HS Class of 2013 Lessons Learned

stupiddorkyidiot
Sat, 30 Mar 2013 19:09:39 +0000

Okay, here’s my big list…

Safety schools need to be not only admissions safeties but also financial safeties.

After reading CC for a while, I’m a huge believer in ED/EA. And of course, with early programs comes this: you need to start doing research earlier than you think. I didn’t start stressing about college until the end of October, when I finally started visiting schools. At that point, all the early deadlines were OMGRIGHTNOW. Knowing what I know now, I absolutely would have started the process earlier and applied EA somewhere.

Now that you’ve done your research early, you can be absolutely certain what you’re looking for when you do apply to schools. I really wonder if I might have gotten into Brown had I not splashed pre-med/PLME all over my supplement. See, that’s not at all who I am - and it’s not what Brown is about - and I only wish I’d realized that at the time. I also wish I’d applied to MIT. I didn’t give myself enough time to really look into the schools I knew nothing about.

You need to visit schools. I thought Northwestern was my first choice for a few months, until I visited it and realized I didn’t like it at all. (I proceeded to waste $75 on submitting the application anyway and got waitlisted. Just goes to show ya.)

Corollary to the Northwestern story: don’t waste an application on a school you don’t like. I didn’t apply to Stanford or Berkeley, even though a lot of people suggested it, and I have zero regrets. They’re not for me.

Don’t be lazy. Do what you love and go places with it. I’ve quit so many activities over the years because I’m too tired to go to practice or motivate myself or whatever. High school should be a time for you to explore, find what you love, and stick with it.

On the flip side, don’t feel compelled to stick with doing something you hate in hopes that it’ll boost your resume. If it’s fake, it’ll show. When you’re in tenth grade, your thought process should never be anything like “hey, maybe doing ____ will help get me into Harvard.” The amount of underclassmen I see here worrying about college and posting preliminary chance threads sickens me. Worry about passing your AP tests or something first.