Quick Facts
Home: Mountain Home, Arkansas Favorite Movie: Twelve Angry Men Favorite Singer/Band: Red Hot Chili Peppers Favorite TV Show: "The Avengers" Favorite Food: New York-Style Cheesecake covered in chocolate fondue Favorite Subject: A tie between Math, History, and Science Intended Major: Undecided

"From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it."
-- Groucho Marx

Ugh, right now I have the stomach flu, so I hope this is coherent. I'm Annie and I live in Arkansas, but I don't plan on applying to any schools in my state. I feel like I don't really fit in here. I'm planning on applying to a few schools out East, the University of Chicago, and a couple schools in California. My parents are supportive of my ambitions, which I'm thankful for since many of my favorite schools are expensive.

I have an older brother who attends Hendrix College in Conway, AR. My little brother is a freshman in high school and hates having to go through the college visits with his older siblings. I sympathize, for I remember the long trips I had to endure with my older brother.

My high school is a good school, but there are not very many AP classes (only five!!). I am currently in four of the five classes, having taken the fifth one last year. I do not take these courses for the weighted grade or for the bragging rights; I take advanced classes to challenge myself and because I am genuinely interested in every AP subject that is offered at my school (AP US History, AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science, and AP English).

Although I am generally an optimistic individual, I am somewhat disheartened by the lack of opportunities in my area. My town has a population of around 11,000, but most of these individuals are retirees. As a result, most of the programs in my city are focused on the well-fare of senior citizens. On the plus side, we do have an excellent library that provides loads of entertainment for every age group.

My spare time is generally spent working out, doing homework, and filling out college applications. I'm on swim team and I often spend my little spare time working out on a tread mill and with some hand-weights when the pool is closed. Homework has consumed my life. My school has block scheduling, so I have three AP classes on one day and one AP class on the other day, but I am able to manage this because of the nature of block scheduling, which allows me to focus on one day's homework at a time. I love block scheduling. I could write a love poem to it. My intentions were to start my college applications in the summer, but as of right now, I haven't really. I've written one essay for the National Merit competition, but I don't know if I'll be able to use that on any of my college applications or if I even want to use it (I was starting to get sick when I wrote it).

So far, my favorite part of the college application process is the college visit. I love traveling to distant cities and experiencing the different culture while viewing a college. I've toured quite a few colleges and have been impressed with many of them. Currently, my favorite visits have been my dream schools: Yale, Tufts, and the University of Chicago. I'm visiting Mills College next week, and I'm eagerly anticipating that. My mom and I are flying out, visiting the college, then spending a day in San Francisco before flying back. I can't wait for what promises to be an exciting trip (Ghirardelli Square, here I come!). In addition to the schools I have visited, I also plan on applying to Colgate, Goucher, Scripps, and maybe a few others. Unfortunately for me, I tend to fall in love with almost every school I see, so I'm trying to whittle my list down, but I inevitably add more as the weeks pass by.

I feel like I should explain my favorites list. My favorite television show of all time is "The Avengers." It's a British show that was made in the sixties and features a pair of spies/special agents. You have to see it to understand the coolness of it all. My favorite food, New York-style cheesecake dipped in chocolate fondue, was what I served at my last birthday party. It was sinfully delicious and I'm starting to salivate just thinking about it, even though my stomach cannot handle any food right now. I love math, history, and science, and I've even considered majoring in archaeology since it's a combination of all three areas, but I would rather be undecided right now to keep my options open. And last, but not least, my favorite quote. Groucho Marx is cool. That's all I have to say about that.

Annie