinda :]
PS, Thanks so much Elenita for taking the time to answer so thoroughly and so thoughtfully!
1) What are you up to next year?
Organic farming in two superb locations! I'm going to the Nantahalla Mountains, NC for four months then Maui, HI for four more. I could not be more psyched, I made the perfect decision for myself. I was initially going to do one year in one location but I am utterly incapable of making decisions so I just split up a year into semesters. Also I wanted summer ‘12 free because I don’t get to see people otherwise.
2) How do you stumble across this opportunity?
Well, long story. It has a lot to do with my being overly flexible in my life or somewhat rash, one might say. You see, in the very beginning, I was planning to go straight to college. So I was really excited and constantly looking for colleges that I thought would fit me and I visited them to make sure and such. Then I decided I need to take a gap year, which was no biggie, but I had to cut our any state schools on my list essentially. So I started applying and all and they were mostly all done when I realized that I hated every college on my list. I didn’t like the people or the places so I decided I’d do a year in Parkland Pathways then transfer to a place I’d like better. But then sometime in March, after I finished my Pathways application too, I remembered that I hate it here (which is not a dig at anyone who does, it all has to do with the individual, you know, and I happen to not function well in the CU).
At the this point I had to really think about what I like, which wasn’t hard, I like nice people and hate material goods. So a commune I was set on seeking. However, after only a week of online commune seeking I realized that about 70% of what I had seen were cults, and though I wanted to join two in particular, my parents were not enthused. But that was okay, because I noticed what also attracted me to those particular communes was their sustainable development, in particular, farms. So I then just stumbled upon growfood.org, the best website on the interweb perhaps. It’s great, just hundreds of farms. So at that point, planning next year was just gravy. I chose the farms that looked funnest.
3) What were your initial thoughts about the college process?
It completely overwhelmed me. I was not into the idea of trying to explain my essence to strangers in tiny essays and grades. I was convinced that no college, no matter how good the rest of my application, would accept me based on my lowly GPA. Of course, this is not true at all, but I was very self conscious of college admissions. I mean their job is just judging people based on very little and I hate that. Who doesn’t? But when it actually came down to putting my applications together, it wasn’t that bad at all. It’s so over-hyped but it’s really not that bad, I think people just like to scare applicants. That’s what’s up.
4) Did you feel supported by your peers during the process? Your family?
Well, honestly, I don’t talk to that many of peers. It’s not good, especially because it seemed like my class was really supportive of each other throughout the application process, I think most classes are. The people I talk to most, however, I generally against the whole systems for applying, and a lot of what we say is true, but it’s entirely unhelpful while you have to go though it.
My parents, on the other hand, I just lied to them a lot about my progress and didn’t tell them when I decided not to turn anything in, which was silly. They’re not pushy at all, it probably would have helped to keep them in the know a bit more. If they were pushy though, it probably would have been easier lying to them than having them on my butt the whole time.
5) Do you feel supported by your peers with your decision? Your family?
Oh I do! Everyone I tell about next year says something really positive and enthusiastic, which is nice. In general, students are always at least pleasant about others’ college plans. Sometimes younger classes get all sassy and say obnoxious things but they haven’t done it yet! Once students have everyone gets so much more supportive and cordial. Actually the only people who are really rude about students’ college choices are the the parents, which is so absurd. Like grown up strangers who antagonize teenagers about where they’re going or not going to college? They just need to go away. Not my parents though, they’re so into my decision. They think it’s so rad and they’re whole mantra is “do what you feel is right”. I really wish more students had that, it’s so unfair that your own parents would berate your plans, I mean unless you’re doing something completely self destructive.
6) Why did you choose to do this instead of the "traditional" Uni route of college?
My decision came from 50% indecision and 50% getting in touch with my inner desires, I think. I mean I just have this sort of flexibility for my future or inherent rashness, one might say, that allowed my to constantly revise my plans until I got them right. I don’t feel like I’m forcing myself to “conform” or that I’m pushing the contradictory on myself. My decision feels 100% right for me right now and not that I’m saying everyone should boycott college, but everyone should be allowed time to think, without any constraints that they might have now, hard about what they want to do. And I mean what they want to do right now, not in ten years. Uni grads can be 16 to 19 at any age in between is too young to have to decide they’re whole future right now. Though on the other hand, some people might now right now exactly what they want to do forever, but either way there shouldn’t be so much pressure like “your life is going to end if you don’t do this”. Silly.
7) What are your fears with this experience?
I like to think that I don’t have any, but I think I’m just not thinking. It all sounds so gnarly right now and I’m so excited to start, but there’s definitely going to be some difficult adjustments like non-easily accessible electricity. I sounds so cool that I’m going to get to live in a tepee or yurt but when push comes to shove or whatever its probably going to be hard. Not the manual labor though, I only have to work 30 hours a week because both farms indulge in lots of play time.
8) What do you hope to gain from this experience?
Oh I have no idea. In North Carolina, I get to spend hands on time learning about environmental design, which is one of the many things I might want to study if I decide to go to college later, and fermentation and a whole booty load of great things. But in terms of something deeper, per se, let anything enlightening come as it may!
9) Do you have any advice for the juniors?
Stay in touch with your peers and what they’re doing throughout applying. I always found it reassuring to find someone who was doing the same thing I was or someone who had already filled out their U of I app, for example, to help me. Also talk to Lisa a lot, which everyone says, because everyone should because she is so so helpful. Make sure you only apply places you’d actually want to go, even fall back schools that you’re sure you won’t have to go to, just get yourself real jazzed about all the places on you list. Lastly, entertain all ideas you have about college, don’t rule anything out. I kept myself from applying to better schools because I was sure I wasn’t going to get in. But I realize this is the reverse for a lot of people, so don’t be afraid to apply to less “prestigious” schools even if you think your peers will think worse of you (because they really won’t, and even if they did, who cares) or your parents aren’t a fan because later you might be able to change their minds. That happens.
Remember to listen to your "inner-self" in regards to your wants, needs, happiness, etc. throughout the college process. Elenita paused and thought deeply about what she wanted, which all you juniors should do. Remember, this is your life and your decision.
-Celinda :]
PS, Thanks so much Elenita for taking the time to answer so thoroughly and so thoughtfully!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
PCC College Decision: Stef
Hey!
I am so excited for two reasons. One, this is the 50th College Corner Blog (YAY)! Two, this is the long-awaited Stefanie Senior blog. I have to say that this was one of the most heartfelt, honest, and thoughtful pieces of writing I have read in a long time. I have enjoyed the past five years at Uni with Stef, and I wish the best for her at--well, why don't you just read and find out? :]
Dear Everyone and Everything:
I’M GOING TO PARKLAND.
On May 21, 2011, I’m going to graduate from University Laboratory High School- the alma mater of three Nobel laureates, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, an Academy Award winner, and an Olympic speed skater to name a few- and then I’m going to go to Parkland.
I’m telling you this for two reasons: The first is that I just received a theatre scholarship from Parkland, which will pay for tuition and fees of two years’ full-time study (!) and which requires me to do theatre (which I was going to do anyway, but now it will pay for school!) at Parkland.
The second reason I’m telling you this is that, in my five years at Uni, I’ve noticed a generally negative attitude towards Parkland (if I’m wrong here- and trust me, I’d love to be- correct me).
Especially in the past two years, since I’ve been going through the college process, I’ve noticed several cases of “or I could just go to Parkland”- I myself was guilty of it early on- and it’s something that I’d like to see changed, especially since I’m on the brink of beginning my education there.
Since beginning college talks with Lisa Micele, I heard over and over again that “Parkland is a good option”. I knew that Parkland was a good school (and not just for a community college), but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was thinking, “I hope it doesn’t come to that.” (Granted, that could have been because I wasn’t even considering staying in Illinois for college, but still.)
However, after my college apps went off, and my early-app friends started getting their outcomes back, I started to get anxious: What if I didn’t try hard enough? What if I don’t get in to this school or that school? Will everyone be disappointed in me? Will I have failed somehow? What if I do have to go to Parkland? I spent weeks and months like this; February may actually have been my least favorite month of senior year.
Then, in March, just as the college decision process was about to kick into high gear, Spring Break dropped in for a visit, and I shipped off to Arizona to visit my dad, uncle and grandparents (Fun fact: The ratio of bachelor’s degree to no degree is two and two- my grandpa and uncle vs. my grandma and dad). We all spent time talking about college, each family member giving me advice and sharing their thoughts about college. And then my dad gave me perhaps the single most useful piece of advice I’ve been given during the entire college process:
“Once you go apply for your third or fourth job, it’s going to be your job history and experience and not the name of your school that’s going to get you a job.”
At the time, I sedately agreed; but when I went back home and two weeks later started getting college letters, it became one of the only thoughts at the front of my mind. I was still a little disappointed at my outcomes (Accepted: Beloit College; Rejected: Georgetown, Yale, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon; Waitlisted: Bryn Mawr), but I realized I had options, and Parkland was one of them. As Parkland became a more and more serious option, my mom (who was also planning a triumphant return to school) and I began to look into financial aid and scholarships. I applied to Parkland (scarier than you might think), and then applied for financial aid as well as a theatre scholarship.
All this time, however, I was still having anxieties: Even though I was happy with the decision to go to Parkland, and I knew that my friends would be very supportive, I was still pretty embarrassed to make this news public. I kept having this mental image of the back of the graduation program: “Stefanie Senior, Parkland College, theatre”; and the reaction of my classmates’ parents: “Oh, that Stefanie Senior is going to Parkland? Is that the best she could do?” (I’m flattering myself to think that, post-high-school-graduation, any of my classmates’ parents will be talking about anyone or anything but their child’s completion of a major milestone, but this is how my mind works). I couldn’t stop carrying this image around in my head, so I asked Lisa Micele if we could have a meeting to go over my options and perhaps dispense some of my anxieties.
After the meeting, I felt a whole lot better. I was still a little unsure (though fairly certain) that I was going to Parkland, but I knew that I was more than likely not going to publish it on the first-floor map, in the Gargoyle, or on the back of the graduation program- the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ of college outcomes.
Then, Saturday (4/30), I came home from Anat/Phys class to a letter from Parkland. I wasn’t eager to read it, because I thought it may have just been something about missing documents or the completion of my concurrent enrollment- all college mail looks the same after a while. I picked up the letter and opened it, and when I pulled the contents out, I noticed that they were rather thick. I began to read.
“Dear Ms Senior,” it said. “Congratulations! You have been selected as a recipient of a Parkland College theatre scholarship.”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Full tuition and fees for two years’ full-time study? Yes please!
And, in that moment- as cheesy as this sounds- my embarrassment was gone. I’m going to Parkland- they’re paying for me to do theatre and go to school! What more could a theatre kid ask for?
And I went on Facebook, and I published it for the world to see. Guess what? 21 “likes” and 8 comments- and most of them from Uni students.
So, Juniors (and your parents, if they’re reading): When you are going through your college process, if at any point you step back and say, “I don’t know what I want to do with the next year of my life, let alone four!” or “I don’t know what I want my major to be! I can’t even think about my career goals!” or “I don’t want to leave my parents!”, put Parkland on your college list. It doesn’t have to stay there- by the time you actually go submit your apps, you may have everything figured out- but keep Parkland in your mind, and don’t think of it as a last resort school. It’s a good option financially and educationally; and if you still have Ivy-League ambitions, you can transfer in once you’ve finished your associate’s degree. In fact, you may even have a better chance of getting admitted as a transfer than you did as an undergrad!
So, if you actually read this whole thing, kudos to you; if you pulled a “tl;dr” and only read the first and last bits, I leave you with this: Your self-worth is not solely dependent on your choice of college. Do what works for you, and throw everything else out the window.
You’ll feel a lot better when you do.
Love,
Stefanie
I am so excited for two reasons. One, this is the 50th College Corner Blog (YAY)! Two, this is the long-awaited Stefanie Senior blog. I have to say that this was one of the most heartfelt, honest, and thoughtful pieces of writing I have read in a long time. I have enjoyed the past five years at Uni with Stef, and I wish the best for her at--well, why don't you just read and find out? :]
Dear Everyone and Everything:
I’M GOING TO PARKLAND.
On May 21, 2011, I’m going to graduate from University Laboratory High School- the alma mater of three Nobel laureates, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, an Academy Award winner, and an Olympic speed skater to name a few- and then I’m going to go to Parkland.
I’m telling you this for two reasons: The first is that I just received a theatre scholarship from Parkland, which will pay for tuition and fees of two years’ full-time study (!) and which requires me to do theatre (which I was going to do anyway, but now it will pay for school!) at Parkland.
The second reason I’m telling you this is that, in my five years at Uni, I’ve noticed a generally negative attitude towards Parkland (if I’m wrong here- and trust me, I’d love to be- correct me).
Especially in the past two years, since I’ve been going through the college process, I’ve noticed several cases of “or I could just go to Parkland”- I myself was guilty of it early on- and it’s something that I’d like to see changed, especially since I’m on the brink of beginning my education there.
Since beginning college talks with Lisa Micele, I heard over and over again that “Parkland is a good option”. I knew that Parkland was a good school (and not just for a community college), but somewhere in the back of my mind, I was thinking, “I hope it doesn’t come to that.” (Granted, that could have been because I wasn’t even considering staying in Illinois for college, but still.)
However, after my college apps went off, and my early-app friends started getting their outcomes back, I started to get anxious: What if I didn’t try hard enough? What if I don’t get in to this school or that school? Will everyone be disappointed in me? Will I have failed somehow? What if I do have to go to Parkland? I spent weeks and months like this; February may actually have been my least favorite month of senior year.
Then, in March, just as the college decision process was about to kick into high gear, Spring Break dropped in for a visit, and I shipped off to Arizona to visit my dad, uncle and grandparents (Fun fact: The ratio of bachelor’s degree to no degree is two and two- my grandpa and uncle vs. my grandma and dad). We all spent time talking about college, each family member giving me advice and sharing their thoughts about college. And then my dad gave me perhaps the single most useful piece of advice I’ve been given during the entire college process:
“Once you go apply for your third or fourth job, it’s going to be your job history and experience and not the name of your school that’s going to get you a job.”
At the time, I sedately agreed; but when I went back home and two weeks later started getting college letters, it became one of the only thoughts at the front of my mind. I was still a little disappointed at my outcomes (Accepted: Beloit College; Rejected: Georgetown, Yale, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon; Waitlisted: Bryn Mawr), but I realized I had options, and Parkland was one of them. As Parkland became a more and more serious option, my mom (who was also planning a triumphant return to school) and I began to look into financial aid and scholarships. I applied to Parkland (scarier than you might think), and then applied for financial aid as well as a theatre scholarship.
All this time, however, I was still having anxieties: Even though I was happy with the decision to go to Parkland, and I knew that my friends would be very supportive, I was still pretty embarrassed to make this news public. I kept having this mental image of the back of the graduation program: “Stefanie Senior, Parkland College, theatre”; and the reaction of my classmates’ parents: “Oh, that Stefanie Senior is going to Parkland? Is that the best she could do?” (I’m flattering myself to think that, post-high-school-graduation, any of my classmates’ parents will be talking about anyone or anything but their child’s completion of a major milestone, but this is how my mind works). I couldn’t stop carrying this image around in my head, so I asked Lisa Micele if we could have a meeting to go over my options and perhaps dispense some of my anxieties.
After the meeting, I felt a whole lot better. I was still a little unsure (though fairly certain) that I was going to Parkland, but I knew that I was more than likely not going to publish it on the first-floor map, in the Gargoyle, or on the back of the graduation program- the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ of college outcomes.
Then, Saturday (4/30), I came home from Anat/Phys class to a letter from Parkland. I wasn’t eager to read it, because I thought it may have just been something about missing documents or the completion of my concurrent enrollment- all college mail looks the same after a while. I picked up the letter and opened it, and when I pulled the contents out, I noticed that they were rather thick. I began to read.
“Dear Ms Senior,” it said. “Congratulations! You have been selected as a recipient of a Parkland College theatre scholarship.”
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Full tuition and fees for two years’ full-time study? Yes please!
And, in that moment- as cheesy as this sounds- my embarrassment was gone. I’m going to Parkland- they’re paying for me to do theatre and go to school! What more could a theatre kid ask for?
And I went on Facebook, and I published it for the world to see. Guess what? 21 “likes” and 8 comments- and most of them from Uni students.
So, Juniors (and your parents, if they’re reading): When you are going through your college process, if at any point you step back and say, “I don’t know what I want to do with the next year of my life, let alone four!” or “I don’t know what I want my major to be! I can’t even think about my career goals!” or “I don’t want to leave my parents!”, put Parkland on your college list. It doesn’t have to stay there- by the time you actually go submit your apps, you may have everything figured out- but keep Parkland in your mind, and don’t think of it as a last resort school. It’s a good option financially and educationally; and if you still have Ivy-League ambitions, you can transfer in once you’ve finished your associate’s degree. In fact, you may even have a better chance of getting admitted as a transfer than you did as an undergrad!
So, if you actually read this whole thing, kudos to you; if you pulled a “tl;dr” and only read the first and last bits, I leave you with this: Your self-worth is not solely dependent on your choice of college. Do what works for you, and throw everything else out the window.
You’ll feel a lot better when you do.
Love,
Stefanie
Monday, May 2, 2011
Uni and the College Process
Hey Juniors!
I am super excited for some of the blogs coming up. As I already stated, Stef is going to do a blog about Parkland. We will also hear from the other PCCs and their college decisions. Also, Elenita agreed to be interviewed about her future plans--let me tell you, they are really cool!
Before any of these blogs however, I want to take a moment to discuss the climate at Uni and the college process. Today, I passed around a poll, with 30 senior responses. As I promised, it is anonymous. I asked them two questions about the college process:
1) Did you feel supported by your peers?
2) Did you actively feel judged at any point?
The second question had a very solid result:
3 people said No
27 people said Yes
What does that mean for the senior class? It means throughout the college process, most of the seniors have felt judged about a number of things including scores, colleges, final decision, rejections, and grades. One response said "especially applying to small, unknown, liberal arts schools". Another response was "snarkiness from a few people". A third one said "Especially with UIUC". Lisa was telling me of students who come in her office crying because they got into an Ivy League, only to be judged for it. What is going on here Uni kids?
It seems as if people are getting judged for going to UIUC, for not going to UIUC, for going to an Ivy League, for not going to an Ivy League, for looking at unknown, for looking at known--really, is anyone free from the judgment? Then, it occurred to me that 27 people said they felt judged. I estimate that if I polled the other 31 (myself not included) seniors, I would still have an overwhelming number of yeses. If everyone feels judged and they dislike it for the most part, then why is anyone judging others? Now, that is easier said than done, because it is human nature to judge. But, if one doesn't want to feel judged, then they shouldn't judge others. If person A agreed to stop judging person B, and person B agreed to stop judging person A, then judgment stops.
Juniors, I implore you to remember that each person has their own unique college process. Even the closest friends have different interests and needs. We are forging a new path for ourselves, whether it is college, abroad, or right here at home. Thinking about my friends, there's a few future doctors, an undecided, a businesswoman, engineers of all shapes and sizes, techies, English experts, etc. I myself am majoring in education. With so much variety, we must remember that each process and final decision is unique, and beautiful. We are at the crossroads, forming the people we want to be. We should be proud of each other, no matter WHERE we go.
For the first question, I got a mixture of responses:
I got some yeses
I got some occasionally's
I got some sometimes
I got some kind of's
I got a NEVER
I got some some/most of them's
I got a meh...
I got a sorta
I got a hell no
This data is harder to interpret because there are a myriad of answers. However, what can be said is in an ideal situation, all 30 responses would be yes. We are a social species. It is hard to survive without the group. So, instead of actively judging your peers or passively doing nothing, I propose the Class of 2012 actively supports each other. This is a long, arduous process. There will be celebrations, acceptances, successes, and breaths of relief. There will also be afflictions, rejections, failures, and sighs of disappointment. Support will be key in making sure you're okay when you're in our positions, mailing in deposits.
Here are some suggestions for support:
1) After a test, organize a picnic, bike ride, movie, or other fun activity
2) Refrain from bragging too much about your schools (remember, there is a fine line between your excitement/pride and hurting other people).
3) Keep your test scores to yourself, your college applications, and Lisa (PCCs only if you want to!). There's a reason you have to go through a security check before you can look at your scores.
4) Remember that your process is uniquely your own. Try not to look at other processes through the lens of your own process.
5) In January, try to celebrate finishing your college applications
6) Check your college decisions at home, not at school.
7) If you are asked about your college process and you aren't comfortable answering, just tell them you aren't telling people. Conversely, if you are asking someone about their college process and they don't feel comfortable answering, let it go and move on.
Remember Class of 2012, the climate of Uni won't change overnight. However, each person has the ability to make a small difference. Someday, hopefully, the collection of all those small differences can make a world of change.
-Celinda :]
(PS, thank you all seniors who participated in my poll!)
I am super excited for some of the blogs coming up. As I already stated, Stef is going to do a blog about Parkland. We will also hear from the other PCCs and their college decisions. Also, Elenita agreed to be interviewed about her future plans--let me tell you, they are really cool!
Before any of these blogs however, I want to take a moment to discuss the climate at Uni and the college process. Today, I passed around a poll, with 30 senior responses. As I promised, it is anonymous. I asked them two questions about the college process:
1) Did you feel supported by your peers?
2) Did you actively feel judged at any point?
The second question had a very solid result:
3 people said No
27 people said Yes
What does that mean for the senior class? It means throughout the college process, most of the seniors have felt judged about a number of things including scores, colleges, final decision, rejections, and grades. One response said "especially applying to small, unknown, liberal arts schools". Another response was "snarkiness from a few people". A third one said "Especially with UIUC". Lisa was telling me of students who come in her office crying because they got into an Ivy League, only to be judged for it. What is going on here Uni kids?
It seems as if people are getting judged for going to UIUC, for not going to UIUC, for going to an Ivy League, for not going to an Ivy League, for looking at unknown, for looking at known--really, is anyone free from the judgment? Then, it occurred to me that 27 people said they felt judged. I estimate that if I polled the other 31 (myself not included) seniors, I would still have an overwhelming number of yeses. If everyone feels judged and they dislike it for the most part, then why is anyone judging others? Now, that is easier said than done, because it is human nature to judge. But, if one doesn't want to feel judged, then they shouldn't judge others. If person A agreed to stop judging person B, and person B agreed to stop judging person A, then judgment stops.
Juniors, I implore you to remember that each person has their own unique college process. Even the closest friends have different interests and needs. We are forging a new path for ourselves, whether it is college, abroad, or right here at home. Thinking about my friends, there's a few future doctors, an undecided, a businesswoman, engineers of all shapes and sizes, techies, English experts, etc. I myself am majoring in education. With so much variety, we must remember that each process and final decision is unique, and beautiful. We are at the crossroads, forming the people we want to be. We should be proud of each other, no matter WHERE we go.
For the first question, I got a mixture of responses:
I got some yeses
I got some occasionally's
I got some sometimes
I got some kind of's
I got a NEVER
I got some some/most of them's
I got a meh...
I got a sorta
I got a hell no
This data is harder to interpret because there are a myriad of answers. However, what can be said is in an ideal situation, all 30 responses would be yes. We are a social species. It is hard to survive without the group. So, instead of actively judging your peers or passively doing nothing, I propose the Class of 2012 actively supports each other. This is a long, arduous process. There will be celebrations, acceptances, successes, and breaths of relief. There will also be afflictions, rejections, failures, and sighs of disappointment. Support will be key in making sure you're okay when you're in our positions, mailing in deposits.
Here are some suggestions for support:
1) After a test, organize a picnic, bike ride, movie, or other fun activity
2) Refrain from bragging too much about your schools (remember, there is a fine line between your excitement/pride and hurting other people).
3) Keep your test scores to yourself, your college applications, and Lisa (PCCs only if you want to!). There's a reason you have to go through a security check before you can look at your scores.
4) Remember that your process is uniquely your own. Try not to look at other processes through the lens of your own process.
5) In January, try to celebrate finishing your college applications
6) Check your college decisions at home, not at school.
7) If you are asked about your college process and you aren't comfortable answering, just tell them you aren't telling people. Conversely, if you are asking someone about their college process and they don't feel comfortable answering, let it go and move on.
Remember Class of 2012, the climate of Uni won't change overnight. However, each person has the ability to make a small difference. Someday, hopefully, the collection of all those small differences can make a world of change.
-Celinda :]
(PS, thank you all seniors who participated in my poll!)
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Coming Soon: An Avalanche of Blogs!
I deeply apologize for not writing any blogs recently. I lost my rhythm, I got lazy, and I have dropped the ball on my PCC duties. I hope you can forgive me :]. However, what I want to do with my few weeks of school left is to write blogs about my college decision, let the other PCCs write about their college decisions, and write about anything you're interested in. Of course, it's still April! National College Reply day is May 1st, so expect blogs this coming week! I'm really excited about the blogs coming up, so stay tuned, I will finish strong :]
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
30 days isn't THAT long...
Okay, okay. I've been gone for a month. One of those weeks was Agora Days (you juniors were great to work with by the way). The other three weeks I was discovering lost treasure, starring in a Broadway play (hey, the lead was sick, whatcha gonna do?), and discovering a dinosaur which I named Celindasaur.
...
Anyway, now that I am back, I promise to bring a ton of blogs. Like. Every. Day. (Note: not a real promise. I suck at promises). As I was making my A-Z list, I discovered I was having a lot of trouble coming up with clever college-related Js, Ks, and Ls. So, I decided I will skip to M, then come back to those, time-permitting.
Keep posted, I'm going to do a blog about Majors when I don't have a giant Genetics assignment :P
Happy Fourth Quarter everyone! And Ides of March!...
<3,
Celinda
...
Anyway, now that I am back, I promise to bring a ton of blogs. Like. Every. Day. (Note: not a real promise. I suck at promises). As I was making my A-Z list, I discovered I was having a lot of trouble coming up with clever college-related Js, Ks, and Ls. So, I decided I will skip to M, then come back to those, time-permitting.
Keep posted, I'm going to do a blog about Majors when I don't have a giant Genetics assignment :P
Happy Fourth Quarter everyone! And Ides of March!...
<3,
Celinda
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Why Public Schools ARE an Option
Hey,
My College Choices: Why
[Adam]: Some Uni students may be surprised at the colleges that I decided to apply to: 3 public and 1 nearby private school. I applied to, and have now been admitted to, four schools: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The University of Iowa, Eastern Illinois University, and Illinois Wesleyan. Going back to junior year, when we were all starting to figure out our college lists, I can recall conversations where it was made clear to me that I was the minority by applying to mostly public institutions. I decided to apply to these universities because they all have programs I want and like, and each of them is a match for what I was looking for. The traits I was looking for in colleges were simply not present in the more famous, dare I say more elite, private schools. Here are some tips, tricks, and facts on developing your college list and finding public universities that I have found especially helpful with my search.
1) Ignore your classmates. You may run into classmates that think that some of your choices are sub-par institutions. I ran into this with EIU and what I learned is that you don’t have to share your plans, and you can just ignore them because state universities, even the ones ending in –IU each have their strengths and you shouldn’t rule them out.
2) Look everywhere and don’t rule public out. There are public schools out there that have the program you want, or close to it. I encourage you to visit a private and a public school and compare the two. You may think that you want a private school but that could change once you visit-so take those visits!
3) Don’t go for trophy. Mrs. Micele will tell you this plenty, but being a person who applied to zero ivy’s, zero schools more than 4 hours away, and 1 private school I am here to tell you that you should look at the education you will get, not the name of the school.
4) Public’s applications tend to be easier, earlier, and faster. One of the schools I applied to had zero essays, I just put in basic info and sent them transcripts and scores and I was done. I heard early and was able to start the scholarship process very early. Before winter break, I already had all decisions and scholarship offers from 2 universities.
5) Research- State universities, especially UIUC, have plenty of grant funded research projects that students can get involved in.
6) Name Recognition for employment. Yes, I said ignore the name, but most large state universities are instantly recognized by employers, internships, etc…
7) Extracurriculars. Public schools tend to be larger, which means more students, which means more student activities and organizations.
Overall: Your college choices are yours, and finding your match should be your number one priority, but don’t leave those public schools out of the running in your preliminary search.
Soon, I will have a blog with all the PCCs adding their two cents about test taking, since it seems a lot of you are terrified :]
-Celinda <3>
Monday, February 14, 2011
Deep Breathing :D
Oh hey there Juniors,
Everyone should take a deep breath and a chill pill. You could even ask for some deep breathing exercises from Revathi, just don't’ tell her I sent you. I am getting the distinct vibe that you are all kind of freaking out about this whole college thing. (deep breath) From your Facebook posts about testing to the wide-eyed looks at the Brown Bagger about resumes, I got the impression that you’re all kind of overwhelmed. Which makes sense, Lisa has a very limited amount of time for sharing information with you, so she shares a lot at once. (Cue another deep breath) So I am going to share some truths with you, because sharing is caring, and that’s what the PCCs are for.
My Truths:
1. No need to freak out about testing. I took my first SAT in June 2010 and my last one November 2010, as long as you’re not applying EA or ED anywhere, you’re got a lot of time to prepare.
2. This one is a secret, that has been kept for generation after generation of high school seniors and juniors. These standardized tests don’t matter all that much in the long run, they are merely one portion of what colleges will be looking at when they read your application. (deep breath)
3. I had my first meeting with Lisa about college in the middle of June. I had no idea where I wanted to apply at that point, and I didn’t until around October of senior year. That may seem really late to some of you but it’s all about feeling stuff out, it’s a learning process, not just about the colleges you’re looking at, but yourself.
4. Some of you may be hyper-proactive about taking tests, and finding schools you want to apply to, and essay writing. That is wonderful and admirable, but will be an effort unattainable by most of you. You may have a friend who finishes all their essays over the summer, you do not need to be them. Take the time you need. (deep breath).
5. You will not get into Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton etc if you only apply for the name. You may get into one of those schools, you may get into none, the name doesn’t mean everything. Not getting into these schools is not the end of the world.
6. Your dream school may be super disgustingly expensive. Don’t let that discourage you. You are smart, you are resourceful. If you really belong there, you will find a way. You could do what I did. Apply to schools you love, don’t even look at how much money they cost. Don’t rule out a school just because of money.
7. You will not fail at life, I promise. (deep breath)
I hope these truths help settle your mind some, and make you take a look at the big picture. Deep breaths guys, it’s an distance event, not a sprint.
Your PCC,
Ashley
Everyone should take a deep breath and a chill pill. You could even ask for some deep breathing exercises from Revathi, just don't’ tell her I sent you. I am getting the distinct vibe that you are all kind of freaking out about this whole college thing. (deep breath) From your Facebook posts about testing to the wide-eyed looks at the Brown Bagger about resumes, I got the impression that you’re all kind of overwhelmed. Which makes sense, Lisa has a very limited amount of time for sharing information with you, so she shares a lot at once. (Cue another deep breath) So I am going to share some truths with you, because sharing is caring, and that’s what the PCCs are for.
My Truths:
1. No need to freak out about testing. I took my first SAT in June 2010 and my last one November 2010, as long as you’re not applying EA or ED anywhere, you’re got a lot of time to prepare.
2. This one is a secret, that has been kept for generation after generation of high school seniors and juniors. These standardized tests don’t matter all that much in the long run, they are merely one portion of what colleges will be looking at when they read your application. (deep breath)
3. I had my first meeting with Lisa about college in the middle of June. I had no idea where I wanted to apply at that point, and I didn’t until around October of senior year. That may seem really late to some of you but it’s all about feeling stuff out, it’s a learning process, not just about the colleges you’re looking at, but yourself.
4. Some of you may be hyper-proactive about taking tests, and finding schools you want to apply to, and essay writing. That is wonderful and admirable, but will be an effort unattainable by most of you. You may have a friend who finishes all their essays over the summer, you do not need to be them. Take the time you need. (deep breath).
5. You will not get into Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton etc if you only apply for the name. You may get into one of those schools, you may get into none, the name doesn’t mean everything. Not getting into these schools is not the end of the world.
6. Your dream school may be super disgustingly expensive. Don’t let that discourage you. You are smart, you are resourceful. If you really belong there, you will find a way. You could do what I did. Apply to schools you love, don’t even look at how much money they cost. Don’t rule out a school just because of money.
7. You will not fail at life, I promise. (deep breath)
I hope these truths help settle your mind some, and make you take a look at the big picture. Deep breaths guys, it’s an distance event, not a sprint.
Your PCC,
Ashley
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
College Diary: Entry 1
Hey there Juniors :]
Today, I don't have a college related letter for you. Today, I'm going to start another series that I will intersperse amongst the letter ones. This series will focus more on reflecting my own personal college process, the ups and downs of it. I shall begin with summertime.
Last summer, I was revved. I had this college stuff down. It was June, and I was thinking in my naive little mind of mine "Freedom! Summer! All that time to write blogs and begin applying to college!"
Hahahahahahahahahaha, Oh then-Celinda you.
Two things I didn't get last summer: a damn good tan and a good start on applying. In fact, right before I truly began, I screwed myself up. Ah yes, confession time.
So, to begin, it wasn't really my fault. Actually. It was. I decided to sign up for the Common App and do all the prelim stuff. It made sense, I mean, what was I going to do with my time? (sarcasm). Well, I accidentally signed up as an applicant entering the fall of 2010.
That in itself isn't that sad. However, what is sad was me, frantically emailing Lisa like ten times, freaking out, imagining I had screwed over my ENTIRE college prospects. Yeah...shining moment it was not. I did end up just emailing Common App. They told me to wait, they get rid of all the previous applications to begin the server afresh in August. So, I waited for August.
Whilst I was waiting, I began writing blogs. You can look at my old summer stuff, NOT the best, but hey, it was new.
In August, I began PCC work. FUN STUFF I tell you. I love my fellow PCCs. We ate a lot, had some really deep conversations, and oh yeah, did stuff to get ready for the juniors. We baked cookies. I have a joke for yah: how many PCCs does it take to put an icing "S" on a cookie? You'd be surprised.
Summer came to an end, and soon I will write about the fast, furious fall (alliteration ftw??). In the meantime, I have some exciting blogs coming your way. We are back to the beginning of our PCC contributors, so Ashley will be blogging soon. Adam (and probably Seth) is going to write a blog about why he (they) chose to apply to public schools. I have some more letter stuff coming your way.
Anyway, talk to you soon!
Celinda
Today, I don't have a college related letter for you. Today, I'm going to start another series that I will intersperse amongst the letter ones. This series will focus more on reflecting my own personal college process, the ups and downs of it. I shall begin with summertime.
Last summer, I was revved. I had this college stuff down. It was June, and I was thinking in my naive little mind of mine "Freedom! Summer! All that time to write blogs and begin applying to college!"
Hahahahahahahahahaha, Oh then-Celinda you.
Two things I didn't get last summer: a damn good tan and a good start on applying. In fact, right before I truly began, I screwed myself up. Ah yes, confession time.
So, to begin, it wasn't really my fault. Actually. It was. I decided to sign up for the Common App and do all the prelim stuff. It made sense, I mean, what was I going to do with my time? (sarcasm). Well, I accidentally signed up as an applicant entering the fall of 2010.
That in itself isn't that sad. However, what is sad was me, frantically emailing Lisa like ten times, freaking out, imagining I had screwed over my ENTIRE college prospects. Yeah...shining moment it was not. I did end up just emailing Common App. They told me to wait, they get rid of all the previous applications to begin the server afresh in August. So, I waited for August.
Whilst I was waiting, I began writing blogs. You can look at my old summer stuff, NOT the best, but hey, it was new.
In August, I began PCC work. FUN STUFF I tell you. I love my fellow PCCs. We ate a lot, had some really deep conversations, and oh yeah, did stuff to get ready for the juniors. We baked cookies. I have a joke for yah: how many PCCs does it take to put an icing "S" on a cookie? You'd be surprised.
Summer came to an end, and soon I will write about the fast, furious fall (alliteration ftw??). In the meantime, I have some exciting blogs coming your way. We are back to the beginning of our PCC contributors, so Ashley will be blogging soon. Adam (and probably Seth) is going to write a blog about why he (they) chose to apply to public schools. I have some more letter stuff coming your way.
Anyway, talk to you soon!
Celinda
Sunday, February 6, 2011
I is for Ivy Leagues
At Uni, Ivy Leagues divide the school into two camps. The first hate everything about them: they're elite, they're impossible to get into, they're for rich kids, people who go there are miserable. The second obsess over them: to them, it's Ivy Leagues or no future. Today, I want to take a stand and say BOTH mentalities are unhealthy for Uni kids. We know better than to look at anything as black and white. The world is painted with shades of gray, including the Ivy Leagues.
The "Original" Ivy League schools are consisted of:
Harvard University, Brown University, Yale University, Princeton University, Dartmouth University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University.
Everyone knows those schools I just listed. It's easy to accuse those schools for pumping themselves up, but there are actually a multitude of reasons why those schools are famous:
1) They are OLD. Seven of the eight schools were founded during the colonial period of the United States. Yep, we're talking 1776, signing of the declaration here and all. So, unlike other schools, the Ivy Leagues have a very long and distinguished history, as well as time to create strong programs with exceptional teaching modules.
2) Because the schools are now well-oiled machines in the way, they attract some of the best professors and researchers.
3)Because they have been here for so long, they are entrenched into the American system. Potential employers will instantly recognize those schools as great institutions and thus feed the cycle.
Now, I want to take a moment and say that not all old things are great, there are great teachers/researchers at other schools, and employers don't hire exclusively Ivy League (most of America would be unemployed if that was true). Again, shades of gray.
A big misconception about the Ivy Leagues is that those schools are for rich kids. Aka, the common person can't afford to go. However, going to an Ivy League school can be cost effective. For example...
Princeton covers 100% of every student's demonstrated need. In 2001, they implemented a no-loan policy.
If your family's income is under $60,000, at Princeton their average grant is $48,600--that covers all of tuition, room, and board. All of it.
If your family makes between $120,000-140,000, the average grant is $34,700--that covers 95% of tuition.
So, these schools actually offer amazing aid. Many low income and middle class students are filling up the classes at these schools because of how much money an average student can get in financial aid.
Again, we want to keep these schools in perspective. The positives (financial aid, great opportunities, amazing education) are great, but there are negatives as well.
What does Harvard, Princeton, and Yale have in common besides being Ivy League? Their acceptance rates are all under 10%. So we begin exploring the issues of the Ivy League schools.
All of these schools are famous for stingy acceptance rates. Part of the problem is the number of applicants. For example, at Yale last year, 25, 869 students applied for the freshman class. 1, 334 were accepted. These acceptance rates are low because so may kids apply, and there is only so many spots. The results however, are thousands of students, staring down at impossibly thin envelopes, knowing they didn't get in. For some, this is crushing. The two main reasons for this are:
1) All rejection sucks. Because of the low acceptance rates, you can be like my friend Wally http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969889-1,00.html and get six rejections, all from the Ivies. This can batter at your confidence
2) For some families, getting into an Ivy is a sign of success, a badge of honor. Most Uni parents like to brag about what their child has accomplished. Getting into an Ivy League is an ultimate brag for some parents, because the names will be instantly recognized and oohed over. Not getting is like failing at any hope for success.
Some kids, especially Uni kids, pin all their hopes on Ivy Leagues. It has been hard, watching friends pin their hopes on these schools, only to see them get waitlisted or even denied. I don't believe Uni kids will, or should, give up on applying to the Ivy Leagues. For example, four kids in the class of 2010 went to Princeton. Two went to Cornell. Uni students do get into Ivies, just not all of them, always.
If you decide to apply to an Ivy League school (or multiple) keep these tips in mind:
1) Don't apply to only Ivy League schools. There are plenty of schools in the nation where you can get an Ivy-level education with higher acceptance rates. Besides, you don't want to go 0 for 8 (worst case scenario) and have to deal with not getting anywhere
2) As you apply, think about YOUR strengths and weaknesses, what YOU like to learn, what volunteerism YOU have done, etc. Remember all the wonderful things about you as you work on the applications, thus allowing your best self to shine.
3) Figure out why you want to apply to an Ivy League school. If it's because it's an Ivy League, then you shouldn't be applying to the school. No matter WHERE you apply, you have to know why you want to go. Why would you be happy at Yale? There are a lot of great things about Yale, but if you don't know about them, then what's the use of applying? Ivy League doesn't automatically equal success or happiness.
I only have control over my own feelings and self. There will still be students applying to Ivy Leagues because their parents expect nothing less. There will still be students who apply because they expect nothing less. There will still be students who scoff at the Ivy Leagues for being elite crap. However, I hope this blog gives some of you perspective. Some people go to Ivy Leagues and hate it. Some go and love it. The difference lies in the individual students and the things they need and want to be happy.
Good luck with those Ivies, if you're interested!
Celinda :]
The "Original" Ivy League schools are consisted of:
Harvard University, Brown University, Yale University, Princeton University, Dartmouth University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University.
Everyone knows those schools I just listed. It's easy to accuse those schools for pumping themselves up, but there are actually a multitude of reasons why those schools are famous:
1) They are OLD. Seven of the eight schools were founded during the colonial period of the United States. Yep, we're talking 1776, signing of the declaration here and all. So, unlike other schools, the Ivy Leagues have a very long and distinguished history, as well as time to create strong programs with exceptional teaching modules.
2) Because the schools are now well-oiled machines in the way, they attract some of the best professors and researchers.
3)Because they have been here for so long, they are entrenched into the American system. Potential employers will instantly recognize those schools as great institutions and thus feed the cycle.
Now, I want to take a moment and say that not all old things are great, there are great teachers/researchers at other schools, and employers don't hire exclusively Ivy League (most of America would be unemployed if that was true). Again, shades of gray.
A big misconception about the Ivy Leagues is that those schools are for rich kids. Aka, the common person can't afford to go. However, going to an Ivy League school can be cost effective. For example...
Princeton covers 100% of every student's demonstrated need. In 2001, they implemented a no-loan policy.
If your family's income is under $60,000, at Princeton their average grant is $48,600--that covers all of tuition, room, and board. All of it.
If your family makes between $120,000-140,000, the average grant is $34,700--that covers 95% of tuition.
So, these schools actually offer amazing aid. Many low income and middle class students are filling up the classes at these schools because of how much money an average student can get in financial aid.
Again, we want to keep these schools in perspective. The positives (financial aid, great opportunities, amazing education) are great, but there are negatives as well.
What does Harvard, Princeton, and Yale have in common besides being Ivy League? Their acceptance rates are all under 10%. So we begin exploring the issues of the Ivy League schools.
All of these schools are famous for stingy acceptance rates. Part of the problem is the number of applicants. For example, at Yale last year, 25, 869 students applied for the freshman class. 1, 334 were accepted. These acceptance rates are low because so may kids apply, and there is only so many spots. The results however, are thousands of students, staring down at impossibly thin envelopes, knowing they didn't get in. For some, this is crushing. The two main reasons for this are:
1) All rejection sucks. Because of the low acceptance rates, you can be like my friend Wally http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969889-1,00.html and get six rejections, all from the Ivies. This can batter at your confidence
2) For some families, getting into an Ivy is a sign of success, a badge of honor. Most Uni parents like to brag about what their child has accomplished. Getting into an Ivy League is an ultimate brag for some parents, because the names will be instantly recognized and oohed over. Not getting is like failing at any hope for success.
Some kids, especially Uni kids, pin all their hopes on Ivy Leagues. It has been hard, watching friends pin their hopes on these schools, only to see them get waitlisted or even denied. I don't believe Uni kids will, or should, give up on applying to the Ivy Leagues. For example, four kids in the class of 2010 went to Princeton. Two went to Cornell. Uni students do get into Ivies, just not all of them, always.
If you decide to apply to an Ivy League school (or multiple) keep these tips in mind:
1) Don't apply to only Ivy League schools. There are plenty of schools in the nation where you can get an Ivy-level education with higher acceptance rates. Besides, you don't want to go 0 for 8 (worst case scenario) and have to deal with not getting anywhere
2) As you apply, think about YOUR strengths and weaknesses, what YOU like to learn, what volunteerism YOU have done, etc. Remember all the wonderful things about you as you work on the applications, thus allowing your best self to shine.
3) Figure out why you want to apply to an Ivy League school. If it's because it's an Ivy League, then you shouldn't be applying to the school. No matter WHERE you apply, you have to know why you want to go. Why would you be happy at Yale? There are a lot of great things about Yale, but if you don't know about them, then what's the use of applying? Ivy League doesn't automatically equal success or happiness.
I only have control over my own feelings and self. There will still be students applying to Ivy Leagues because their parents expect nothing less. There will still be students who apply because they expect nothing less. There will still be students who scoff at the Ivy Leagues for being elite crap. However, I hope this blog gives some of you perspective. Some people go to Ivy Leagues and hate it. Some go and love it. The difference lies in the individual students and the things they need and want to be happy.
Good luck with those Ivies, if you're interested!
Celinda :]
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