The Apology

Hi.

There is so much time that has gone by. Who is this Matthew? Who is this blog contributor? Where is he?

I’m always finding that out. Even right now. Before your eyes in 12 point font as I type this and reflect.

I find talk with little action supporting it odious. I have been ever so busy writing applications, essays and working with my counselor. Yet, if that is all there was to detour me, you would have seen many updates from me. What I had envisioned is not what I have expressed and demonstrated to you.

You may have experienced quite the lull with my absence. Yes, I was quite busy working on all these college goodies. I can now even say I’m at the exciting part of my life in which I’ve submitted applications. How cool. I’m finally at the point in which I only await the review of the admissions offices. The most exciting journey that has begun since I signed up for this very blog is only a continuation.

Wait! I made mistakes with you and me. I don’t make enough of them actually. Some of the finest learning, its very origin, is the experience of the mistake. A mistake is coveted and should be prized. If you are able to  take away from it what to do differently next time, it is fantastic.

Where did I fall down? Everywhere. From signing on too much responsibility to dealing with many personal issues, I had made many mistakes this year unlike ever before. I had always been far too afraid to make mistakes. I just… learned how?

I had envisioned this blog to something beyond what everyone saw potential for yet I was my own worst enemy in that I was not part of its fruition. In the grand scale of things, my senior year is quite the success. It is everything it should be: the year before college which challenges me in every facet. I have, without realizing it, finally found ways in which I could offer myself such a challenge. I have already grown so much yet to be able to challenge yourself is so very important.

I want to most of all, though, apologize. I thought at first that it would be far too difficult to find a real solution to all of this. All I could say was that I have a genuine interest in this project and I want to help, but perhaps I have fooled myself and all of you under the circumstances.

No — no I haven’t. I’m just learning outside of the classroom. I was busy working, you’ll have to understand. I didn’t intend to try to sign up for the course, but I did anyways. I didn’t even know who would be teaching it. Oh, me.

Thanks.

Sophomore Year and why it’s Unique

After midyear exams ended a few weeks ago, I did a celebratory jig, breathed a deep sigh of relief, and then took a nap. No, really- between those intense study sessions and seemingly never ending list of extracurriculars, sophomore year is a lot more tiring than I had originally anticipated.

I’ve always thought of sophomore year as the weirdly ambiguous in-between stage of one’s high school career. The first hurdles of adjusting to a new school in freshman year are over, and it doesn’t seem to have the same rushed, super important feel as that of junior or senior year (Yikes! Transcripts and college applications!). Make no mistake, though- this particular year still holds much weight in planning for college.

So why specifically is sophomore year so different from freshman year?

The Highs and Woes of Early Decision

I really would have preferred to call this post Early Decision: The X Effect.  The thing is that no one source gives you a straight answer about Early Decision.  You are advised to apply early, and yet are confronted with tons of “if”’s and “but”’s…  So should you really apply Early Decision?  Does it even help?  Is it worth it?  I applied Early Decision to my “dream school” and Early Action to all the others that I considered.  It’s funny now that a few months later I got out of my binding Early Decision agreement and am registered to attend a “second choice” school.

Junior Year: First Semester Recap, Second Semester Preview

Phew!  The first semester of the most grueling year in high school is officially over!

I leave it with words of wisdom to young sophomores and tips for weary second semester juniors.

Seniors always told me their junior year horror stories with a shudder… and rightfully so!  Everyone knows why junior year grades are so important.  No matter which college you go to, an Ivy League or state college or somewhere in between, your junior year grades are where admission officers zero in on first. They are a big deciding factor, in addition to your standardized test scores, extracurriculars, and essays.  And most terrifyingly: from what I’ve seen, this year is when the “best students” from sophomore year get burnt out.  Ambitions of going to UCLA could be obliterated in your junior year; it all depends on your preparation and focus.

Why is junior year so hard?

• more advanced classes: AP, IB, HP (at least, you SHOULD be taking harder classes if you want to stay competitive for college admissions)
• more extracurricular activities

It’s difficult to find a balance – there are only 24 hours in a day! The solution?

How-To: Make a Portfolio

In applying for colleges and scholarships, I have been asked many times to include a writing or artistic portfolio. It really helps the recipient get an understanding of your personality, interests, and even intelligence, through proper use of grammar and so forth. So how exactly is a portfolio made? Let’s start with the basics.

The New Girl: Meghan Joins The “C” Word

Why, hello, internet!

I’m going to start this off with the typical—albeit cliché—introduction: my name is Meghan, I’m a sophomore in high school, my zodiac sign is cancer, and I have two cats and a somewhat peculiar fixation regarding David Bowie and zebras. I can’t explain it either. My passions, however, are not limited to these idiosyncrasies; I enjoy an array of more typical activities such as art, politics, reading, and writing. Being the quintessential overachiever, I spend the majority of my time juggling extracurricular activities, sophomore class president and student council duties, community service events, and homework from my AP and honors classes. I’ve reported extensively for my school newspaper and Youth & Government publication, so I’m no stranger to the journalistic world.

I still have yet to decide what my plans for the next few years are, but I’m certain of something: I hope to move as far from my city as possible. I guess one can say that my career ambitions are in a constant state of evolution. Though I once considered my ultimate vocation to be a rock star (don’t laugh, I was ten), I’m beginning to lean toward political science or international relations, especially following my recent internship at a local political organization.

After attempting to maneuver through the hoards of college information that the typical high school student is bombarded with daily, I’m thrilled to have the privilege to join The “C” Word’s blogging team and therefore be able to chronicle my own journey in the college preparation process. It’s definitely going to be interesting.

So, nice to meet you and it’s great to be here!

Shelby Joins The “C” Word

Hello dears!

My name is Shelby and I’m new to The “C” Word blogging team.  I’m a high school senior living in Cypress, Texas.   My nickname is Mermaid.

I love to read, explore, and discuss current issues.  I love baking cupcakes, sewing, and yoga, and I’m one of those weird people who enjoys cleaning.  I am passionate about the human experience.  I believe we are all unique and special, but that many of us go through life not ever really knowing ourselves.

My high school career has been anything but normal.  I had to start a new high school in the middle of my junior year after I moved to a new city.  A twisted trick of fate caused me to catch a chronic virus (similar to mono) that kept me out of school for weeks at a time.  I ended up missing 75% of my first semester of my junior year.

Nothing can prepare you for those individual and scary occurrences in life.  I went from being on top of things, in honors classes, lots of extracurriculars, to not knowing if I’d be healthy enough to return to school.  The amount of absences I had was just ridiculous, and I was beginning to realize that if things kept up the way it was going, I’d have to repeat my whole year!

This wasn’t easy after having just changed schools.  I didn’t have the adjustment time I needed to make friends and find my niche.  I decided to take control of things.  As my health began to slowly return to me I was faced with the impossible task of keeping up with the “now” while learning the “past”.  The administration was insensitive to my needs, and didn’t attempt to work with me.  I’ve found public school to be very impersonal, and quite simply black and white.  I’m a gray person, who needs something a little different, a little more individualized.

I decided the best way to handle this suffocation of piles of make up work, an uncooperative school, and basically no social life, was to be home schooled.  If I could set my own schedule, I’d be able to catch up with my courses and not have to repeat a year.  And that’s exactly what I did.  I worked my little bottom off all summer and started my senior year a little ahead of the schedule.  I take classes through an on-line program that allows me to be very flexible.  I stayed sane and got out of my house by getting a part time job.

So that’s a little about me!  I’m finishing up with my last three credits for high school, and I will be graduating in June.  I just finished with the college application process and I’ve received all my replies.  What’s next?  The big decision.

Basically, I did it all on my own.  I’ve had to address all the “alternative” approaches to the college application experience.  I didn’t have a college counselor, or someone to remind me of SAT deadlines.  No one was there to tutor me when I was stuck.  I took all of this on myself, but ultimately found my success.  I’ve proved myself to be an extraordinary problem solver.

I hope that I can provide an alternative outlook to the college experience through my posts here at The “C” Word, as I myself have done nothing typically.

I’m honored to be joining the team and I’m looking forward to what’s to come!
Shelby, aka Miss Mermie ♥

P.S. If you think you’ve seen me before, you probably have.  I have my own personal little blog hosted by Blogger called p!nk.

“Homeness”: Transitioning from College Applicant to College Student

It’s my first Friday back from college. I’m waiting impatiently for my friend to arrive from Denver, a high school senior who’s visiting campus for the weekend. He’s participating in a scholarship competition all day tomorrow, one I competed for a year ago. I’ll be showing him a bit of campus and dorm life, welcoming him to the city, and perhaps finally sealing the transition from College Applicant to College Student.

My Experience with Personal College Counselors

Every high school has counselors who can guide you through the college application process and give you the information you need.  Unfortunately, the average student-to-counselor ratio is 500 to 1.  Clearly, sometimes you can’t get all the individual help that you need.

Click here to see my previous post about college counseling.

At the beginning of November, I began looking around for college counselors.  A few of my friends who attend Ivy League Universities encouraged me to hire one.  Counselors can help to plan out the summer before my senior year, and help me write and prepare college applications.

Around where I live, there is a chain of SAT /SAT II/ ACT/ AP prep and college counseling companies called Harvard Squared.  Their college counseling is top notch: they have gotten 60 % of their charges into UCSD, UCLA, UCBerkeley (the big 3 UC’s) or better.  The price is expensive, about $5000 for 11th and 12th, but from what I can see from their results and statistics, it will definitely be worth it come October senior year.

Harvard Square’s system is unique.

First, they had me take a personality test to see what possible careers would be right for me.  Then, the founder (a Harvard Alumni and Harvard undergraduate application reviewer) matched me up with one of the 7 or so counselors at the company.  They immediately provided me with a plan for my junior year, and a preliminary plan for summer 2009, regarding extracurriculars and academics.  I have since been communicating with my personal counselor (Berkeley alumni and Berkeley undergraduate application reviewer) for a month now through e-mail.  I will meet with him in person once a month until the college application process starts in October 2009, when I will see him probably once every week.

So far, I am pleased with my personal college counseling experience.  All of the counselors at Harvard Squared are very knowledgable, and have gotten most of their clients into top 20 schools.  A good handful have gotten into Johns Hopkins, Duke, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, and more.  My counselor motivates me and most importantly, keeps me accountable for my grades.

Words of advice about picking a personal college counselor:
1) Check their track record. Before finally hiring a counselor at Harvard Squared, I met with a few independent counselors.  Their list of colleges they have gotten their clients into did not impress me.  If you plan on going to Yale, you definitely shouldn’t hire a counselor who has only gotten students into UC Santa Barbara.  Hire a counselor that you know has gotten students with your similar ability into colleges that you want to get into.

2) Chemistry! It’s important that you actually like and respect your counselor.  They are being paid to help you.  If you can’t communicate well with your counselor, you are just wasting your time, his time, and your money.  Make sure that your rapport is good – it really can make the difference.

3) Don’t settle for less than the best. You’re going to be paying good money for a college counselor.  Be sure that he or she can get you exactly where you want to go.

And of course, remember that college counselors aren’t miracle workers.  Their job is to get you into the college that you want to go to, which ideally would be attainable, but just a little bit out of your reach.  A counselor will help you push the envelope, and make you a stand-out applicant.

The College Interview…and the Next One…and the Next One…

Over the course of my application frenzy, I did three separate admissions interviews. All were in-person, two with alumni and one was with an admissions rep. They were all in different locations, all had different tones, all asked different questions. But there was one uniting factor between all of them:

They terrified me.

The weight of an interview in your application profile will vary from school to school, and its importance will often depend on the rest of your application. For the most part, though, you’ll see that the interview isn’t ranked with nearly as much importance as your transcript, essay, etc.

Then what’s the point of interviewing? Well, your interviewing skills reflect your attitude in general, and an experienced, confident interviewee is someone who can be confident and successful on campus and in the world at large. Having good oral communication skills will take you far in the work force and everyday life. And plus, interviews for college admissions could definitely help you prepare for job interviews and scholarship interviews, where they play an even larger role.

I’ll profile a few of my interviews and offer you a few tips: