Let’s establish something upright: I’m not a genius. From the moment of birth, I’ve coexisted with environments which exhibit indifference to academic success. Accordingly, any intellectual integrity I maintain on paper may be a result of surpassing the insulting low bars presented by my high school.
That being said, Wesleyan recently (by the grace of God) selected my application as deserving of the Questbridge match scholarship. Although certainly joyful, I’ve recently become skeptical in my ability to succeed in a top 50 university. For starters, my AP course load has only been Bio and Chem. Despite scoring well in-class, AP scores have been moderate (3’s). I assume this to be an amalgamation of the instructors’ teaching styles. Furthermore, I’ve taken only one actual chemistry class (the aforementioned AP Chem).
My high school experience has conditioned me to become accustomed to only 5 hours-ish per night of studying. Am I setting myself up for an intellectual train wreck? Additionally, which courses would reside in my best interests to take this summer in preparation of Wesleyan (I’m interested in a science career)?
Can anyone really advise you here? None of us know what’s under the hood. The fact that you’ve done well in some advanced coursework, and the content of your post, indicate to me that you could survive and potentially thrive at a school like Wes. I wouldn’t get too caught up on the AP scores.
The big variable for 99% of the kids attending is willingness to work. Five hours of HW a night is nothing to sneeze at. You may need that much, more or less … who knows?
But I would hazard a guess that you’re intellectually in the ballpark … again, just based on the limited information before me.
Schools want their students to succeed. If you have concerns, make sure you are prepared to study a lot and avail yourself of additional resources such as study groups, office hours, peer tutoring, etc. Ideally, everyone should struggle a bit in college - and learn how to deal with those situations.
Wesleyan will only pick students that they believe will thrive at their school. I’m sure that they see in you something that tells them that you will thrive. You may not even realize what it is they see. Take the chance on them, just as they are taking the chance on you.
Once you get there, remember everyone feels like “Hey, how’d I get here when Joe Campus and Jill Senior are so amazing!” But Joe Campus and Jill Senior are thinking the same thing about you. You’re so amazing in your own way.
Believe Wesleyan. They know who does well there.
Remember also: there are all kinds of support systems on campus. 1) tutoring services; 2) senior students in dorms who can help you find your way; 3) librarians who are whizzes at finding sources for you; 4) your professors who have office hours where you can ask your questions privately; 5) psychological services in case you just need a friend each week for an hour at the same time; 6) career services who will help you find your first, second, third or more internships over the summer; 7) your advisor who can help you choose your classes and can tell great professors. And on and on and on.
You’re going to be great there! : )
@Dustyfeathers , GREAT post. It’s refreshing to hear (read) people actually being supportive of these kids once in a while. There are so many dreary posters, many of which project their own life’s frustrations on these young people they don’t even know.
I get being realistic, but too many people on this forum, who I suspect are not professionals, pass themselves off as such and give what I call ‘lowest common denominator’ advice.
Yes of course you can do it!!! IMHO, it is important that you choose the right major that plays to your strengths but please believe in yourself. If you study 5 hours a night you are a worker and you can do it! I think that after reading CC many feel as if they could never be accepted to college nor succeed when they get there. In reality, that isn’t true. You sound like an amazing person who deserves a pat on the back an who should be reminded to believe in yourself! Bask in your achievements and go for it! If you didn’t take this opportunity you’d always wonder.
“I think that after reading CC many feel as if they could never be accepted to college nor succeed when they get there.”
I agree completely.