Quick Facts
Home: Long Island, New York Favorite Movies: Top Gun, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sixteen Candles, A Walk to Remember Favorite Singers/Bands: Nickleback, Rob Thomas, Billy Joel (I'm a Long Islander, it's a rule) Favorite TV Shows: "Sunday Night Football," "Sportscenter" Favorite Food: Pizza Favorite Subject: American History Intended Major: History

"I tried never to forget who I was, where I came from, and where I would go back to."
-- Harry Truman

Hi everyone! I'm Julie and I'm a 17 year old senior in beautiful Long Island, New York, about an hour or so east of New York City. My high school is a typical, suburban high school and it's as challenging or as easy a place as you make it. It offers classes at all different levels from fun electives to challenging AP courses. It's a pretty spirited place and people like to participate in school events and it's the kind of school where it's fun to be a senior. The first day of my senior year a bunch of us got together and painted our cars in school colors, painted bed sheets and on the first day the seniors met in the parking lot at 6:30am and hung them up to welcome the incoming freshmen and to celebrate being seniors. Spirit Week and Homecoming, which are coming in October, are always a blast and there are tons of activities and clubs.

I've spread my courses out so I have something from all the areas. I'm not killing myself with 6 AP's in my schedule, but I'm not a slacker either. I'm a good student (I have a 3.6 average) but I really want to pull straight A's so I send off the strongest transcript I can to colleges. This year I'm taking College Business Law, Honors World Literature, Astronomy, Honors Participation in Government, Honors Economics, Pre-Calculus, Leadership, Sociology, AP Psychology, Physical Education and AP American History.

Extra-curricular activities and clubs I'm part of are the General Student Organization (GSO) where I am the Executive Assistant to the President, DECA which is a business club for high school students, the Equestrian Club and the National Honor Society. DECA is huge in my school and last March I created my own business and wrote a thirty page business plan and presented at the state level competition in Rochester, New York. From there I qualified to move on to Nationals which was held in Dallas, Texas last May.

Outside of school I'm a competitive equestrian. I have been riding horses for eight years and it is my passion. Two years ago my parents bought me a horse that I have been training. He is an off-the-track Thoroughbred and his registered name is Cruisin' Quietly, but I call him Cody. He is seven years old and the scary thing is we have the same birthdays. We've made a lot of progress over the past two years and I am really proud of where he is today. The summer before my junior year we started showing (I ride English, which means I jump with him) in the 2'3"-2'6" level and we were year end champions in all three divisions that we showed in. This year we got more competitive, moved up to a more difficult show series and more challenging 3' jumps. Along with moving up a division and series we showed at the nationally recognized Hampton Classic Horse Show in Bridgehampton NY. We didn't win, but we had fun and I stayed on.

Along with my horseback riding obsession I also have a job. I work about 8-10 hours a week at a local tack shop (they sell all the horse equipment and supplies). Finally, I love to sing. I don't sing with any group, or in school because of scheduling, so I just do it for me. I hope in college I can be in some kind of performing group—that would be fun. Wow. Looking at all that I realize I probably seem like one of those over-scheduled, crazy students, and maybe I am, but everything feels right to me. I like being busy and I have learned to manage my time pretty well. Believe it or not, I have a social life and I even get a decent amount of sleep, but that could change when the serious homework and application stuff starts kicking in.

I have started looking at colleges and I have narrowed down what I am looking for—a small, residential college with a lot of spirit and student involvement. Since the student body is so involved at my high school I want a school that can offer a lot and where students are never bored.

My other major requirement? It really has to have an Equestrian Team. As of now my intended major is History. I love American History and would love to teach it in high school. My parents and I have done a bunch of college visits and we have more to go.

Right now the schools I'm focusing on are: Gettysburg College, Stonehill College, Bucknell University, Franklin & Marshall College, Dickinson College, Lafayette College, Susquehanna University, Lynchburg College, Ithaca College, and Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland. I'll also apply to one or two state schools. Of course, my guidance counselor may have a few others for me to look at so the list could change a little before I'm done.

Summer was productive. My essay is finished and the Common App is started. I actually feel pretty organized. I'm retaking the SAT and the ACT in October. My first SAT score was awful, but fortunately my ACT was really good…that score I just want to make a few points better. I know at some point I'm going to feel swamped and I get a stressed thinking about it. I can be a procrastinator, so my goal is to do something every day involving college and applications.

It's only been about 10 days since my senior year began but I can already tell its going to be one of the best years of my life. I hope high school seniors out there plan to enjoy their year as much as possible even though I have the feeling the college process can suck the fun out of everything.

This should be interesting.

Julianne