It's been a really busy two weeks. Last week, AP exams started. I took my AP Literature exam on the 8th and am taking a little bit of time to relax before four more exams next week. All the exams are about 2 to 3 hours long and they are pretty mentally taxing. I'm actually more relaxed than most people because I can't get credit for four of my five exams. I'm mostly doing them because my school charges fees for unused tests and because it helps my school's standing.
I've been filling out paperwork for Yale. It's actually pretty tedious considering that there are about 10 pages of medical information and the rest are authorization forms for my parents. I am absolutely excited about going to Yale. Bulldog Days definitely convinced me of that. Besides me, there are two other students going to Yale. There are also three going to Harvard and two who will be attending Dartmouth. While I don't know about the rest of the Ivies, admissions actually turned out great at our school despite dropping acceptance rates.
I'm interested to find out how yield worked out at the Ivies. Yale's is at about 69%. I'm fairly certain that the rest of the kids that did not choose Yale probably went to Harvard or Princeton, its two biggest competitors. Many people at Bulldog Days even mentioned having visited both schools.
I've got about four or five hours of homework. This morning, I went to a scholarship meeting and I’ll be going to an art show later today. I have to deposit my two checks in the bank, get my passport photos done and schedule a doctor's appointment soon. I'm also compiling a book of my poetry that I'm self-publishing soon.
The last month of high school is winding down. June 4th is our luncheon, the 5th is prom and the 10th is graduation.
From April 21st to the 23rd, I attended Bulldog Days, a 3-day pre-frosh orientation program at Yale University.
Yale is unbelievable in every way. There is no comparison to Northwestern at all. Yale has amazing facilities, architecture and staff. The professors there are world-class. I managed to sit in on a class on globalization taught by the former president of Mexico. I sat in on a molecular biology class where the professor was working on cutting-edge research. The students there are of an entirely different breed—they are motivated, passionate and intensely intelligent. I attended a political debate by the conservative party (which I expected to be entirely unenthused by), but left with a great respect for the polite, intellectual and welcoming nature of all the students there.
My class consists of a student who can solve the Rubik's cube in 11.3 seconds, an Olympic gymnast, a nationally recognized scientist…the list goes on and on. There’s no shortage of brilliant students here. In my time there, one of the girls that was hosting me wrote an entire musical composition. I attended several cultural events, parties and celebrations.
The biggest problem with Yale is that there is too much to do and not enough time. I wanted to go to a Yale Political Union debate, Yale Daily News presentation, a party by the Asian-American cultural center, a performance arts showcase and a panel by students who had studied abroad. The buildings are spectacular and the dorm rooms are spacious, and at the same time, cozy.
New Haven is a wonderful, quaint little city. There are lines and lines of shops and an array of restaurants, from Indian, Thai, Cuban and Mexican cuisine all on one street. The students who managed to lure me into signing up for their club's mailing list were nothing short of persuasive and passionate.
Yale is in a league entirely of its own - students there who had visited other Ivy League schools, including Princeton and Harvard, noted its lack of pretentiousness and country club behavior. Yale, more than any other university in the Ivy League in my opinion, emphasizes an intensely intelligent, quirky and passionate class. The students are not just well rounded—they are incredibly focused in their niche, and most of them know their strengths and weaknesses.
I just wish it was that easy to convince my mother that Northwestern, while amazing, is nothing like Yale. Yale, which provided a message board, a Facebook group, a dedicated team of undergraduates to answer our questions, a chatroom, a mailing list and most of all, a friendly and enthusiastic admissions team. There is such a strong sense of school pride and community at Yale that it is like a home away from home.
I made friends and I fell in love with a university.
You're probably wondering how my college decisions turned out, so before I tell you that, I want to preface it with a little background. I applied to sixteen schools, eight or nine of which were reaches. I didn't think I'd get into any of my reaches at all, and most of the people I consulted about my college list told me that my list was top-heavy. My counselor was one of the few that praised me for having diversified my list and casting a wide net.
Here's my list and the following results:
ACCEPTED: Yale, University of Notre Dame, Northwestern University, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
WAITLISTED: Amherst, Swarthmore, Williams, Wellesley College, Princeton, University of Chicago
REJECTED: Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Stanford, Boston University, Pomona
Of the sixteen colleges I applied to, I was accepted at four, rejected at six and waitlisted at six. I didn't imagine I'd be rejected by my safety, Boston University, or accepted by my super-impossible reach, Yale.
I have accepted Yale University's offer and plan to attend next fall. In the meantime, I've accepted Princeton and University of Chicago's waitlist and rejected all other waitlist offers. It was such a great feeling to tell these colleges that I didn't want to attend because I'd be going to a better university!
I really love Yale! I will be visiting from the 21st to the 23rd. School has been super-hectic and third-quarter reports come out next week. I'm so happy I'll finally be able to see the school, and Yale has even arranged my flight and ground travel for me!
I'm really grateful I have been accepted to Yale and I've managed to talk to current Yalies about their school and they have so much pride! Even the admitted student website rocks. I'm so set on going there that I can't imagine attending anywhere else, even the school that was previously my first-choice (Princeton).
I'm super-happy that admissions worked out for me, but it was a difficult year. As you can see from my acceptances, I was only accepted by 25% of the schools to which I applied and rejected or waitlisted at the other 75%. I was pretty much in the top tenth of the class and expected to do a little better than that, but considering I applied to a dozen reaches, I think it's alright.
I remember being so upset about being waitlisted at the University of Chicago, but now I could care less!
It’s Minnie again. It’s been a really rough week, past few months and dare I say, year? I don’t know how to describe what it is like to have sleepless night after sleepless night, thinking about whether your past accomplishments can ever be validated by a college decision. I don’t think they can ever aspire to, but separating how I feel from what I know is a difficult task.
It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, so to speak. There have been a few highs, but mostly lows. Sometimes I try to think of it in terms of a bigger picture, because I am a really bright and talented student and will be successful wherever I go. However, at the same time, if I’m so bright and talented, why can’t others see that? Why can’t colleges see that? My feelings become uprooted and my heart feels heavy. Maybe I am melodramatic, but college admissions so far have been heartbreaking for me.
First, I was waitlisted at the University of Chicago and Wellesley College. University of Chicago has been, for a very long time, one of my top choices. When I visited and interviewed at the school, I fell in love. I just knew that this is where I want to be. After receiving their letter, I was in tears. What more could I do? What more could I send to them that would let them know this: I love your school, more than anything. I know you have doubts about my capabilities as a student, as evidenced by your waitlisting of me, but I have immense potential that can be realized at your school.
Everything I had wanted to say was on my application. I spent two months agonizing over a personal statement, writing thirteen, no, fifteen drafts. I thought about whether I would get in, and I wasn’t sure, but it was worth its weight in gold.
There has been some encouragement, some people that have been praising me for how well I have been taking it. On the outside, I am smiling; I am doing what I can to appear as if it isn’t affecting me. On the inside, I feel as if I am so unhappy that I can’t come to school anymore.
I received an email of rejection from Stanford yesterday. I don’t know how I can describe to you how I felt afterwards. I took a shower, got dressed and went to the school talent show. As a boy went up there to play a piano piece, I thought about what it meant to be brilliant, what it would take for those colleges to accept me. The constantly plaguing question has been “Why?”
More college news later. I’m off to draft a letter expressing my continuing interest in the University of Chicago. Wish me luck.
Just five days ago, I managed to snag an interview for Princeton, but it ended up being less glamorous than I thought. At first, my interviewer was unsure of whether I still wanted to attend Princeton, even though I had listed Princeton as my first choice on my QuestBridge College Match application. After a little misunderstanding, I had my interview the very next day, on March 10th.
The interview was great – it was at the local Panera. My interviewer was very understanding about my socioeconomic situation, and repeatedly said that even though financial aid had been an issue for her, with the way the policies are now, I would be able to graduate without debt. This is something I have known for a while now, and it has probably encouraged me much more than any dream of prestige. To be able to graduate without debt and to fast-forward my life without worrying about loans and debt…that is unimaginable.
The days are going by quickly. Next week, I’m going to be receiving some decisions. Some of my friends have heard back from MIT and all but one student from my high school was rejected. The acceptance rates have been dismal and the counseling office has sent out a handout, “What do you do if you’re waitlisted?” It seems like this was a really tough year.
I was waitlisted at the University of Chicago, which really disappointed me. It became a point of contention with my friends and I, because some of them had been accepted, while I hadn’t. I know that in the long run, going to a prestigious school won’t make or break me. It just really broke my heart that I was rejected from one of my top choices…
I am still waiting to hear back from more than a dozen places, so there’s still hope. I have to go do some homework, so more to write about later.
I'm in this precarious position right now. You know that feeling? I'm on edge. Maybe I AM the edge. That'd be pretty cool. But anyway, being on the edge (or being the edge) is not fun.
I've been accepted to University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. It was hardly near the top of my list, but they are throwing a lot of money and honors at me now to get me to come. I am in a perplexed state. I didn't think that it would come down to me worrying this much. I did expect to worry a little, but not overly so. I feel like I'm about to burst, any minute now I'm going to leap up and start crying tears of joy (or tears of sadness?).
In a state of disarray, I've tried to think of the good things (they've been sparsely scattered among the map of life, I assure you). I know that the worst thing that could happen is that I go to U of I in a very, very good position. The best thing that could happen…well, sometimes I wonder if that's even worth thinking about anymore.
I'm sorely behind on some of my writing deadlines, partly because it means actually having the courage to say that I am absolutely terrified of March 31st (and early April in general).
It's been a quiet spring break. Too bad there are exams the first week I get back. ;-).
It’s February and it’s finally the second semester of senior year. The weather in Chicago is particularly tough right now, as there is rarely a day that goes by that I am not sloshing my way to the car in the mornings, right before I leave for school. Save for my mid-year report, all my applications are in and complete. It’s the final stretch, and a few things have occupied my mind – where will I go to school? Will I be happy? Questions that I had largely ignored for the last three years suddenly came to the forefront of my mind as soon as senior year began.
My school’s rigorous advanced placement courses have given me a taste of the difficulty of college classes. At this point, I feel prepared enough to take on real college work. Having taken 12 AP classes over the course of four years, I have been adequately challenged. Now I am antsy and anxious about college courses. I am particularly interested in college courses in English, comparative and multi-cultural literature. I’ve listed English as my future major for nearly all the colleges I applied to, save for two. For the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, I selected broadcast journalism under the College of Communications (COM). For Northwestern University, I applied to the Medill School of Journalism, hopefully pursuing broadcast journalism if I am accepted there.
When I imagine next year, I think about freedom. As I fall asleep at night, I think of being independent, joining organizations that I am a passionate about and making new friends. I imagine being part of a highly intellectual community, taking part in heady discussions about a variety of subjects. I think of all the new people that I will be meeting. Perhaps some of these people will become lifelong friends. At the same time, I worry about maintaining my old friendships from high school along with the new ones from college.
Although I am anxious for college life, I have a few concerns. This past January, I submitted my FAFSA and CSS. Our school managed to have individuals from a Tax Assistance Program present information about affording college. Although my family qualifies for financial aid, I am concerned about the disparities in the quality of life between myself and other individuals attending a pricey school. Financial concerns top my list, but there are other social and emotional consequences of not being particularly well off at a top university that I am also worried about. I’m looking forward to working on campus, but not working too much so that it interferes with my classes. I think about how it will be so different from being at home.
Being at college will make me more responsible. At the moment, I have fewer responsibilities while I am living at home because my parents are picking up the tab for the cost of my living. At college, my parents won’t be there to bail me out if I get into trouble or pay for day-to-day expenses. My college experience will be drastically different from most of my family’s, including my sister’s. My sister attended a private college not more than 15 minutes away from home. I may end up attending college in California if I am accepted to either Pomona or Stanford. Although the chances of me attending college so far away from home are slim, I am still preparing myself for a complete change in terms of living on my own versus being at home.
I am not sure where I will attend college yet; that remains to be determined. However, I have plans to attend a four-year university, preferably on-campus. I may end up attending college right here in Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, California, New Jersey or Connecticut. We’ll see in April, when I receive sixteen college decision letters!
1) What would your ideal career be, and why?
My ideal career would probably be that of a college professor. I love English literature and would enjoy writing books, teaching college students and doing research.
2) If money were no factor, where would you go next year?
Money is not that much of a factor, as I qualify for financial aid. I would want to attend the University of Chicago.
3) How do you plan to celebrate graduation?
I’m not much of a party person. I don’t think I will be having a graduation party, though I am up and willing to attend my friends’ parties.
4) Take a guess - where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
I was asked this in a college interview, too. In 10 years, I will be working as a New York Times columnist. Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich, the rest of the columnists and I will be sitting around a table, having Earl Grey tea. Seriously, though, I can picture myself working as a reporter for a smaller paper or teaching at the secondary level.
My Swarthmore interview was great. I knew a lot about the school and I was his first interviewee. We talked a lot about political subjects, but it wasn't so much partisan as it was more of him being impressed that I knew a lot about current affairs.
I did apply to a lot of outside scholarships, but many of them were featured on FastWeb, so they are sure to attract a huge applicant pool.
Finals are next week — major tests in AP psychology, physics, chemistry and microeconomics. I am not looking forward to it at all. At the very least, first semester is almost over.
I had my Northwestern interview this morning. It went badly because it was rushed. I did answer all her questions, but it seemed like the woman I was talking to was in a rush to get me out and move on to another student. There was a waiting room with over 50 students and they were running late with their interviews. I talked about the usual stuff on my brag sheet but also talked about my family. She is currently a lawyer who applied to Medill (the journalism and marketing school at Northwestern) when she was my age.
My Wellesley interview actually went spectacularly. We talked for an hour and forty-five minutes. She was really captivated by what I said and thought it was okay that I “missed” the interview at 12. I just explained the misunderstanding and she was okay with it. I talked with her a lot about my school, my interests and then a bunch of personal things. It was actually probably the best interview I've had to date (which might make up for the slip-up).
This is the precarious month of interviews, and I’m putting a disappointing early notification cycle behind me. I didn’t get into QuestBridge and most of the students from my school who applied early to Yale, Stanford or University of Chicago were deferred. Interestingly enough, my counselor wasn’t too surprised. He said that it was the toughest year yet, and even individuals with near-perfect academic records were not safe from deferral or rejection. To an extent, I think everyone knows that admission isn’t guaranteed anywhere, but it does seem a bit depressing when the only candidates that are accepted are those with significant hooks.
It’s been a rough week, and two weeks from now, there are finals. I’m not looking forward to doing 90-minute tests in every one of my classes. On top of that, I’ve got a 20-hour art project to finish within one weekend.
I have interviews scheduled every Saturday of this month. Swarthmore today, Northwestern and Wellesley next, and then Brown. I didn’t plan to have this many interviews so late in the game, but the schools only contacted me this month. Fortunately I have a few interviews under my belt (Yale, University of Chicago, Pomona, Harvard), so I’m not too worried.
I wish I could hear back from my schools already; it seems like a long wait until April. Not many of my friends were accepted anywhere early. I did get into University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, though I only received a $2000 scholarship. I applied to the College of Communications, and should be in the top 25% of the incoming class for that major. However, the scholarship is too little for me to actually consider going there. Even though U of I’s tuition is cheaper than most of the other schools on my list, they are not as generous with need-based aid as a few other schools with large endowments are.
I’m actually hoping I get into at least University of Chicago and Wellesley. I will have some choices to make then. For 17 schools, many of them are only reasonable with a lot of financial aid and a bit of convincing to my parents. My counselor is overjoyed. I will probably get into Boston University, and it was my only out-of-state safety. My friends have been asking me to review their essays and help them with the admissions process. I managed to finish all my applications by early November (most of them were in by the end of September because of QuestBridge).
Getting applications done early is a godsend. I didn’t have to worry about applications over break and was able to concentrate on my schoolwork. My mid-year report, however, isn’t perfect. I’ve talked to my counselor about explaining some extenuating circumstances, but I’m not sure if I’ll need it after finals.
First semester is almost over. Hang in there, seniors!
I didn't get into QuestBridge. I put a lot of hope on it, even if I had convinced myself nothing that good could ever happen to me. Let me tell you, going into something with low expectations is not enough. You must really convince yourself, deep down, that you don't need it, that it's not going to change your life.
I've been hanging out at home, feeling depressed. Some words of encouragement, not much empathy.
This is the first rejection of the year. The first cut is the deepest. I'm holding on because, well, nothing else really works. Out of necessity, I have to start caring about other things.
Not much else is going on.
So, my sixteen applications are in, and I'm breathing a (slight) sigh of relief. I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to do ten, and then twelve, and now sixteen. During the summer, I had typed out a neat list of colleges, their requirements, printed out labels, envelopes, secondary school reports and teacher recommendations—then I put them in a stack, and I said, “I'm not going to change my mind.” That these eleven schools are the only colleges I'm applying to and nowhere else.
I added five schools at the last minute (I still turned in all of my applications before eighty percent of the rest of the class, so, perhaps late is really relative). I had turned in eleven before the end of September. These last five were done in a highly-efficient two weeks.
Oh, and the essays were nothing to me. I had done so many that I just reused, reduced and recycled. Once I had done QuestBridge, I had done it all. Let me tell you—they don't know, and they don't care, as long as you don't mention the university in your essay and it's not a popular prompt. I don't see the point of writing sixteen essays when you can write six good ones and tweak them slightly for each school.
Some people were like, "Well, doesn't that mean you are going to be turning down fifteen schools?" Technically, yes. For me, especially for me, being low-income and all, applying to a lot of places now at a relatively low cost will yield an enormous advantage come April. I am not going to get stuck with terrible financial aid. I will have options.
Three interviews down and one scheduled this week—I feel like I'm going through the process 123098120 times faster than my peers. I am going through it all, and like a transparent being, the experiences are passing through me. I am changing, becoming anew.
I've submitted all of my college application stuff, finally! I added a few more schools, in addition to my previous list. The new ones are Boston University, University of Notre Dame, Swarthmore College, Williams College and Pomona College. I know I’m applying to a lot of schools, but I’ve completed all the applications so far. It’s been a bit nerve-wracking.
It's a ton of schools, though I didn't pay a single dime to apply to any of them (fee waivers) and I did all the essays as well. I'm hoping to get into at least U of C and Northwestern, though my dream school is Princeton, with Stanford as a close second.
My Harvard interview was a smashing success, or at least I think it was. I have my Pomona interview coming up. That means that so far, I’ve completed my Yale, University of Chicago and Harvard interviews. I still have to do my Princeton, Brown, Wellesley, Swarthmore, Columbia and Williams interviews. To me, the interviews are easy because I’m personable and I don’t need to worry about my test scores or grades—it’s simply an opportunity for the school to learn more about me.
My Harvard interviewer was a really nice guy that seemed genuinely interested in my extracurricular activities, such as working for Chicago Public Radio and my involvement with Community for Alternative Sources of Energy (CASE). He was also a lawyer and had been involved in journalism during his undergraduate years, so we had a lot to talk about. I spoke a lot about my research for my radio segment, “Desegregation in Chicago Public Schools in the Aftermath of PICS v. Seattle.” I knew a lot of legal terms and he was impressed with how I participated in the American Constitutional Law program as a part of my AP United States Government & Politics class last year.
I'm a QuestBridge finalist, so on November 30th, I'll find out if I got a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Princeton, Stanford or Yale. The competition is stiff but I'm hoping that if not accepted in the College Match Scholarship, I will have a second chance at these big universities in April, during the regular decision round. Still, waiting for a decision is agonizing, especially if the next four years of my life could be decided in less than two weeks!
It’s been a rough week, and I have a couple of exams before my school lets out for Thanksgiving break.
That’s all for now, more updates later!
It’s nearly November. I feel as if I’m in a transitional state. My applications have all been sent in, save for one, and so have my recommendations. My teachers have been very on top of all of my recommendations and I’m glad that they’ve been submitting them on time!
So far, I’ve gotten two interviews done – one with Yale and the other with the University of Chicago. My Yale interview was at Panera, a very relaxed backdrop. The interviewer was really nice and laid back. We talked for about an hour and fifteen minutes and it went really well. I managed to ask a lot of questions, indicating that I really enjoyed the school.
My second interview at the University of Chicago was also a great success. The interviewer was an admissions counselor and not originally from Chicago. I talked a lot about my interest in literature and writing. The interview was great, and we laughed a lot. I think I really struck a chord with him, and I believe it may benefit me come time for admissions decisions!
That’s it so far, more updates to come.
I've submitted my applications to all of my colleges and have set up two interviews - one with the University of Chicago and another with Yale. They're within six days of each other, one on the 21st and the other on the 27th. I'm a little nervous, especially about the one for Yale. I know that interviews are not really all that big of a deal (except maybe to U of C), but I still want to make a good impression.
My counselor has been praising me in front of his freshmen students. It is sort of embarrassing, considering that I am struggling in three of my classes right now (two Bs, and 1 C - the first C in my entire high school career!) I received a C in AP Chemistry, which is an incredibly difficult class, especially with the labs. A lot of the students never even pass the AP Chemistry test because the teacher never prepares them well enough, but I'm determined to study on my own. The other two teachers didn't average my grades right by the time progress reports came, so I really did receive an A in both those classes, though my progress report didn't reflect so. My parents were fairly upset at me, but I'm trying to deal with it.
On top of that, I'm going to be doing National Novel Writing Month (which is really awesome -- you write a novel in 30 days). I'm going to submit whatever I write to the Scholastic Arts and Writing competition, which considers the best manuscript for publication. I know that it would be a really big stretch for me to get published, especially at this age, but I don't want to give up simply because it's hard.
Anyway, that's all the updates for now!
College, oh, college. It is on my mind twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I have submitted nearly all of my applications.
I have applied to the QuestBridge College Match Scholarship program and 11 schools:
- University of Illinois-Urbana
- University of Illinois-Chicago
- University of Chicago
- Northwestern University
- Wellesley College
- Amherst College
- Brown University
- Columbia University
- Stanford University
- Princeton University
- Yale University
- Harvard University
I find out whether I’ve become a QuestBridge finalist by October 26th. If I get in, I have to mail in all of my tax forms to Princeton, Stanford and Yale. Then, I play the waiting game until late November to find out whether I have won a full-tuition, four-year scholarship to any of the three schools. It’s certainly tense in the house, as my parents are hoping that I am able to gain admission somewhere early. Considering my financial background, this is a dream. I really hope that it comes true.
I still have to send in my Harvard supplement and my UIC-GPPA application in. One of my teachers sent in all of my recommendations already, so I’m waiting on the other teacher.
School seems like it’s flying right by me. My course schedule is tight and there’s a lot of work involved:
- AP Psychology
- Honors Beginning Band
- Honors Darkroom Photography
- AP Physics
- AP Literature & Composition
- AP Chemistry
- AP Microeconomics
I am getting slammed in AP chemistry at the moment, because we just had a difficult first test. I think I am doing all right in every other class, but my two sciences are certainly not my favorite classes. Right now, senior year is not as fun as junior year. Junior year, I felt like all of my classes had meaningful lectures, passionate teachers and engaged students. It doesn’t seem like it is that way now. At least two of my teachers seem unenthused and annoyed with students already, even though we have been in school for only about five weeks.
It seems to be going along. I keep pushing. It’s going to be all right – besides, I’m off to college in less than a year. There is a lot to look forward to!
Hey, it’s Minnie again. A lot of stuff has been going on ever since school started. I’ve gotten used to the daily grind of schoolwork, homework, tests and quizzes. It feels like I’ve been in school for two months, when it’s only been three weeks. It’s definitely been exhausting. However, I’ve been trying to keep up with my college applications and not let my heavy course-load deter me.
First of all, I’ve determined the 11 colleges that I will be applying to:
- University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
- University of Illinois-Chicago (GPPA)
- Northwestern University (Medill)
- University of Chicago
- Amherst College
- Wellesley College
- Columbia University
- Stanford University
- Princeton University
- Yale University
- Harvard University
I know that my list is top-heavy, and my counselor has also said that. However, because of my financial background, this is the best way to go for me. Some of these ultra-selective schools will give practically full tuition to anyone whose family income is less than 60k. Of course, I am incredibly nervous and unsure of my ability to get into these schools, but that’s just part of the risk.
So far, I’ve completed an application for QuestBridge, which is a scholarship organization that links low-income students with full-tuition scholarships from thirty different universities. The application is due September 30th and I will find out whether I am a finalist by October 30th. The stakes are high, as less than 10% of the students that apply end up matched.
I’ve also completed applications for Northwestern, U of C, Amherst, Wellesley, Stanford, Princeton and Harvard. I still have to finish up applications for UIC-GPPA, U of I, Yale and Columbia. However, the latter two essays are “Why is this university perfect for you?” I don’t think that will take too much time, but I really have to get going on my UIC and U of I essays.
I have sent out my transcripts, secondary school report, fee waiver requests and a resume to all the colleges I am applying to save for UIC and U of I. I gave my teachers a portfolio on the first or second day of school so that they would be able to finish their recommendations on time.
I am also applying for a few different scholarships along with QuestBridge. I will be applying for Gates Millennium in the fall and the Horatio Alger scholarship in October. There are quite a few essays, but I’m hoping to reuse some of my college essays to reduce my workload.
I started very early on my applications and have had some people look over them. However, my Scholarship Chicago mentor is reviewing each of my essays again, and I hope to find out what I can do to make the essays better soon.
Life right now is really, really hectic. If I am able to be accepted through QuestBridge, my college search could possibly be done by the end of October. However, because of the abysmal acceptance rates, I don’t count on it. That’s why I have been completing all of my applications super-early.
Hopefully I will have out all my regular decision applications out by mid-October. I know that college admission committees are swamped with applications near deadline time, so it’s best for me to send mine early.
Life has been pretty hectic, but I keep moving on. I might be starting a youth radio program and MTV is having an open casting call at my school for their television show, MADE!
A lot of great things are going on. I just have to embrace them.
My name is Minhal and I am currently a senior at Northside College Preparatory High School, located in Chicago, IL. I'm a 17-year-old girl with a funny-sounding name that sometimes get mispronounced when teachers do attendance on the first day of a school year. Sometimes it is "Meen-hal" or "Min-ahl", but really, you can just call me Minnie.
Northside Prep is a unique school as it runs on a block schedule and has colloquium, or a three-hour class, on Wednesdays. I love my school and for the past three years, I have fallen in love with learning because of its wonderful environment. Although the learning environment is very intense, the teachers are supportive and open to listening to students’ concerns.
I am leaning towards majoring in English. After that, I will probably want to attend journalism school. My dream profession is to write for The New York Times. After school, when I stumble into my room after a long day, I log into my computer and read the latest NYT article. Some day, I want to read my own article online. In order to achieve my dream, I’m going to do whatever it takes to become an accomplished writer.
I’m more than a little worried about being rejected at some of my top-choice schools. My biggest worry, however, is not being able to bounce back after these rejections. I linger on minuscule failures and become absorbed on what I could have done rather than what I should be doing for the future. Name-brand institutions are not the end-all, be-all of success, and I don't want rejection from these colleges to hold me back from being successful elsewhere.
As for my friends, their biggest worry has been, from the beginning, the possibility of not being "good enough" for the colleges they want to apply to. Of course, I’m an active participant in their fretting. Sometimes we research schools’ average GPAs and test scores and have a sinking feeling in our stomachs when we realize we are just a cut below the average student enrolled at these institutions. Other times we dance with joy because we have a chance. At a school like mine, it’s easy to get caught up in the constant number crunching and comparing. We don’t have rank, yet students share their grades freely and sometimes hunt others down in order to figure out theirs. After a test quite a few people will ask, “Did you get that question?” My friends and I can get too caught up in our grades and measuring our success quantitatively, but as I said before, we fail in any effort to define success or intelligence.
To conquer these fears of failure and comparison, I write. I write this article, I write letters and I write poetry in the margins of my notebook. At times I wonder whether I will be all right. It’s only college. I'm sure that I know this intellectually, but do I understand this emotionally? I’ve worked very hard up until this point and don't want to shortchange myself because of a few failures. So I write long letters to my friends, being so frank and honest that it catches them by surprise. We console each other’s worries and help each other through the most difficult times.
For this college application season, I can learn to take setbacks with patience and grace. I can rant about how I feel in long letters sent to nobody. I can dream about writing for The New York Times. I can do anything.