Let me just put it out there - I hate the American college application process.
I first created an account with the Common Application on August 1st when it came out, and ever since then, it's just been non-stop worrying about where I would be next school year.
Everything looked promising at first. I'd get mail from top schools encouraging me to apply, and I was super excited at the prospect of having to make a difficult decision after being accepted so many wonderful places. That's how I saw my spring looking like at the beginning of fall.
Anyway, applying had been the primary occupation of my senior year. Never in my life have I been subject to so much self-introspection, although I kinda did enjoy having to think of a meaningful cultural event (read about it here), and of a person who has had influence on me (keeping that to myself thanks ;) and write an eloquent essay on those, as well as many other, topics. It's just so time-consuming, and when it ends in ultimate rejection, you wish you didn't spend so much time on it. It's almost as if your life experiences aren't validated somehow. It's useless to feel optimistic, but at the same time it's incredibly depressing to be pessimistic, so all one can do is stress and try not to think about it. I kinda failed at that and was subject to numerous emotional breakdowns these past few months.
Then there's the fact that higher education is ridiculously expensive in the USA. And the thing is, the costs are going to increase with each year, while admissions rates go down. The schools that give the best financial aid to everyone they admit are the ones that are the hardest to get into, accepting less than 10% of applicants. What kind of a paradox is that? Education should be accessible to everyone, and nobody deserves to be drowning in debt. It's become a major problem here. I complained about it to a French friend, and since in France education is super cheap and high quality, we ended up praising socialism. My intent was to enroll in one of those top schools so my family wouldn't have to worry about financing my education, but that was daunting, and acceptance statistics were discouraging. I did apply to some lower tier schools, but since they don't have as much of a capability to help non-rich students, I couldn't get in because there's no way I could afford to go there.
The schools I cared about getting into were the Ivy Leagues, the schools where I could get the best education, best financial aid, and meet the most interesting and diverse people (I'll admit that's arguable, but that's what I've learned). And their notification date was March 27th.
I was convinced I was going to die.
I had even decided that on my tombstone would be written the words:
Amanda Flores
October 25, 1995 - March 27, 2014
At least she tried.
Leading up to that day I was convinced that luck (yeah, luck, since being qualified isn't enough as most everyone who applies is qualified) was against me, and I was going to get seven rejections in one day. My ego wasn't ready for it at all.
A good friend of mine whom I met on exchange had also applied to a few Ivies, so he was to get the results too. On the big results day, we Skyped each other, so I could feel less alone when I got the decisions. It turned out to be a good idea, since I actually ended up laughing about the rejection after rejection I got (and that he did, too...ahahaha). I was utterly convinced I was not gonna get in anywhere, and seriously thought about going back to France to get my college degree. And then I got an email from Harvard University, with the subject line, "Your Application to Harvard College." I clicked on it, not expecting much, but then saw this.
I could not finish reading it after the first sentence because I screamed "I GOT INTO HARVARD" and broke down crying and laughing. The only other instant in my life that got such a reaction from me was the night I got picked to go to France during the exchange student ceremony. Thus, my friend Andy was the first to know. My dad and grandma ran into my room to see what the commotion was about, and they were equally happy when they found out.
Hmmm, remember that checklist I wrote in this entry of things that would make 2014 as memorable as 2013? Well...
✓acceptance to a dream school
✓more travel, hopefully to somewhere I haven't been to before (technically, since I'll be moving to the east coast!! except when I wrote this I was actually thinking of India so hmmm make that a half check mark)
Now, I am in utter disbelief at the fact that I got into Harvard (with its 5.9% acceptance rate) and have already chosen to enroll there. It's the most well-known school in the world, and one of the most prestigious. I'll be meeting brilliant kids from all over the world, and I'll be living on the other side of the USA, the side I've never been to before.
I updated many friends and family of the news, and now my success is being celebrated in places near and far. I suppose that despite the allure of other schools, Harvard was where I was meant to be. I remember when I lived in the Philippines, and my grandpa would consistently nag me, "Hey, you're gonna go to Harvard right?" (I was an elementary schooler and did not know what Harvard was...) and shortly before I moved to the USA, my classmates would tell me, "Hey, tell us when you get to Harvard."
I'm more excited than terrified, but I still have that nagging "Oh god what have I gotten myself into this time?" thought that persists in my head. But hey, the last time I had that thought was two years ago, as I was preparing to be an exchange student in France wondering why I chose to make such a crazy move. And that turned out pretty well.
So I guess in the end, despite the tortuous and painful application process and subsequent wait and rejections from a bunch of schools, all of them lower-ranked than Harvard, I did get what I wanted. Albeit not in the way I necessarily wanted it. And that's how life works. Ta-daaaah
I'M GOING TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY
CLASS OF 2018
YAAAAYAAYAAYAAYAAAAY
(still can't actually believe it)
I first created an account with the Common Application on August 1st when it came out, and ever since then, it's just been non-stop worrying about where I would be next school year.
Everything looked promising at first. I'd get mail from top schools encouraging me to apply, and I was super excited at the prospect of having to make a difficult decision after being accepted so many wonderful places. That's how I saw my spring looking like at the beginning of fall.
Anyway, applying had been the primary occupation of my senior year. Never in my life have I been subject to so much self-introspection, although I kinda did enjoy having to think of a meaningful cultural event (read about it here), and of a person who has had influence on me (keeping that to myself thanks ;) and write an eloquent essay on those, as well as many other, topics. It's just so time-consuming, and when it ends in ultimate rejection, you wish you didn't spend so much time on it. It's almost as if your life experiences aren't validated somehow. It's useless to feel optimistic, but at the same time it's incredibly depressing to be pessimistic, so all one can do is stress and try not to think about it. I kinda failed at that and was subject to numerous emotional breakdowns these past few months.
Then there's the fact that higher education is ridiculously expensive in the USA. And the thing is, the costs are going to increase with each year, while admissions rates go down. The schools that give the best financial aid to everyone they admit are the ones that are the hardest to get into, accepting less than 10% of applicants. What kind of a paradox is that? Education should be accessible to everyone, and nobody deserves to be drowning in debt. It's become a major problem here. I complained about it to a French friend, and since in France education is super cheap and high quality, we ended up praising socialism. My intent was to enroll in one of those top schools so my family wouldn't have to worry about financing my education, but that was daunting, and acceptance statistics were discouraging. I did apply to some lower tier schools, but since they don't have as much of a capability to help non-rich students, I couldn't get in because there's no way I could afford to go there.
The schools I cared about getting into were the Ivy Leagues, the schools where I could get the best education, best financial aid, and meet the most interesting and diverse people (I'll admit that's arguable, but that's what I've learned). And their notification date was March 27th.
I was convinced I was going to die.
I had even decided that on my tombstone would be written the words:
Amanda Flores
October 25, 1995 - March 27, 2014
At least she tried.
Leading up to that day I was convinced that luck (yeah, luck, since being qualified isn't enough as most everyone who applies is qualified) was against me, and I was going to get seven rejections in one day. My ego wasn't ready for it at all.
A good friend of mine whom I met on exchange had also applied to a few Ivies, so he was to get the results too. On the big results day, we Skyped each other, so I could feel less alone when I got the decisions. It turned out to be a good idea, since I actually ended up laughing about the rejection after rejection I got (and that he did, too...ahahaha). I was utterly convinced I was not gonna get in anywhere, and seriously thought about going back to France to get my college degree. And then I got an email from Harvard University, with the subject line, "Your Application to Harvard College." I clicked on it, not expecting much, but then saw this.
I could not finish reading it after the first sentence because I screamed "I GOT INTO HARVARD" and broke down crying and laughing. The only other instant in my life that got such a reaction from me was the night I got picked to go to France during the exchange student ceremony. Thus, my friend Andy was the first to know. My dad and grandma ran into my room to see what the commotion was about, and they were equally happy when they found out.
Hmmm, remember that checklist I wrote in this entry of things that would make 2014 as memorable as 2013? Well...
✓acceptance to a dream school
✓more travel, hopefully to somewhere I haven't been to before (technically, since I'll be moving to the east coast!! except when I wrote this I was actually thinking of India so hmmm make that a half check mark)
Now, I am in utter disbelief at the fact that I got into Harvard (with its 5.9% acceptance rate) and have already chosen to enroll there. It's the most well-known school in the world, and one of the most prestigious. I'll be meeting brilliant kids from all over the world, and I'll be living on the other side of the USA, the side I've never been to before.
I updated many friends and family of the news, and now my success is being celebrated in places near and far. I suppose that despite the allure of other schools, Harvard was where I was meant to be. I remember when I lived in the Philippines, and my grandpa would consistently nag me, "Hey, you're gonna go to Harvard right?" (I was an elementary schooler and did not know what Harvard was...) and shortly before I moved to the USA, my classmates would tell me, "Hey, tell us when you get to Harvard."
I'm more excited than terrified, but I still have that nagging "Oh god what have I gotten myself into this time?" thought that persists in my head. But hey, the last time I had that thought was two years ago, as I was preparing to be an exchange student in France wondering why I chose to make such a crazy move. And that turned out pretty well.
So I guess in the end, despite the tortuous and painful application process and subsequent wait and rejections from a bunch of schools, all of them lower-ranked than Harvard, I did get what I wanted. Albeit not in the way I necessarily wanted it. And that's how life works. Ta-daaaah
I'M GOING TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY
CLASS OF 2018
YAAAAYAAYAAYAAYAAAAY
(still can't actually believe it)
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