While I hope no one followed my example, my actual college application process was hectic.  I had everything in order theoretically…great grades…pretty test scores…more extracurricular and community service hours than I could list…I was in tip-top shape—ready for anything!  My I’s were dotted, and my T’s were crossed.  Only one more thing to do.  Apply.  As you’re reading this, you might be thinking that this was me around mid-November, early December at the latest.

Well…you’re wrong.  This was me on December 26^th.  Regular decision deadlines for most schools in the country were January 1^st.  Did I mention that my application process was hectic?  For four days, I thoroughly researched the 25-ish schools on my list and started finalizing details.  A mentor had to sit me down and say, “Pick 10 from this list, and send in the materials—you have to make your decisions…NOW!”  Obviously, I did make the decisions, and I did post-mark my apps by the deadline…however, it was still unnecessary stress that could have been avoided had I stopped procrastinating on FINALLY choosing my top schools.  By now your applications are in, so let’s discuss what I felt like afterwards.

Three words: relieved, anxious, and tired.

I was relieved that the formal process was done.  Now, all I could do was wait for the colleges to decide if I was a prospectively good fit for their school environment.  I’d passed the tests, made the grades, gave back to the community… now I could breathe a little.

IMPORTANT: THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU STOP EARNING GOOD GRADES OR WORKING HARD IN SCHOOL.  COLLEGES WILL LOOK AT YOUR LAST SEMESTER GRADES.  THEY CAN REVOKE SCHOLARSHIP MONEY, AND ACCEPTANCE DECISIONS.  BEWARE.

Now that I’ve given that piece of advice, back to my second feeling.  I felt anxious about getting the responses in the mail.  I liked something (or many things) about each school, and non-acceptance letters would feel like a personal rejection of me.  I was worried that I could have done better on the essays, and perhaps I didn’t “sell myself” correctly.

Tired because I’d been striving for perfection for six months…in and out of class.  Senior year can seem like a whirlwind of activities…I’d be lost in the next set of things to do without realizing that I’d finished the last ones.  Hopefully, your year hasn’t been like that too much.  However, I was tired, and I still had to find energy and enthusiasm to finish out the school year.

So, after waiting for a few months, I started receiving the college decisions in the mail.  My first acceptance letter was amazing…I can’t quite describe the feeling.  I was wanted…on a 4-year college campus.  For someone from a family who doesn’t pump out college graduates, this was something new…a goal apart from everything else I’d worked for.  All of the work…the stress…the time management…the effort…the tears and the struggling…it was all worth it.

So hat’s off to you for completing the applications.  Now…sit back…relax…you’ve got amazing things coming your way!

FAFSA.

Ferocious-Anxiety-Financial-Stimulating-Atrocity.

My senior chemistry teacher belabored the fact that graduate and medical schools will look at grades in Organic Chemistry to weed out the strong from the weak.  She told us that OrgChem isn’t grotesquely hard, but instead, it highlights your ability (or lack of ability) to memorize and compartmentalize gigantic chunks of information into a comprehensive learning style.

In my mind, Organic Chemistry and graduate school admission is analogous to the FAFSA and undergraduate admission.  Separates the strong from the weak.  So you’ve chosen the schools you want to apply to, written the essays, gained acceptance, and narrowed it down…now it’s time to TALK MONEY.  And contrary to what the financial college pamphlets may lead you to believe from the smiling faces on happy high school students, this time can be just as stressful, if not more, than the actual admissions process.  Just depends on several factors.

A. Parental and Mentor Knowledge of FAFSA process

B. Your access to parental and mentor knowledge of FAFSA process

C. Parental Aptitude at Organizing Past Financial Records from Tax Season

*KEEP EVERYTHING!

D.   College’s Level of Helpfulness in Providing Financial Support

*Private or State public school?  Large or small endowment?  Need-blind admission?    No-Loan Policy?

E.    High school’s Knowledge of College Financial Process

F.    Personal Knowledge of College Financial Process

So, if you are lucky enough to have parents that have conquered this process a few times before and have great organizational skills (know where last year’s W-2 forms are at)…you’re on the right track.  If your high school has a great counselor program that is actively in touch and “in-the-know” about the financial aid process, you’re zipping right along.  And finally, if your college is miraculously helpful and easy to reach during this money-crazed period, you are IN THE END ZONE! BINGO! WAY TO GO!

But…in the off-chance that your parents aren’t exactly sure of what they’re doing, or perhaps…know next to nothing…

And your high school counselor vaguely knows the process…

And your college can only be reached during the hours that you are attending class…and do not return calls after many urgent voicemails, and cannot be contacted by email, Skype, Facebook, or text…

Then you are closer to my experience of FAFSA and the financial aid process.  I still get goose bumps thinking about some of it.  Personally, my family didn’t know that much…my high school counselors knew mainly about in-state assistance, and a few of my schools seemed impossible to get in contact with.  I sat down with my mom one night, and three hours later, we’d battled through FAFSA.  I still had to make three corrections later on, in fear that the IRS or some similar tax-service would consider my accidental errors an attempt to harbor money from the country.  However, after the FAFSA, it was time to sit around and wait until I received initial offers.

This next statement is not an attempt to sell my school…just an acknowledgment of the truth.  Pomona was AMAZINGLY helpful with financial assistance.  I was able to reach them during office hours (2-hour time change might have made a difference), and often, they knew what I was referring to before I did.  After receiving the first offer, I was able to repeal the amount after explaining that my family’s situation was not correctly represented on the FAFSA.  Cutting to the end of the story, I accepted an amount that alleviated all stress from my family’s end, allowing me to attend a school that would have been completely out of my league.

For high school students, I’d recommend that you talk to high school counselors and do your best to get in touch with the financial aid counselors at your top colleges.  Sit down with your parents in plenty of time to complete the FAFSA, and try to have all of the necessary materials beforehand.  Keep financial aid a top priority until after you receive an offer that works for you.  Try not to get discouraged…and keep your goals in mind.

It’s one of those—“Keep your eye on the prize”—sort of things.  It’s easy to get caught up in the stress and frustration of finding the money you need…but at the end of swimming upstream in search of it, you’ll find that it was well worth it!

So maybe first semester was a bit hectic. With the new year having just begun, there are so many goals I have set for myself. It is seldom that people actually stick to their new year’s resolutions. That is why the list I’ve come up with is attainable and realistic, so that I hopefully can stick to my goals. I hope to create an overall better atmosphere and lifestyle for myself this upcoming year. College can be chaotic at times; seemingly taking over your life. That is why I truly want to try my hardest to get through this next semester by doing the following:

I vow to try my hardest to get at least two more hours of sleep each night. More rest will most likely improve my focus and overall concentration both inside and outside of my classes.

I also hope to keep up with cleaning my room, so that it doesn’t end up looking like a tornado struck it by the end of the week. It is so easy to let things pile up. Keeping my room clutter free might also clear my mind.

I also want to keep up with the local, worldwide, and international news. It is so easy to become engrossed in your college, that you hardly know what’s even going on in the world anymore, beyond your own little academic bubble.

It’s also important to make time for exercise in college. Especially, if like myself, you want to avoid the legacy of the “freshman fifteen.” I am setting a goal for myself so that I begin to eat much healthier and exercise much more frequently this year.

Above all else, I am going to work the most on maintaining a healthy level of stress. I am a very easily stressed person, and college can be extremely stressful at times.

By maintaining all of these goals, I believe that I can make my second semester at Williams much more relaxed.

So, I challenge you all to set some goals for yourself. You’ll most likely be surprised by how much you can accomplish and change in such a short period of time if you just stay determined!

You’re probably wondering why the title of my blog is “thriving” first semester rather than “surviving” first semester. Well, that’s because a dean at my college once told me, that college is not merely about doing what you have to do just to get by or in other words, just surviving, it’s about thriving in a place that you can truly call your own.

Upon the end of my first semester of college, I’ve realized that with greater freedom, comes much more responsibility. In college, there’s no one there to hold your hand or tell you what to do or what not to do. While this may seem appealing, at times it can be difficult. Being so far away from home I’ve grown much more independent and learned just how essential time management is! Think about it: everyday, we each have the same amount of time handed to us. However, how we each utilize our time varies significantly. While some people spend their day “thinking,” others spend it by “doing.” Learning to balance everything you must do is the key. Yet, this is not always easy. So my advice to you is to always place all of your attention into whatever you are doing at the moment. There will always be distractions to get you off track in life, but one of the most important lessons college has taught me is that if you work hard when it’s time to work, and relax when you have the time to indulge in other activities, you can successfully survive the temptations of a college surrounding. It’s so easy to walk out of your dorm room and become engrossed in some kind of conversation in a nearby common room, or to want to take “breaks” in between assignments. With this method, one thing leads to another, and eventually NOTHING seems to get accomplished.

This semester has also taught me that not everything in life will just be handed to you. Specifically, college is a melting pot, and everyone is nervous when they first arrive. Therefore, not everyone may seem approachable at first or as friendly as you may like. It may be up to you to introduce yourself to your dormmates or classmates. Don’t be afraid to get to know the people you will be sitting in classes and living with for a whole year! Afterall, NO ONE can make it through college alone! Everyone needs someone, it’s just that the “someone” you may need may not be the first person to approach you on move in day. So, take a chance, and make it a point to get to know people as soon as possible: it will make your college experience that much easier and more enjoyable.

Furthermore, I’ve learned that it’s okay to miss home. Everyone starts to feel a bit homesick their first semester of college, even if it doesn’t seem like it on the surface. No one can tell you how hard it will be to so far from home, and no one can truly prepare you  for the emotions you may feel your first few months of college. It can be a roller coaster. I even questioned if Williams was just too far from home for me, and maybe what I thought may be just  be what I needed, wasn’t. I really missed home, my friends, family, and my boyfriend. It’s not easy to maintain friendships or a relationship living more than 1300 miles away from home.  But, I know now  that it’s normal to feel out  of place at first, or like you’re missing something back home. It took me a long time to realize that I truly could make Williams my home if I just allowed myself to open up to people and to college life in general. So, I promise you…. YOU WILL SURVIVE FIRST SEMESTER….even though, at times it truly seems like there’s NO WAY POSSIBLE that you will make it out of finals week alive.

Most people will tell you, college is exhausting. THAT IS VERY TRUE. But finishing first semester was one of the most rewarding and satisfying experiences of my life. Yes, you will probably  pull at least one all nighter your first semester of college, but that’s what makes college memorable. It’s the staying up late, the bonds made with your roommates, the stressful weeks that make each weekend worthwhile, the trips to breakfast and dinner where we all gather around to swap stories, the weekly laundry run, where no washers or dryers are left empty for you to actually do laundry, late night snacks, caffeine rushes, “crunch time”, and the most important lesson of all: YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Whatever you’re feeling, someone else their first year, has felt that very same thing. Each of you will survive your first semester of college differently, but once you complete it, you will find yourself gradually growing up,and realizing your place in the world. And that itself, is the true meaning of an education, to find your place within society; looking back one day on all the memories you made along the way.

BEST OF LUCK to all of you who are finishing up your college applications! I will posting again soon, about a unique program Williams offers its students during the month of January, as I head back to campus January 3rd. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Swish…loop…crank…crank…nervousness…click click click (gear grinds)… click clack…This is the last hump on the roller coaster of my first semester.  There is a lot to do between today and the end of this semester, but somehow these last few months have sped by.

For you high-schoolers out there my guess is that you are experiencing a similar sense of unease and nervousness.  The time to finish college applications is nigh, just as the promise of a break from school for the holiday season.  I remember that when my C.U. application was somehow erased every time I attempted to save it, a certain heat went up and down my back. So much frustration resulted from this that I felt I alone possessed a terrible burden.  In short, the college application process was a very intense experience for me, and I’m sure it is proving to be, at some points, for you as well.

What I have noticed though is that stress is inevitable.  I find that the heat is on now as the first semester comes to a close. With due diligence and a lot of patience I have faith that it will all work out in the end, and if you have that same faith it will help you to make more rational and cautious decisions than if you don’t.  Let me tell you that your applications and essays will look much better if you type them with a clear head rather than with “just finishing” in mind.  These applications and such can be finished, and if I can impart those seniors out there with one more bit in the endless stream of advice: don’t stress out and make more problems for yourself. At the same time though I want to be clear that what you are doing is important, and that is why it is so important to approach these issues with a level head.

Hey guys! Frequently here at Williams I walk past Hopkins gate. Engraved on this passageway are these encouraging words:

“Climb High, Climb Far, Your Goal the Sky; Your Aim the Star”

These simple yet meanigful words, evoke just how important it is to strive beyond the best you can be. Therefore, I urge you all to consider applying to those schools, you figure are completely out of you’re reach. What’s the worst that could happen?

During my college application process my senior year, an admissions counselor once told me, you could have all “As,” perfect SATS, and be involved in  many extracurriculars at your school, but that is not what makes you stand apart from all the rest! I further learned that every year dozens of the “virtually same type of students” apply to the nation’s top universities with these very same qualities. And you know what? In all honesty, most of them are turned away!

Believe it or not, having good grades, good test scores, and trying to be involved in everything in high school may not even get you into an IVY or top school! 

I know when I was in high school I figured grades meant everything and that no college cared about my perspectives or anything else. However, when you apply to college the truth is quite the contrary. Colleges do want to know your struggles and how you’ve over come such obstacles. It’s not about how many times you may of fallen, but rather how you’ve picked yourself back up and made something positive out of a negative situaiton.

So don’t stress about your grades so much, or being voted the leader of every club or sport. Don’t hesitate to do something out of your comfort zone; something non-academic! Be unique; be bold, because that’s what will truly set you apart when you’re application reaches the admission office!

Remember when you write your application essays, that colleges respect an individual who can face the ups and downs in their lives, and realize that you are human! Try to personalize your essays so that they not only cover the topic you must write about, but also encompass something unique about yourself, your thoughts, or who you are as individual. DON’T BE JUST A NUMBER IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS, TRULY STAND OUT!

I myself, wrote my college essay on the corruption of the foster care and adoption systems in America. I tied my essay into my own experiences in foster care as a child, and how being adopted has impacted my life. I figured I was taking a chance with this topic, because not everyone is going to agree with you, but you must write about whatever lies close to your heart, because that’s what’s going make an impact, and truly stick in the minds of admissions officers when they are making their decisions of acceptance.

So don’t hold back, when writing you’re essays.  TAKE CHANCES! THE MOST UNIQUE STORIES AND THUS ESSAYS MAKE THE BEST ONES! If you need any advice on your college essays or just want someone to look it over for you, just email me, or post a comment. I would love to help you guys!Thats what we bloggers are here for, YOU!

Dang, you got an 84 on that Calc test? Good luck getting in YaleVardStanNceton or ColumWillBrownReedMudd [hmm, smashing college names doesn't work as well first names].

Many of you probably applied E.D. to schools already. Some of you probably took a test and didn’t do well on it. Now you’re freaking out because Stanford only accepts 4.48 students.  Students by the way who have never once gotten below a 99% on any test since kindergarten [those kids didn't do well on their coloring tests]. This is so false. My friend David got into Stanford when he got like a 75 on his physics test.

Tip to be gained: Don’t stress out over everything!
Other tip: Don’t slack in school just because you applied ED. I was an abuser of procrastination when I was in your shoes.

Another tip: Don’t put all your money on your ED school, you might not get in. Now using the business lingo I’ve learned: Hedge your bets by allowing yourself a margin of safety. [It feels pretty cool knowing what those finance guys are saying]

I didn’t apply ED to any school because well most of my schools didn’t have an ED option, and I’ll tell you something for those of you who are starting to pick or starting Apps [you guys have better started!! don't procrastinate]. You may be easily distressed as well. Yeah you might feel like time is running out, and in all technicality it is running, but I won’t say running out because that’s too pessimistic.  But hold on to your wits, Little Wing. Don’t you get pessimistic. So here is my piece of wisdom I have fought so hard to learn. Take life a step at a time. Don’t try to have an all night session for your paper. Or write your CommonApp essay RIGHT BEFORE IT’S DUE.

My friends were a huge factor in helping me get my things done in an orderly manner. They got me this picture frame that said “Procrastination: Hard work pays off later. Laziness pays off now.” You really don’t want a bad later.

So you know go to your advisor and ask him or her to help get your transcript ready to send off. They can be really slow sometime. And for those of you who haven’t found a school; try leafing through some College magazines. Or if you have a person you admire [Akio Toyoda for me] why don’t you see where they went to school and check it out.

May your lows keep you humble and your highs keep you tied,
- Duylam