My senior year has been very busy, partly because of my college applications. Although it has been a very stressful period of time, it is still exciting when I think about getting in to college. It is good that I am studying in a prep school and my college counselor has been very supportive of me.
Before starting the process, I was really nervous and most of the things were confusing. As an example, writing an admissions essay is very different from any other essay you have ever written. When I first heard from my college counselor that “you should write an essay you have never written before, and explain yourself through a story of your life, rather than describing yourself with one word,” It didn’t make sense to me.
But after writing my own essay, I knew what she meant. After proofreading my essay, I could find a real me in there. You should not worry about what doesn’t make sense at first. You will learn everything; though one thing to have in mind is to be yourself.
Finding My Match
I started researching schools in the middle of my junior year. After finding the right matches with the help of my college counselor and host family, I visited some schools last summer. After visiting a few and talking to most of them, I decided to apply for more than 10 colleges - and later 15 colleges. I know it was a lot, but I had no choice. Besides finding a good match, I also needed financial aid. I worked really hard on my applications and finally I was done in March.
While waiting to hear from different colleges, it was hard for me to stay positive. When I was hearing from colleges late in March, I was extremely nervous. Before, opening each letter I first prayed and asked God to help me.
One of the colleges that I applied for was Hobart and William Smith. A few days ago, when I got a letter from them, I was too nervous to open it. I finally sent a message to my host mom saying that I couldn’t open this letter - that is how nervous I was. It is just horrible when you want to do something, but you can’t. After two and half hours, my host mom couldn’t wait to know about the decision.So I sent her the letter and didn’t look at it myself.
When I finally decided that I was ready to look at it, I opened the letter, and then I regretted not opening it earlier. I got in to Hobart and William Smith and I achieved a scholarship too. I didn’t know whether to cry or smile, but I was happy.
The final part of this long process is to make a decision between the schools you get into, which is challenging. As my college counselor says, the decision part is the same as getting married to someone- you can marry only one person, not all. I am expecting myself to pick a place where I will have a dynamic experience.
Considering my own experience from this process I have few things to mention for those who are applying for colleges. I think everyone is talented and good in their own ways, so there is nothing to worry about if you work hard. It is a stressful process, but trust yourself, stay patient and be confident. Because at the end you will definitely get in to one of your choices.