Advice for rising seniors: Be brave

oliviabartel
Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:07:51 +0000

I got a 2.3 GPA my first semester of high school. I failed English I Honors. I wouldn’t say I was a failure. I was dealing with an undiagnosed learning disability. But after my rough semester, the system treated me like a failure. And that stuck with me my whole four years.

I go to a large public high school, my counselor is a wash out, and had no interest in helping me. He didn’t push me. He didn’t encourage me. Even after my straight A second semester of 9th grade, he acted like I was incapable. He would ask me where I wanted to go to college, I would tell him my top choices, and he would sort of cross his eyes and rub his chin. And then suggest the local commuter school.

We go into high school being told as 13 and 14 year olds that if we don’t get it together now, we’re going to be lifelong failures. We’re set up to believe that high school is just an awkward four years to be anxious, and get “good grades”, so we can get into a “good college”, and be “successful”. And when we make a mistake, we’re told that it’s just gone. Impossible.

If you don’t have “perfect grades” you’re done. That’s just it. Forget it. You shouldn’t bother trying, because it won’t happen to you.

I watched so many of my friends this year stray away from simply APPLYING to colleges because they “didn’t think they could get in”. Good schools, not ivies. Schools that they were certainly capable of. But they cheated themselves out of simply sending in an application because they were afraid.

I did very poorly first semester of senior year. I got a D in AP Biology. I got very sick, and had some extenuating circumstances. I should have taken most of the schools off my college list, if I followed my counselors logic. But I applied anyways. Just to see. NYU was my first choice, and I was accepted.

Whether it’s fear, or you’re worried about the money, or you don’t think you’re good enough, take the risk. Maybe you get rejected. So what? You’ll be disappointed. It’s a part of life. And then May 1st, you will send in your deposit for another school and forget all about it. Maybe you get accepted. You can be proud. It’s a great feeling. And then maybe you can’t afford it. You’ll be disappointed. So what?

Be BRAVE in your college search. Reach for a school that might be a stretch. Getting into NYU with my stats made me wonder if I should have applied a step above.

Don’t sell yourself short. Because you could get a wonderful surprise.