College / University / Higher Education, v. 2009
Since the old one was, well, old. And as Jadestone pointed out, more people are thinking about this now that weren’t then.
Continued from the 2008 version.
Date: July 13, 2009
Categories: Life
Comments RSS TrackBack 227 comments
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Kiga
in July 13th, 2009 @ 19:13I want to go to a college that has a good creative writing program, because that’s what I want to pursue. My mom says there’s one in Iowa, which is not too close from where I live, so… I’ve got a ways to think about it.
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Axa
in July 13th, 2009 @ 20:52Yaaaaay thank you GAPAs!
This thread will likely be filled with the sound of my weeping once the school years starts up again.218 on last thread (Jadestone) — That’s basically what I’m looking for too! You should look at the Claremont Colleges…hmm Middlebury apparently has a really good program too, though I have been told it is Too Cold for me in Vermont. Hmph!
Are there any colleges in particular that you are thinking of now?1 — There are so many schools with wonderful writing programs! Of course there’s a host of other factors involved…
You should enjoy your time not worrying about this stuff! seriouslyI’m excited, nervous, and vaguely depressed about all this at the same time…argh
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Jadestone
in July 13th, 2009 @ 21:412- Same about the emotions x_x Excited to be going somewhere new (and scared out of my wits because it means new people and I don’t deal well with people I haven’t known for ages), and really nervous for all the imaginable reasons >.<
I visited University of Vermont last December (I visited a few over winter break while on a hockey tournament) and decided it was too far north for me x_x
I don’t know where I want to go at all really. Just the one’s I’m visiting are on my list, I’m going more by a process-of-elimination method with all the college spam mail I’m getting (I also dread to check the email I wrote on the PSAT, last time I looked I had 800 new messages O.o)–take one and toss it because it’s too close to home, toss one because it’s a hard-core catholic school, another because it’s too cold in the upper peninsula, one’s to big… ect. I’ll just flail around until a few good ones sift through
Oberlin was recommended to me by a friend, who said when she visited she knew she didn’t really want to go there but thought I’d like it.What are you looking to go into (Axa or anyone else), if you have any idea? I really don’t know what I want to do–I mean, if I could do whatever I wanted and not worry about pay or anything, I’d like to write I think, implying a creative writing/english major. But I don’t want to teach, I don’t think I’d do well in a totally nonfiction (newspapers, ect) career, and I wouldn’t make a very good editor, so there go most jobs in that field, eh heh.
The other subject I’d like to continue in would be biology, which has just always made sense to me. Chemistry and physics I had a harder time with especially since I really really disliked (read: hated the very essence of) my teachers. Next year is AP bio though, for a period and a half, which will be exciting.
But if I can’t write (whilst living in a lighthouse on an island near a coastline
) I think it’d be really cool to be a research biologist, trekking through jungles and forests taking pictures of new species of bugs/frogs. I could possibly write about them as well, for a national geographic-esque magazine. That would be awesome, especially since I don’t seem to get mosquito bites anymore XD
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/gradster(1)/
in July 21st, 2009 @ 19:41[Snipped for location information that is too revealing. –Admin.]
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cellogirl26
in July 14th, 2009 @ 10:19Well, I want to go to a music college (to study, as you can guess, cello). BUT I’m not really sure how to find out about good music colleges. I mean I’m aware of places like Julliard (my dream college), but as for other places…?
Anyone else looking to pursue music?
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RoseQuartz
in July 14th, 2009 @ 14:15Me! Plus my college has to have a good geosciences program and theater program. I’ll probably end up going to Hamilton, because it pretty much fits all of my criteria and we’d get free tuition anyway.
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SudoRandom
in July 21st, 2009 @ 07:34Hmm, maybe I’ll go to Hamilton. They have the programs I’m interested in. More research will ensue… (There’s no escaping, RoseQuartz!)
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RoseQuartz
in July 21st, 2009 @ 09:41Oh, I won’t mind if you come to Hamilton. That would be fun, actually. Since I’ll be a junior by the time you start.
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rabbity24
in July 14th, 2009 @ 15:51Well, I’ve heard of two music schools, Westchester and Peabody, somewhere on the east coast in Pennsylvania New Jersey area. I’m thoroughly involved in my high school’s band program, marching band, concert band, pit band, and hopefully next year jazz band, but I’m not looking to pursue music because I’m not good enough at it and there are many more things I’m more interested in doing with my life.
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the Book Thief (awesome book, by the way)
in July 14th, 2009 @ 13:31I want to find a college for my undergrad. that has good math, science, and social stidies programs.
for my graduate degree, I’ll be looking for something more specialized.
I’ve got a few years to go before I even have to really think about any of this, but I’ll be applying to high schools this year and I am considering a 2-year high school program, meaning I might only have 3 years.
actually, if I do a 2-year high school program, i’ll likely end up at the U of Washington, since they have a strong early entrance program, my parents went there, and it’s close to home.
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Kagcomix
in July 14th, 2009 @ 14:33I kind of wish I could have done a two year high school program, in some respects. As much as I complain about being a little kid inside there is also a major part of me that goes “Two more years of highschool? DEATH”.
I’m starting to worry about colleges/ university. I really hate how when you hit grade 11 EVERYONE starts asking you where you want to go. I have no idea. I’d like to get a good solid degree that I can actually get a job from (I’m not going to be doing an art history course for that reason
). I will probably wind up going somewhere and being mathy. The other problem with people asking me about my post highschool plans is that I get really uncomfortable around questions from strangers.
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rabbity24
in July 14th, 2009 @ 15:53Don’t feel bad. My dad’s been pushing college on my since just about seventh grade. During freshman year I already visited two colleges. I’m not totally averse to it, but it feels kinda early and I would really prefer not to start to worry about it just yet.
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Axa
in July 14th, 2009 @ 16:392 — Oh wow, that’s crazy, because I’m basically in the same predicament! My dad always tries to convince me that I want to be journalist, but that’s really not the kind of writing I want to do. I don’t think I could really be much of a teacher either since I spend a good portion of each school year complaining about how my fellow students are complete morons
I have thought about librarian type jobs or museum curator but I dunno. I know that what I want to do is write, but I always feel like I need another career first…urghOkay my suggestion to everyone is to use collegeboard (website) to look up colleges. They have a neat search engine (it’s called “college matchmaker”) that lets you specify all the things you want in a college and it displays matching results. You can be as picky or as vague as you want. It’s actually kind of fun! Or maybe that’s just me not having a life
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Kiga
in July 14th, 2009 @ 17:28My dad works at some colleges, so I might get discounts to them.
2 – thanks!
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Kokonilly
in July 15th, 2009 @ 00:01Ah, a new one of these.
I retook the SAT and rocked the Reading section – but got ninety points less in the Math section than I did last year. Tell me how that works.
On the bright side, I took the ACT, and got a 32 overall.
My parents have been pushing college since I was eleven – though, that’s not very surprising, considering that was 8th grade.
I’ve been to Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern (University – there’s a College in St. Paul ), and the University of Minnesota.
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cellogirl26
in July 15th, 2009 @ 08:53Wow…Harvard and MIT??? What are you interested in?
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Kokonilly
in July 15th, 2009 @ 16:05Ah… please pay in mind I have not actually toured these colleges, but I’ve been on campus long enough to get a feel for the place. For example, I took math for two years at the University of Minnesota, and I attended a three-week camp at Northwestern.
I would like to pursue the physical sciences or medicine, but I’m open to opportunities at this point.
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Jadestone
in July 15th, 2009 @ 11:409- Haaaate standardized tests. I took the ACT once each freshman/sophomore year, and once last february I got a 33, with a 36 in reading and 35 in english. I was pleased. Took it again in April with the rest of my school and got a 34 overall but only a 35 in reading and a 33 in english. Whut? It’s annoying.
I definitely recommend everyone taking it several times, there’s a surprising amount of variation in how difficult they can be.
Haven’t taken the SAT since I took it with some classmates in 6th grade, but I took two subject tests this past June, US History and Literature. Didn’t do as well as I wanted : /
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the Book Thief (awesome book, by the way)
in July 15th, 2009 @ 13:44I hate standerdized tests as well, but I actually enjoyed the SAT and ACT (I took them last year- 7th grade) because I didn’t already know some of the stuff, so studying was more fun and the test wasn’t as boring. (I’m really happy with how I did- I got in the 90th percentile!) But, next year I have to take the ISEE (independant school entrence exam) to apply for high school, and it is LAME!! (why can’t they use my SAT or ACT?)
Anyway, because I took the SAT and ACT and actually did well, I have been forced to think more about colleges, which I’m not sure I like. I am, after all, in the 8th grade.
I also have been getting a lot of awards from the John Hopkins program (what’s it like, Kokonilly?) University of WA (I live in seattle), CTY talent search, and some other stuff… I am excited and all, I just don’t know if I want to be thinking about college right now… I’m only 13!
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Kagcomix
in July 15th, 2009 @ 13:157- That matchmaker thingy sounds awesome.
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Lizzie
in July 15th, 2009 @ 14:284 – cellogirl – I’m going off to a conservatory in Ohio this fall as a violin performance major. I don’t know how old you are, but I’ll assume that you’ve got a few more years before you apply.
First, a list of random conservatories, off the top of my head, from hardest to get into to easiest (order is approximate after the first few): Curtis (don’t bother unless you’re a child prodigy), Juilliard, Colburn (in LA), New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman (in Rochester), Manhattan School of Music, Mannes, Peabody (part of Johns Hopkins), Oberlin (conservatory is part of Oberlin College), Shepherd School (part of Rice), and I know I’m forgetting some.
Then there’s the universities that have top music programs: Northwestern, USC, Indiana…If you want to study music, you have two choices: Go to a conservatory and get a highly focused education, or go to a normal college and get a broader education, but perhaps less good musically. I’ll be talking about getting into conservatory, because that’s what I decided to do and because it’s more specialized; going to a normal college and majoring in music, the application process is basically the same.
Getting into conservatories: First, it’s important to start thinking about this well before your senior year. Keep in mind that, if you choose to go conservatory route, you’ll be applying to a specific teacher’s studio rather than the school as a whole; the teacher will be the one who accepts or rejects you. It will greatly increase your chances of getting in if you have worked with the teacher beforehand. With this in mind, GO TO SUMMER PROGRAMS. Find teachers you think you might work with, and apply to those summer camps to have lessons with them; also, these give you the opportunity to be around and play with other kids who are at an extremely high level, if you choose the right place.
If you choose to apply to a conservatory, as well as the paper application, you’re also going to have to do an audition. For violin, these usually require at least one concerto movement, two movements of solo Bach, and a performance etude; I played Tchaikovsky concerto, Bach A minor Grave and Fugue, and Paganini 24. You’ll want to start working on these the summer before senior year, pretty much. Auditions are stressful, and you’ll be flying all over the place; try to get as many opportunities to perform your audition pieces as possible.
How to find good places: Talk with your teacher. Go to summer camps and talk to students at various places. If there’s any place nearby you’re interested in, try to get a trial lesson.
Again, I don’t know how good you are or how old you are, so feel free to ask questions for more specific answers (and I’ll try to check back here). About Juilliard: it’s a good school, but it’s hard to find people to do stuff like chamber music with because everyone is very focused on solo repertoire (orchestra also suffers because of that), and it has a reputation as being somewhat competitive in a negative way – cutthroat. The most important thing when you’re studying music at a conservatory is your teacher; make sure to get a (preferably several) trial lesson to see if you’re a good “fit” for the teaching style.
I’ll probably think of some more stuff later, but there’s a bit of an overview. Feel free to ask questions.
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cellogirl26
in July 15th, 2009 @ 21:00Wow. Thank you SO MUCH.
Just one question: our family is upper middle class, and I’m under the mindset that most conservatories are expensieve. VERY much so. Are there scholarship oppurtunities for any of these? Obviously a music scholarship might work to a general university, but obviously it won’t to a conservatory because….everyone is amazing at music.
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Lizzie
in July 15th, 2009 @ 22:00My family is in somewhat of the same situation, financially, and yes, there are scholarships; the amount, however, depends on the school. I applied to four places, and was accepted and offered scholarships at all. However, the amount ranged from $4k a year to $22k a year (all cost roughly the same – $40-$50k per year). These were merit scholarships; however, most places also offer need-based. Also, if one school offers you less than another, but you really want to go there, don’t be afraid to call the financial aid office and talk to them – you might be able to get some more. Curtis and Colburn are tuition-free; however, because of this, they’re bloody hard to get into (and have insane audition requirements).
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cellogirl26
in July 16th, 2009 @ 10:48Thanks again!
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Alice
in July 17th, 2009 @ 13:25I realized last night that I’m a junior. In less than two years I’ll be out of high school entirely forever, and looking back, it was two years ago that I started school, but it seems so horribly recently. I met Eva and H and H when they were juniors… it’s kind of hard to believe. And I still don’t know what I want to do with my life, much less which college I want to go to, and how I am EVER going to pay for it. I’m so scared!
Of course, I probably shouldn’t be freaking out, because I still have two years, while some of the people here don’t have ANY. But it doesn’t make me any less frightened.
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/gradster(1)/
in July 18th, 2009 @ 12:24Sidenote: I quite agree, Alice. And I don’t care if I shouldn’t or not; I definitely am.
I only just figured out last night that there are a grand total of two careers I am interested in. One is interpreting. I love languages and people, and would likely enjoy traveling (I never have…), and I would definitely enjoy helping people. The entire concept is nice, actually. Helping people by making it possible for them to understand each other.
The other is physical therapy. I love people, the human body, and I’d be helping people here as well. I’m a little apprehensive, though, because I was told last night that the schools for it are even more competitive than medical schools, which I’ve always thought were the hardest to get into.
*sighs* I just don’t know. It seems like everyone’s got a plan but me. And all of my ideals are just crashing to the ground.
-A
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Elias Eiholzer-Silver
in July 18th, 2009 @ 12:44You formulate your plan in college. Remember that you can always transfer if you don’t like the college or change what you’re studying.
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Kokonilly
in July 18th, 2009 @ 21:54But transferring in college is really, really hard. Some colleges don’t even accept transfers. In my eyes, it’s too much work. Just pick a college you like and stick with it! Go preplanning!
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Elias Eiholzer-Silver
in July 19th, 2009 @ 03:47Bs, It’s easy. The idea that you have to stick with your college is the main source of anxiety for high school people.
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Kokonilly
in July 20th, 2009 @ 20:12I heard this from lots of reputable people… including my mother… not people who just want to make me anxious.
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oxlin
in August 3rd, 2009 @ 19:57It is probably a good idea to keep in mind that transfering is possible. Sometimes it really doesn’t work out at one school and it becomes hard on you to stay. You have many years yet, though.
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Jadestone
in July 19th, 2009 @ 10:1214- If you’re worried about the lack of job openings in physical therapy, try looking into occupational therapy. That’s what my mom is. It’s along the same lines as physical therapy, she helps people who have muscular dystrophy, trouble walking, bad hand-eye coordination, those kinds of things with tasks like writing, motor skills, ect. She works in a school (not mine thankfully x_x) so she gets a lot of time off and it pays pretty well, but there’s also opportunities in hospitals, clinics, the like. Even with the economy being what it is she still gets phone calls with job offerings pretty regularly.
I went to visit Washington University in St. Louis Missouri this weekend. The buildings were all very pretty, the new ones built to look older for the most part. It’s right next to a very big park, in the middle of which there is a zoo, only 3 miles from campus, and it’s free. Big plus there. I haven’t decided if I’m going to consider it though…
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in July 19th, 2009 @ 10:34(16) I suspect there will be plenty of jobs in both physical and occupational therapy when people my age start falling apart. Another nice thing about that line of work is that it’s portable: you can take it anywhere you want to live.
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/gradster(1)/
in July 19th, 2009 @ 11:11@17 – What’s an example of one you can’t? Aside from agriculture, I mean.
@16 – I’m not necessarily worried about job openings… I’m worried about how difficult it’s going to be to get a degree and all. Still, I’ll look into that… GAPA, would it be possible for me to get in contact with Jadestone’s mother to ask her a few questions? Or maybe I could ask by proxy.
@15.1.1 – Are you absolutely sure about that?
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in July 19th, 2009 @ 11:21University professors have to go where the jobs are, and it’s hard for them to move once they’re tenured. If you’re in the military, you go where you’re sent. If you want to edit science magazines, you’ll probably end up in New York, Washington, or the San Francisco Bay area. Physical therapists have much more freedom of movement than many other people do.
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Kokonilly
in July 20th, 2009 @ 20:13I took an interest inventory, and apparently I’m very inquisitive or intellectual or something along the lines of that.
The number-one career they offered was ‘pharmacist’.
The worst career for me, apparently, is ‘art teacher’.
I just thought that was interesting. Sorry for the lack of smileys, it’s not like me to do that.
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Jadestone
in July 20th, 2009 @ 21:19The problem with tests like that (or lots of personality quizzes and such) for me is I always know which question answers point to what you’ll get, so I never trust myself to be unbiased while taking it. : /
18- Did you have any questions in particular?
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JJjetplane-girlw/cats and Perstialla
in July 25th, 2009 @ 20:53That’s exactly my problem with those too.
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Lizzie
in July 20th, 2009 @ 22:45I took one of those “find your future career” tests and it suggested I be either a bus driver or a ship’s captain.
I get carsick really, really easily.
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/gradster(1)/
in July 21st, 2009 @ 19:43@20 – Not really… It was just general stuff about her job, what she had to do to get where she is today, what the work environment is like… How it differs from physical therapy, too, and what the differences in workloads and work styles are… Just a lot of general stuff. Anything you could say in answer to “What’s your job like?” – with the added footnote of “… in relation to your education beforehand and your experience during it?”.
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Eli Romley
in July 25th, 2009 @ 13:14Mom is making me do student council because it looks good on college applications.
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Axa
in July 31st, 2009 @ 09:19In response to the transferring colleges conversation, I imagine it is very stressful but it is in no way impossible. The great majority (if not all) of the colleges I’ve looked at have had sections for transferring students. It is of course different than applying in the normal cycle which is why it is not preferred by anyone, but it’s definitely possible.
It’s great to plan, though! Not all transfers come about because of lack of planning, sometimes a school isn’t what you thought it would be. That’s why visit and etc are importantugh I need to work on more stuff right now…research and “brainstorming” and that
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Zallie
in July 31st, 2009 @ 22:29Zallie’s two cents on college admissions:
College applications are only as stressful as you make them.
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oxlin
in August 3rd, 2009 @ 19:59I applied to many small liberal arts colleges and I really love the one that I attend. My advice is to visit the schools you are thinking of attending. If you have applied somewhere, overnight visits can be useful too. Good luck! I will be a sophomore this fall. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
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Jadestone
in August 3rd, 2009 @ 20:07I’m on a big college tour this week… this morning I visited Tufts and Harvard, but I figure it’s okay to say that since now I’m in a totally different state, yes?
I’ll probably post my thoughts/rewives of the colleges soon, I’m trying to write them down in this journal but it’s probably a good idea to type them up so they don’t get lost. Have to make a phone call now though, I’ll check into MB later if I can. Bye!
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Faye Beauchamp
in August 4th, 2009 @ 09:27I love my conservatory. Freedom is supported so much – freedom in music, freedom of opinion, freedom to experiment, freedom to make mistakes and then look like a dummy… It’s wonderful discovering my own voice, but also working off of other people’s.
It’s been pretty easy to find regular gigs, for like parties and weddings, and my band is pretty popular. Too bad we might have to kick off the drummer, he’s such a… meanie.
The scariest thing is that here, housing is incredibly limited – half the freshmen class has to live off campus, along with all the other classes. I got dorm housing last year, but I’m going for an apartment this coming one. Sophomore year, baby!
Just some general advice: Get an early start on scholarships. As in, if this is your senior year coming up, you should have started in June or earlier. Some scholarships are already over that you could have applied for. I used Fastweb and Zinch to find scholarships; Zinch also lets you connect with colleges easily.
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Axa
in August 4th, 2009 @ 21:42College visits…hopefully I will get to visit one of my top choices with this program they’re doing, but other than that I’m probably going to have to wait until after acceptance letters and whatnot go out to do any of that. I wish that wasn’t the case, since I have had the chance to look at prospective California schools and it did help a lot. oh well.
27 — ooh exciting! I look forward to hearing all about it.
I have a question…other than being distracting in general, does anyone think that having a facebook causes problems/could cause problems during the application process? I don’t really like the whole social netowrking thing anyway but I suppose I’ll have to get one eventually in order to stay in touch with high school people (although whether or not I want ot do that is debatable harhar). But is it something you think colleges consider at all (ie they go snooping around on the internet). I obviously wouldn’t be a moron about using the freakin internet but I’m just wondering :/
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oxlin
in August 5th, 2009 @ 09:57Axa- most people don’t tend to worry about Facebook when applying to colleges but I’d make sure your facebook wasn’t a bad representation of yourself anyway just because it makes sense. The use that I’ve most often seen is people who are about to attend a college creating groups for “Example College class of 2013” so that they can discuss who is rooming with who and begin to meet people.
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Faye Beauchamp
in August 5th, 2009 @ 19:46Axa – YES Facebook can DEFINITELY cause problems for you in applying for college and applying for jobs, so don’t be stupid about what you put up. It’s really that simple. The general rule is that if you don’t want your parents to see it, then don’t put it up.
Having a facebook is great because you can connect with your college and your peers, show them you’re more than a test score. I’m a “fan” of my college and receive regular updates about stuff happening.
Colleges monitor their students’ facebooks too. One admissions officer told us a story about how they used facebook to find the students who had brought alcohol on campus (which is against the rules). So don’t post pictures of crazy stuff.
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Axa
in August 5th, 2009 @ 22:13man I don’t even now what I’m trying to ask here…I know not ot be a moron in real life and then post pix of it on the interweb, so that’s not an issue, I just wondered if having an account could be a problem in general? As in do admissions offices look into stuff like that (and try to find out interests and stuff through it too)?
Thanks to both of you for your input! You can tell I’m going crazy if this is the kind of stuff I’m bothering people with. :/ Also is facebook really necessary for college at all because I am loathe to be cataloged as these sites invariably do. blah.
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Kokonilly
in August 6th, 2009 @ 00:15Axa, from what my parents tell me, admissions officers do take a look around on teh internetz to see if you so stupid things. But I think they just look to see if you’re doing anything devastatingly stupid (my mom disagrees, saying they look to see what kind of colleges you’re interested in: ex. if you put up ‘I don’t want to go to [blank]’, it closes doors, but I’m not sure about this). But I seriously doubt they would say ‘hmm, Axa likes knitting, better cross HER off the list’. Unless you have devastatingly stupid things as your interests (ex. ‘getting drunk and getting into car crashes’ as a favorite activity), I think you’re okay.
My mom’s my friend on Facebook, and despite how stupid that may seem, it could probably be a good idea if you really do like your parents and don’t have stuff like ‘Axa thinks her parents are annoying’ as your status message.
Anyway. I hope that helped.
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CC
in August 6th, 2009 @ 12:17I’m just starting to think about this stuff and it’s weird because I thought that I’d be really stressed out about it because it’s so important but actually I’m really relaxed about the whole university picking thing. It’s kind of scaring me how laid back I am actually…I’m NEVER laid back about anything and all of a sudden I am for one of the most life changing decisions of my life!!
Anyway the worst part about it all is that people always ask me ‘Which college do you want to go to?’ and the truth is I don’t know! ‘I’m a sophomore and I don’t know what I’m doing with my life yet!! Jeez!!’ I feel like screaming back. Well, I guess I do kind of know what I would like to be – a teacher or something involved in education.
Lately I’ve been having this really weird feeling though which is starting to freak me out. I mean, I tell people that I want to be a teacher, but then I start to wonder, ‘Do I really want to be a teacher? Is it really what I want to do with my life?” My mom said that these doubts are normal but they’re still confusing me because I feel like maybe I shouldn’t get all into education only to find that it’s not what I want. I know that I can always change my job or the direction of my life, but wouldn’t it just be so much easier to pick with what I want to be now and stick with it?
Sorry for the long post I didn’t mean to be so carried away! I’m sure I bored everyone to death…oh yeah and I’m new by the way so still getting used to this.
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35
CC
in August 6th, 2009 @ 12:19Sorry I meant to say I’m a junior not a sophomore ha ha I can’t believe I don’t even know what grade I’m in!!!
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Jadestone
in August 6th, 2009 @ 22:18Re:Facebook: I am morrally against me getting one because I know it’s just going to turn into another facade for me and will turn me into even more of a stalker, heh. But it seems like it’s the only way to keep in touch with people now, like the seniors who graduated last year : / It’s like email and IMing’s already gone obsolete.
Also I would NEVER “friend” my parents or let them get a facebook. O.o I am not really friends with them honestly.
But I may break down and get one after next year… it’s just… I hate losing touch with people : / And I’d be afraid of not knowing anyone when going to college, having no idea what my roommate will be like…
Also wouldn’t it be awesome to go to school with another museblogger? Oxlin and Penty you have my envy
29- So you have seen west coast schools, and I’ve got the east down now XD I’ll post my thoughts/reviews of the ones I visited when I get home saturday/sunday probably. Where have you visited so far?
And scholerships: Oy, I have been meaning to sign up for them since June (and looked for some) but I only seem to find the ones that are weird (“For tall/short/left handed people only!!1!”) or to specific schools, and I don’t know where I want to go but most of them don’t offer merit-based scholarships, ahhhhg. *pulls at hair*
This computer is hard to read off of, I should probably go to bed…
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Axa
in August 7th, 2009 @ 00:58Jadestone– Those are my thoughts exactly! ( as usual, lol) I was looking at some statistics on Amherst’s website and it said of the 2012 class 432 of the 440 students had joined the ’12 group and I’m just like WHYYYYY.
Speaking of which, I’m interested in your impressions of Amherst and Williams! (Actually, I don’t know if you visited both/either, but I’m still asking
) Those two are my top choices along with Middlebury.I haven’t actually looked at many colleges…I took a tour of Occidental, didn’t like it much. I’ve been to the Scripps campus many times and absolutely loved it! It is just a lovely and wonderful place.
34— She’s right, you don’t need to stress about that right now, and it definitely is normal to feel that way! Most people don’t know what they want to do with the rest of their lives at this point, and things change a lot once you go to college. Maybe think about what it is about teaching/education that interests you.
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Jadestone
in August 7th, 2009 @ 19:3537- I visited both Williams and Amherst
Both were gorgeous, especially Williams. My more detailed impression I’ll post when I write up reviews, but I did really like them (along with a lot of stuff out here, haha…) I didn’t see Middlebury, I don’t remember why, maybe I thought it was too small? Or maybe just to far from where we are, haha.34- Don’t worry about changing your mind later about what you want to do, or if you’re not sure.Most people change their major like… 5 times I think was the average? I don’t even know what I really want to go into. Oy.
Done with colleges! So overall I went to: Tufts, Harvard, Brown, Wesleyan, Williams, Amherst, and Dartmouth. *is dead* Flying home tomorrow, so until I get back, bye!
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Axa
in August 8th, 2009 @ 15:58OH MAN I’m so
jealousenvious. I can’t wait to hear what you thought arglergjkgab
Middlebury is pretty isolated in Vermont, but that sounds awesome during summer over here lol
I’m going to go take some virtual tours and cry now…:lol:
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Jadestone
in August 8th, 2009 @ 23:14Tufts
Campus:
– on a hill, have to walk up/down it for classes, dorms, eating places, ect
– but you can sled on the hill in winter!
– A fair amount of grass and trees
– Closish to Boston–is in Medford I think, like Boston suburbs.
– A 10-20 minute walk to everywhere on campus
– Very clean, no litter or anything
– Wi-fi across campus/quads and in all academic buildingsDorms:
– Not air conditioned
– No wi-fi in the dorms, need a cable
– okay sized, smallish window though
– bathrooms ???? didn’t get to see them.Classes:
– requirement for 3 semesters of a language/3 of a cultural course
– requirement for 2 math/science/humanity classes as well (different for engineers)
– Research opportunities in the year and over the summer as well
– Average class size around 23, largest about 150
– Taught by professors, not grad studentsStudy Abroad:
– There’s a summer program in the French Alps that sounds absolutely fantastic–laid back, held in a old monastery donated to Tufts, you can live with a host family; you don’t have to speak french; there was a course that sounded really interesting in mountain botany where you wander the mountains and look at wildflowers for 6 weeks and learn about their ues
– For normal study abroad, in non-english speaking countries you must speak that language and take your classes in it
– You can however present your own program that you found in any country and they will look at it and most likely approve you to go on it and transfer your credits backHarvard
Campus:
– Very urban… was really hard to even find the place with all those weird one-way streets and strange turns in the road. I’ve never been so grateful for Chicago’s grid system of streets x_x
– Still had grassy quads with a few trees around
– Old buildings but nice architecture
– Wi-fi all overDorms:
– Housing for freshman–you live in a double room, and the rooms around you (mostly above/below) are all off one staircase. You and this group are kind of a small community (freshman all can eat in the same place that upperclassman aren’t allowed to eat in, so the first few weeks they don’t feel so alone)
– After freshman year, an overly excited upperclassman will come to your door when you should be sleeping (probably in costume) to tell you what house you’ll be in for the next 3 years , aka the best house aka their house. I’m not exactly sure what the houses exactly are, but there are quite a few of them I guess, and the determine where you live the next 3 years? We kind of lost on the way there and missed the first half of the info session >.< It actually sounded pretty nice, I think.Classes:
– They didn’t really talk a lot about them besides saying they were small and not taught by grad students (everywhere said this). Possibly to avoid scaring everyone away? XDStudy Abroad:
– Uhh… they have it, not actually sure on details, I think we missed that bit tooBrown
Campus:
– Semi-Urban
– Hilly, but not as much so as Tufts, fair amount of grass/trees
– Also had nice architecture and interesting looking buildings
– Yet another sledding hill XD
– Close to the ocean
– Free transportation on busses/ect for all studentsClasses:
– Small class size
– Taught by professors
– Lots of research opportunities
– 85% of students who apply to grad school from Brown are acceptedStudy Abroad:
-…I forgot to write down the info we heard on this, it’s probably on the website though…Out of time on the comp at the moment, but I’ll type up the rest later.
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40.1
Faye Beauchamp
in August 11th, 2009 @ 12:25Oh, my friend goes to Tufts! She looooooves it. Got a full ride. Yeah Jumbos!
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41
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in August 9th, 2009 @ 02:18As of next month, I hear, Brown will also have Emma Watson.
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41.1
Zallie
in August 9th, 2009 @ 12:03That’s funny, because I heard she was going to Columbia in NYC.
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41.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in August 9th, 2009 @ 12:48Yale and Trinity College, Cambridge, were also on her short list, but the latest news I’ve heard is that she settled on Brown. If so, it’s a good choice. It’s a great school academically. I’ve been impressed with Brown alumni I’ve met in graduate school and on the job.
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42
Axa
in August 9th, 2009 @ 12:22Interesting! I’ve been reading some stuff about the Harvard campus that is in line with what you said. My friend (who really wants to go there) was trying to explain to me how the housing situation to me, she claims it’s like Hogwarts lolll
That Tufts programs sounds amazing. I want to wander around looking at wildflowers! Man!
Brown sounds nice too. Argh I have more comments but I’ll wait for the second half!
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43
Jadestone
in August 9th, 2009 @ 14:18Haha. Yes, Emma Watson is going to Brown, though they didn’t mention her when I was there
Okay, I’m typing up my stuff in a word document so I can save it more often, and adding more basic information to it along with my thoughts, so it may be a few more hours till I post it.
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44
Fio (aka La Mort and many other names)
in August 10th, 2009 @ 11:32Brown sounds like a great school, but I personally crossed it off my list when I couldn’t navigate their website. I was looking to see if they had a film major….and I couldn’t find a list of majors anywhere.
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45
Jadestone
in August 11th, 2009 @ 22:56Sorry about STILL NOT POSTING guys, the other members of my alleged family are hogging the computer where it’s saved. Grumblegrumblemumble.
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46
oxlin
in August 13th, 2009 @ 00:1436- somebody post about the Midwest! I live here when not in college and I applied to 6 (I think) midwestern schools and one school in the pacific northwest. Come visit schools in the Midwest!
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47
Axa
in August 13th, 2009 @ 13:13I considered Oberlin and Kenyon for a bit… I’m actually not applying to any Midwestern schools which seems like a shame.
I should be working on essays right now actually…argh
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48
oxlin
in August 13th, 2009 @ 21:40Some schools in the midwest: Albion College, Alma College, Alverno College, Antioch College, Beloit College, Calvin College, Carleton College, Coe College, Cornell College, DePaul, Earlham College, Grinnell College, Gustavus Adolphus College, Hiram College, Hope College, Kalamazoo College, Kenyon College, Knox College, Lawrence University, Marquette University, Macalester College, Northwestern University, Oberlin College, Purdue University, Ripon College, St. Olaf College, University of Chicago. This list does not include many schools especially state universities. I made the list starting with places I applied to and then I listed places from a book about choosing colleges that I used and that my brother now uses. Feel free to ask me questions about Midwestern Colleges (though I know nothing about some of these colleges and I’d tell you that if you asked about one I had no knowledge of), college in general, freshman year of college, what I like about my college, etc.
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Jadestone
in August 13th, 2009 @ 21:54(still on old comp, uuhhhhhggg)
I don’t really want to go to college in the midwest… I have lived here all my life, and I am ready for a change of scenery. I refuse to go anywhere close to home (aka in IL (or Wisconsin, or Indiana)) as well.
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oxlin
in August 13th, 2009 @ 22:5949- That is just fine, I just noticed that no one is discussing midwestern schools here and I wanted to provide some examples of colleges that people could explore.
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51
oxlin
in August 16th, 2009 @ 12:14Who is starting college this year? I know Penty is, is anyone else?
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52
Vendaval
in August 24th, 2009 @ 22:21Aww man, I wish I could apply to Williams and Harvard and Brown and Tufts with confidence, but my school has this service called Naviance, anyone else use it? The all-knowing scattergrams tell me that I will not be accepted to any of those.
I recently went on a tour of Bostonian colleges, including Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard. I will be visiting Oberlin soon.
As has been said, the Fiske Guide is helpful.I’m looking at Macaulay (Hunter, Lehman, Brooklyn, City College), McGill, Oberlin, Boston University, Bard, Saint Mary’s, Emory?
Boston University
Academics
-Varied, plenty of programs and classes to try.
-Engineering seems to bee a strength.
-APs accepted for 4 credits, plenty of accelerated programs for things like graduation in 4 years with a BA and a Masters.Campus
-Long, stretching down the Charles River.
-Very urban, but there is a campus. More like NYU than George Washington or Hunter.Housing
-Freshman housing is in huge dorms, after that it’s in Boston or in nice brownstones owned by BU.
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 13:13Naviance is stupid. Don’t worry about it too much, really. Essays and interviews count for a lot more than you’d think.
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53
Axa
in August 27th, 2009 @ 22:0652 –I don’t know, I would still apply to those schools if you really want to go. First of all because I don’t think anyone here wouldn’t be a good candidate…And as long as you have safety school there’s really no harm in it. I have read so many stories of people who said “my counselor told me not to apply to Harvard and I got in! HA!” or something to that effect
I think Oberlin is really awesome based on the stuff they’ve sent me. I feel kind of guilty about not applying since they’ve been sending me fliers for awhile but…ah well
Bard! Oh man I really wanted to apply to Bard initially, I think they have some senior project option instead of a thesis where you can write a book and I thought that was the greatest thing ever. I also just read something in the paper about their music festival they always have where they explore a given composer intensively…I think it was Wagner this year.
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Jadestone
in August 30th, 2009 @ 14:3952- Yeah, I’d say apply anyway. Who knows?
My family’s friend’s daughter is going to Bard. I think I looked at it and thought it was too small for me? Don’t remember.
Has anyone figured out what to write for their essays? At one point I was considering talking about NaNoWriMo…
THE LONG-BELATED LIST
Tufts
Basic Information:
– Location: Medford/Somerville, MA
– Undergraduates: ~5,000 Graduates: ~3,700Total students: ~8,500
– Percent applicants admitted: 26%
– Testing:
– ACT: 30-33
– SAT: Reading: 670-750; Math: 670-750; Writing: 670-750Campus:
– on a hill, have to walk up/down it for classes, dorms, eating places, ect
– but you can sled on the hill in winter!
– A fair amount of grass and trees
– Closish to Boston–is in Medford I think, like Boston suburbs.
– A 10-20 minute walk to everywhere on campus
– Very clean, no litter or anything
– Wi-fi across campus/quads and in all academic buildingsDorms:
– Not air conditioned
– No wi-fi in the dorms, need a cable
– okay sized, smallish window though
– bathrooms ???? didn’t get to see them.Classes:
– requirement for 3 semesters of a language/3 of a cultural course
– requirement for 2 math/science/humanity classes as well (different for engineers)
– Research opportunities in the year and over the summer as well
– Average class size around 23, largest about 150
– Taught by professors, not grad studentsStudy Abroad:
– There’s a summer program in the French Alps that sounds absolutely fantastic–laid back, held in a old monastery donated to Tufts, you can live with a host family; you don’t have to speak french; there was a course that sounded really interesting in mountain botany where you wander the mountains and look at wildflowers for 6 weeks and learn about their ues
– For normal study abroad, in non-english speaking countries you must speak that language and take your classes in it
– You can however present your own program that you found in any country and they will look at it and most likely approve you to go on it and transfer your credits backHarvard
Basic Information:
– Location: Cambridge, MA
– Undergraduates: ~6,600 Graduates: ~12,000
– Percent applicants admitted: 8%
– Testing:
– ACT: 31-35
– SAT: Reading: 690-800; Math: 700-780; Writing: 690-790Campus:
– Very urban… was really hard to even find the place with all those weird one-way streets and strange turns in the road. I’ve never been so grateful for Chicago’s grid system of streets x_x
– Still had grassy quads with a few trees around
– Old buildings but nice architecture
– Wi-fi all overDorms:
– Housing for freshman–you live in a double room, and the rooms around you (mostly above/below) are all off one staircase. You and this group are kind of a small community (freshman all can eat in the same place that upperclassman aren’t allowed to eat in, so the first few weeks they don’t feel so alone)
– After freshman year, an overly excited upperclassman will come to your door when you should be sleeping (probably in costume) to tell you what house you’ll be in for the next 3 years, aka the best house aka their house. I’m not exactly sure what the houses exactly are, but there are quite a few of them I guess, and the determine where you live the next 3 years? We kind of lost on the way there and missed the first half of the info session >.< It actually sounded pretty nice, I think.Classes:
– They didn’t really talk a lot about them besides saying they were small and not taught by grad students (everywhere said this). Possibly to avoid scaring everyone away? XDStudy Abroad:
– Uhh… they have it, not actually sure on details, I think we missed that bit tooBrown
Basic Information:
– Location: Providence, RI
– Undergraduates: 6,000 Graduates: 2,000
– Percent applicants admitted: ???
– Testing:
– ACT: 28-33
– SAT: Reading: 650-760; Math: 670-780 Writing: 660-770Campus:
– Semi-Urban
– Hilly, but not as much so as Tufts, fair amount of grass/trees
– Also had nice architecture and interesting looking buildings
– Yet another sledding hill XD
– Close to the ocean
– Free transportation on busses/ect for all students
– Wi-fiDorms:
– Small and oldish
– Lottery system for rooms past freshman year
– Survey to determine roommateClasses:
– Completely open curriculum—there are no classes or subjects you are required to take, you can go to only ones you want to
– Small class size
– Taught by professors
– Lots of research opportunities
– 85% of students who apply to grad school from Brown are acceptedStudy Abroad:
-…I forgot to write down the info we heard on this, it’s probably on the website though…Wesleyan
Basic Information:
– Location: Middletown, CT
– Undergraduates: ~2,800 Graduates: ~400
– Percent applicants admitted: 28%
– Testing:
– ACT: 28-32
– SAT: Reading: 640-740; Math: 660-740; Writing: 650-740Campus:
– Spread out, a lot of space
– Lots of grass and trees
– Most buildings have nice architecture, in a variety of styles
– Suburban/rural location, close to outdoors
– Nice libraries
– Entirely wi-fiDorms:
– New dorms for freshman
– Kitchen and laundry in the dorms
– Rooms biggish, no restrictions on appliances
– After freshman year, you can live in a woodframe house with a group of others, a furnished apartment, or in a theme house(/fraternity)
– There is one dorm that is apparently unofficially clothing optional? Haha.Classes:
– Fairly open curriculum, 3 classes in each 3 cores (humanities, natural sciences/math, social sciences), although those are apparently negotiable
– Lots of research opportunities
– Small class sizes
– Great science/writing programs
– In science, after 4 years you can stay on a 5th year FREE and get your mastersStudy Abroad:
– Lots of places to goWilliams
Basic Information:
– Location: Williamstown, MA
– Undergraduate: ~2,000 Graduate: ~50
– Percent applicants admitted: 17%
– Testing:
– ACT: 29-33
– SAT: Reading: 660-760; Math: 660-760; Writing: ???Campus:
– 450 acres plus hills and surrounding forest for hundreds of miles
– Surrounded by woods, campus filled with grass and trees, gorgeous, in autumn would be absolutely stunning
– spread out buildings
– Not near any towns or cities—pretty much the middle of nowhere, literally
– Skiing and snowboarding easily accessed
– Entirely wi-fiDorms:
– Freshman housing consists of “Entries;†kind of like Harvard, with 3 people per suite-style room (one single, a double, and a middle living-room type space) and about 20-25 per Entry with a Resident Advisor
– “Neighborhoods†after freshman year, much like the “houses†at Harvard—so it has the community feel of Harvard in a non-urban setting, which seems great to meClasses:
– Corse-class requirements, 3 semesters in each area
– Average class size of 9
– “Tutorial†classes
– Winter sessionStudy Abroad:
– It has it, there’s not much I can say in way of details unfortunatelyOther: The 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Thursday of October the University president will decide it is too nice a day to have classes, cancel everything, and declare it Mountain Day. Students will hike up to a nearby peak (different levels of hardness for the trails) or take a bus up, and eat a breakfast of fresh apple cider, apples, and cider donuts from a nearby orchard and gaze at the beautiful fall foliage. When they return back to the campus, a carnival will have been set up in the quads, with many games and even a pen with small puppies you can play with. The partying lasts all day.
Amherst
Basic Information:
– Location: Amherst, MA
– Undergraduate: 1,700 Graduate: 0
– Percent applicants admitted:
– Testing:
– ACT: 29-34
– SAT: Reading: 670-770; Math: 660-760; Writing: 660-760Campus:
– Big, 1,000 acres; woods and hills
– Campus itself fairly hilly, lots of grass and trees
– Great views
– Semi-rural, college town
– Nice architectureDorms:
– All freshman dorms recently refurbished
– Soph-Seniors guaranteed a single, but can request a double if they wish
– 1 dining hall, 1 student center, both so-soClasses:
– Open curriculum
– 5-college consortium with free transport between themStudy Abroad:
– …It also has this. This section is turning out to not be as helpful as I’d planned. Might fix this later.Oberlin (unfinished)
Basic Information:
– Location: Oberlin, OH
– Undergraduate: ~2,800 Graduate: ~25
– Percent applicants admitted: 33%
– Testing:
– ACT: 27-32
– SAT: Reading: 640-740; Math: 620-710; Writing: 640-730Campus:
– Small college town
– Ohio is flat
– Grassy, quad had some trees (and would be PERFECT for a huge game of capture the flag—the paths provide preset boundries)
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55
Axa
in August 30th, 2009 @ 15:42Thanks for the extensive report, Jadestone! As I said before, what you said about Harvard definitely meshes with what my friend told me about her visit. Although I have heard from two sources that’s it’s not nearly as elitist as one would believe (lol)
I’m probably sobbing about Williams and Amherst right now…but especially Williams! I just read about the Mountain Day thing somewhere else and UGHHHH that sounds too perfect. I love Williams more and more. sob.
I’ve done the sad little virtual tour of the Amherst dorms/common rooms an they are very nice (well what they show is nice….). I like that sophomores-seniors have singles!I have this feeling a bunch of MBers are going to go to Oberlin now lol
essays…MAN I am writing one right now. Choosing topics is definitely a challenge. NaNoWriMo would be a really interesting topic, I don’t think many people 1) finish at all or 2) go on to write about it in a college essay
The “why ____ college?” essays are harder though. sigh.
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Jadestone
in August 30th, 2009 @ 19:3155- Apply to Williams! Why are you sobbing? Do you think you’d not get in? You should apply anyway XD
Why are you not applying to Oberlin, any specific reason?
Also Oberlin scored extremely well on the graffiti scale, I forgot to mention. Had actual like, literary quotes in the bathroom instead of slander/swears.urrrg I need to start all my essays still, and fnish the rest of the common app x_x
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Axa
in August 31st, 2009 @ 13:48oh yeah I definitely am!
I just can’t believe how perfect it is. There was actually a thing in the travel section of the paper in the beginning of summer about Williamstown/the Berkshires and it just sounded so wonderful. I can’t handle stuff like that lolOberlin….hmm. it’s a really awesome school but something just wasn’t “it” for me. yeah. D: *fail*
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Jadestone
in September 1st, 2009 @ 17:46Just submitted the pre-app to Wesleyan
eeeek
For lit I have to write a college essay by friday too, so I should work on that sometime soon >.<
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 13:18Schools no one has mentioned that are really awesome, and perhaps not as ‘prestigious’ as Brown etc.:
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)
Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Hamilton College (Hamilton, NY)I’ve visited all but Warren Wilson, so if you guys have questions, let me know!
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59.1
Elizabeth Preston
in September 4th, 2009 @ 13:59Actually Colgate College is in Hamilton, NY, and Hamilton College is in Clinton, NY.
*is from upstate NY, where things are not always logical*
*is sorry to have butted in on a non-Muse-related thread*
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RoseQuartz
in September 4th, 2009 @ 14:27*did not notice this or would have said something*
*coughcan’tsayanythingmorecough*
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:13Oh, thank you! I should have noticed that, as I visited both and was very confused at the time!
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59.2
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in September 4th, 2009 @ 14:44Haverford is certainly as “prestigious” as Brown. (I went to college a few miles away.)
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:14Were you a Swattie, Robert?!
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:17Swarthmoron, if you please. And my sister was a Mawrter.
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:24That seems rather fitting actually (the fact that you went to Swat, not that you were/are a Swarthmoron). Of all the colleges I saw, Swat’s campus was definitely my favourite. Although Bryn Mawr does look a little like Hogwarts…
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59.3
Purple Panda
in September 4th, 2009 @ 15:54Haverford is my first-choice school.
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:26Good luck! I hope you get in. If you have the option to interview, you definitely should. Also ED rates are slightly higher, if you think you have a pretty good chance of getting in.
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Axa
in September 4th, 2009 @ 18:01Haverford! It nearly made the shortlist…I think I considered Hamilton at some point too, but then again I considered about 23497235 colleges at any given point (note: this is an exaggeration)
Could you give a general impression of Skidmore? Or anything interesting you remember abut the visit, really.
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:21Put Haverford back on your short list! You should definitely try to visit it, because I don’t think it’s possible convey how interesting, kind and intelligent the entire student body and administration is over the internet. Also, look into their Honor Code and Customs Week (which takes place before school officially starts).
Skidmore was really great. The town of Saratoga Springs is really adorable, and also really functional. It’s not a suburban town, but an actual small town in the middle of a really beautiful area. I remember being really impressed with their arts facilities, and that they offered a lot of non-typical arts classes. Their science wing was also really nice. The girl who gave me a tour was a bio major, I think, and was doing a lot of really interesting research for a professor of hers. The students seemed really laid-back and chill. We had to ask for directions once or twice, and the kids we asked were really helpful and even offered to walk us there. I didn’t end up applying to Skidmore myself (due to ED), but if I were looking to transfer, it would for sure be on my list. I think there’s also really good skiing/boarding nearby, if that’s your thing.
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Purple Panda
in September 4th, 2009 @ 19:5359.3.1 (Zallie): Thanks! I’m definitely going to interview–I think I’m heading in that direction in October. I haven’t decided if I’m going to apply ED yet, though I’m leaning towards no, mostly because it gives me a better position to weigh financial aid packages.
Haverford also qualifies for “Promise” money (Pittsburgh has a program called “The Pittsburgh Promise” where they will give you money for college if you go to college in Pennsylvania), which will be really nice (if I get in/go there).
re: Warren Wilson– one of my friends just started college at Warren Wilson; she loves it. It’s not on my list, but it definitely seems like an awesome school.
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Zallie
in September 4th, 2009 @ 23:02Good call on the financial aid. Also, look into outside scholarships as much as possible, because those do help. Haverford does meet 100% of need, and eliminated loans from their aid packages, which is pretty great.
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Jadestone
in September 4th, 2009 @ 20:21So Oberlin has this overnight program thing where they’ll fly you out so you can stay/sit in on a class/ect. It sounds interesting but I will probably be busy that day.
Spent the last half hour/hour going through collegespam and filing it in my box or the recycling bin. If I try to think too much more about college right now my head might explode.
However, I will say that I really like the optional essay prompts for Tufts. I wrote one ofr an english assignment on “Are we alone?” I like how it turned out, but it probably needs a ton of editing ect still.
do do doooooo tired
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Axa
in September 4th, 2009 @ 22:40aha! I was going to guess Swarthmore, Robert…I see my intuition was correct. I may one day be a Mawrter too, if things go that way…:)
Zallie – I unfortunately can’t do any on campus visits…at least not until I know where I get in. :/ But man, I don’t know, now I’m kind of conflicted. I need to think about this more…hummmm
Thanks for the info on Skidmore! Pruple Panda — What a cool program! Boy I’d love to have something like that….That reminds me of something I heard they have in Texas. The top 10% of students of every high schools there are guaranteed admission to state schools. This is unrelated trivia
Jadestone – I downloaded the supplement out of curiosity…those are such good questions! god! a lot of the ones I’m getting are pretty bland.
I would totally answer the kermit one myself…or oh crap I would do the short story with “house of cards” lol radiohead
man I could go so many places with thatThe Oberlin thing sounds fun!
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Jadestone
in September 6th, 2009 @ 20:1162- I know! And the other ones like creating a video are cool as well. Man.
The one for Williams is “Imagine looking through a window at any environment that is particularly significant to you. Reflect on the scene, paying close attention to the relation between what you are seeing and why it is meaningful to you. Please limit your statement to 300 words” which is going to be harder for me to write I think. *sigh*
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Axa
in October 19th, 2009 @ 18:12how goes the process for everyone? I’ve got three essays done but since I have about nine to do that’s not much.
One of the schools I’m applying to no longer has a supplement as of THIS year which makes me kind of nervous :s
Anyone doing early decision? anyone? bueller?
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Purple Panda
in October 24th, 2009 @ 10:20Axa– I have a draft of my Common App essay and have been anguishing over Haverford’s honor code essay, but I’m not applying early decision anywhere, so I still have some time. Are you applying early decision?
I just returned yesterday from a visit to Haverford and Bryn Mawr, and I liked Haverford less than I thought I would and Bryn Mawr more than I thought I would. So if I get into both, I’m definitely going to have to visit again. And about a month ago, I visited Earlham and Kenyon and loved Earlham and hated Kenyon, which was definitely helpful because I got to narrow down my college list.
But mostly my goals for now are not failing AP Calculus and finishing all of these silly essays.
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65.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in October 24th, 2009 @ 19:13Purple Panda: Did you see the statue of Athena at Bryn Mawr? Students leave notes and offerings there before exams.
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65.2
Axa
in October 24th, 2009 @ 19:43Could you relate any interesting info you learned/ things you observed at Bryn Mawr? I’ve watched the videos they provide on the website but there’s only so much you can take away from a virtual tour!
I’m not applying early decision either. There is a college I think I would like to go to more than others, but since I can’t visit any until after I am (hypothetically) accepted, I don’t feel right doing ED. Also I am lazy.
There are so many people at school who are doing ED though!
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Purple Panda
in October 25th, 2009 @ 09:5265.1 (Robert): Yes, I saw it. Apparently, several years ago some Haverford people tried to kidnap Athena, and she received some serious damage, so she is now safely kept on the second floor of the library, and a replica stands where she used to be.
65.2 (Axa): I’ll do an adapted-Jadestone description:
Basic information:
-You have probably found this online already, so I’ll skip it. But they did get lots of high Princeton Review rankings this year, so I’ll include those.
#7 Best Campus Food (definitely true)
#6 Dorms Like Palaces (yep)
#7 Nobody Plays Intramural Sports (I didn’t really notice this—mostly I was asking about Ultimate Frisbee, and tons of people said they were involved; it’s a combined team with Haverford.)
#15 Students Study the Most
#11 Best Quality of LifeCampus:
-It’s really pretty (and clean), as I’m sure you’ve seen on their videos, and the school has taken into consideration many of the students’ suggestions/requests when building new things. For example, everyone said that the most important thing in a library was a lot of natural light, so when renovating (or expanding, I don’t remember) one of the libraries, they built an entire wall/ceiling out of glass.
-Lots of trees and grass and happy frolicking in these areas. People were sitting on blankets doing homework, doing cartwheels across the campus, etc.
-The campus is 20 minutes away from Philadelphia by train (the trains station is right outside the campus), a 5-minute bus ride (on the “Blue Busâ€â€”which runs every 5 minutes) from Haverford, and ~20-30 minutes away from Swarthmore (on a bus which runs about evern 30 minutes, I think), so there are lots of opportunities to do things (and take classes) off campus. For example, there was a group that was making sandwiches and going into Philadelphia to deliver them to people through the “Meals on Wheelsâ€-type-program.
-I don’t think it takes more than 10-20 minutes to get from one side of campus to the other.
-Campus-wide wi-fi.Dorms:
-They’re beautiful, and I know in at least one of the dorms (where I stayed overnight), every door has a big window, and you can paint it however you want (using washable paint so someone can paint it next year, too). I wanted to walk around the entire dorm to see all of the different paintings, but I didn’t have time.
-Every room has ethernet-cable-hookup-things for internet.
-Big windows in every room.
-Large bathrooms and very nice showers.Classes:
-As with any other liberal-arts college, they have some “General Education†requirements, but I think they’re relatively small—2 math/science/reasoning classes, 2 social science classes, etc. –but I don’t remember the exact requirements.
-The student faculty ratio is 8:1, so all classes are small. I went to an Islamic Studies class, which was wonderful—there was a lot of discussion and the students were well prepared and excited about the class. I also sat in on an Education class at Haverford, which the professor told me was about 50% Bryn Mawr students. (There is a lot of cross-registration between the schools, which allows for more class options.)
-Every time I talked to a student, they told me about a wonderful-amazing-fantastic professor who changed their life forever, and every time it was a different teacher. So clearly, there are good professors out there. Also, a lot of them live on campus and invite students over for Tea or dinner, etc., and I saw a lot of students eating lunch with professors.In general:
-One thing I really liked about Bryn Mawr was how friendly everyone was. People waved to each other as they walked to classes and were always smiling, which I didn’t notice at many other schools. I stayed overnight in the dorms, and everyone on the hall was sitting outside of their rooms–some were reading books or doing homework, some were clustered in the middle of the hall playing Apples to Apples, etc. And if someone walked by and wanted to play, they just grabbed some cards and joined in.
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66.1
Zallie
in October 25th, 2009 @ 18:53The Haverford/Bryn Mawr ultimate team is really, really baller. And with the best mascot ever!
What about Haverford was disappointing? Did you look at Swat at all?
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67
Elias Eiholzer-Silver
in October 25th, 2009 @ 10:25I urgently need to write my personal statement for my UK applications, but I have absolutely no time at all. I’m applying to Glasgow, Edinburgh (on the what-chance-in-HELL-I’ll-ever-get-in), Aberdeen, Dundee and Bath. All Scotland, except for Bath, because Scotland’s bilateral agreements with Switzerland mean free tuition pour moi.
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Axa
in October 25th, 2009 @ 16:49thank you for such a long report, pan! That does sound absolutely lovely. I always like the prospect of a consortium/cross registering, so it’s good to hear people do make use of it! happy frolicking is also a plus
It’s petty of me, but I’m glad to hear the shows are nice too
Islamic Studies sounds amazing too! argh…well this is actually really helpful to me, so thanks again! I love reading these posts.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in October 25th, 2009 @ 18:58(66) Pan,
My sister went to Bryn Mawr and loved it. Not everybody does, but for the right person it can be heaven.
(I saw Athena in the library at one of my sister’s class reunions. It was strange to see all those offerings of candy bars, lipstick, bath soap, scented candles, little bracelets, and all the letters to Athena, some of them written in Greek.)
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Purple Panda
in October 25th, 2009 @ 21:48Zallie (66.1): There wasn’t anything that I particularly disliked about it, it just wasn’t as happy and friendly as I was expecting. I’m still applying, and if I get in, I definitely want to visit again, because I don’t think I saw enough of the school as I wanted to.
Axa (68): Another thing I didn’t mention about Bryn Mawr–I don’t know how you feel about the whole women’s-college-thing, but I was very ambivalent about it. I didn’t even want to visit at first, but my mom talked me into it, and I’m really glad I went. I don’t really know that I was expecting, but the atmosphere was a lot better than I was imagining. And with all of the connections with Haverford (classes, clubs/groups/newspaper, etc.), it didn’t feel isolated.
Robert (69): There were flowers and a large box of highlighters on Athena when I toured the campus.
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70.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in November 10th, 2009 @ 23:00Pan: The offerings I saw were left over from final exams.
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71
Jadestone
in November 10th, 2009 @ 22:39Haven’t looked into Bryn Mawr at all, or really heard of it actually. The name kind of reminds me of a dinosaur roar though.
I am not applying early anywhere either. No way am I ready to make that sort of decision now.
But so far it looks like I will be applying to: Williams, Wesleyan, Brown, Washington University in St. Louis, Oberlin, and maybe Tufts (not sure I want to go there, but the only essay I’ve written is the optional essay to that school)
I’d also like to find one or two schools more on the west coast area (Colorado, Oregon, California maaaybe but it’d be really expensive, and the like). Axa/Panda, have you looked at any west coast schools you could review/suggest?
So far I have nearly finished the common application (it won’t save everything I type every time, which sucks), filled out the basic information in a few supplements, and asked one teacher for a recommendation letter. I need to ask at least 2 more and turn in transcript forms to my counselor, also make a sheet of my achievements/activities and whatnot.
Yesterday, I made a binder with all my stuff in it–part in front for a copy of the common app, one for letters, then a section with tabs for the colleges I’m going to apply to (just the 5 I listed in there so far, no Tufts yet) and with each of them is a copy of my post 54 with some other info and what they require for applying and the essays they want, then behind that section I’ve got a pile of transcript forms I need to fill out and an empty pocket where my essays will hopefully go.
Oh god I have so much to do still
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72
Axa
in November 10th, 2009 @ 23:42Pan– This is a really late reply, but I’m actually applying to three women’s colleges so I have no problem with it! It did take a college visit to completely convince me, though. I do value the presence of other colleges nearby. I count that as a very important factor in all three.
Jadestone, I really really really really x294823429 think you should look into the Claremont Colleges, or at least Scripps. I don’t know how you feel about women’s colleges either, but it’s part of a consortium of five colleges that are literally right next to it (as in you can go from one campus to the next within minutes).
I’m gonna go ahead and write an obnoxiously long review since these are basically the only schools I can do that for! It might be somewhat superficial since I’ve never sat in on a class or anything, but here goes nothing.Anyway, Scripps is a women’s college of about 1000 students located in Calremont, CA. The size can be a negative for some, but the presence of the other four colleges does offset that, I think. The other colleges are Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Harvey Mudd. They each have certain sterotypes associated with them ie Harvey Mudd is basically a science/math type school with more male students, Pitzer was founded in the 60s and is a much more activist, liberal schools, CMC used to be a men’s college and is more conservative, etc. There’s of course more to them but I’m here to talk about Scripps!
Scripps is thought of as more humanities based, I believe. That doesn’t hem in students at all though, due to the fact you can easily cross register at any of the other four colleges. One of my tourguides was a Biology major who loved what she was doing (and I think she was actually conducting some kind of research at the time) and said she took many classes at Harvey Mudd. I myself am most interest in at least having Japanese as a minor and was told that I would be able to take it at Pomona without much trouble. My most recent visit was during the summer, so there werent tons of people around. I’ve unfortunately never sat in on a class or anything like that, but I did notice that everyone around seemed very happy.
The campus is absolutely beautiful. All of the buildings are done in a Spanish Mediterranean style, there are little gardens everywhere, and this one courtyard with an unfinished mural by Alfredo Ramos Martinez that I thought was stunning. It’s a lot different from the style of architecture a lot of east coast schools have (although i find that to be more unusal, since there’s nothing like that aorund here!) Claremont is a quiet suburban town, it’s nice but not particualrly exciting. I however love little antique shops and that kind of thing so I found it appealing. Since it’s Southern California though you will probably be able to find something to do, Disneyland is about an hour away in the opposite direction! Inside, the dormroom we looked at was pretty standard, but I’ve heard that some of the others are amaizn,g so I can’t be the judge. Again the architecture on the outisde is amazing, I honestly can’t stand it, I love the style so much ugh
Also, many if not all of the common rooms have pianos, too. I thought that was niceThey have all their study abroad things on their website…the website probably does a better job than overall, actually!
Here are the stats:
Percent applicants admitted: 43%
SAT Critical Reading: 640 – 730
SAT Math: 620 – 710
SAT Writing: 650 – 730
ACT Composite: 28 – 32I’m going to stop here…if you have questions though I’ll try to answer them.
ooh man I’m such a creeper…I just think it’s a great place, so I hope you look into it!gapas I’m so sorry this is so long…TT__TT
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73
Purple Panda
in November 11th, 2009 @ 20:27Jadestone (71): I’m not applying to any west-coast schools–too far away. I definitely agree: so much still to do. I finished my resume and a draft of my Common App essay, but I still have to do all of the supplemental essays for all of the schools. Gah.
Axa (72): My mom always speaks very highly about the Claremont Colleges–I think she had some friends go there–but they’re just so far away! I’m only looking at schools that are within a day’s drive (<12 hours), but it hasn't seemed limiting because there are *tons* of great small-liberal-arts type schools within that distance.
I took the SAT for the second time on Saturday. I didn't *really* need to, but I wanted to raise my math score. Life seems so much easier now that that test isn't looming over me anymore.
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Axa
in November 11th, 2009 @ 22:08I can totally understand that. The thing is that there’s a huge concentration of small, private liberal arts schools on the east coast (and a goodly number in the midwest!) but virtually NONE here except for the Claremont Colleges. I absolutely do not want to go into the UC system for a variety of reasons that aren’t worth ranting about right now
It is a daunting prospect, flying cross country two times or more every year, though. I’ll worry about that when the time comes thoughIt is nice to be done with everything SAT related!
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75
Midnight Fiddler
in November 11th, 2009 @ 22:58I need to figure out what I want to do. Gah, scary thought, that.
I like what I see of Warren-Wilson, but honestly, it’s one of the only ones I’ve really looked up. Aside from a few local colleges around where I live.
I haven’t taken any standardized tests, I haven’t visited any colleges, and I feel completely unprepared and terrified.
Ew.
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75.1
Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in November 12th, 2009 @ 00:08The children of a friend of mine went to Warren-Wilson and loved it. It was an especially good choice for the son because his dyslexia wasn’t discovered until fairly late. After struggling through high school, he found a very supportive educational community at Warren-Wilson that allowed him to flourish. He’s now a high-school teacher.
I was scared of college, too, by the way, and didn’t make the best choice. A more academically challenging school would have been much better at keeping me motivated, but I chickened out of finishing the application because I was afraid I wasn’t good enough. With the exception of a few classes, I had to wait until graduate school to find a more suitable milieu. Only in retrospect did I realize my fears were not justified.
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75.2
Zallie
in December 1st, 2009 @ 22:58I’ve heard really wonderful things about WW (one of my best friends goes there!), and I think it would be good for someone who hasn’t had a lot/any formal schooling.
They do have a very low graduation rate, however, so it’s definitely the kind of school where you have to be very motivated to get things done by yourself. College is what you make of it in all cases, but especially at schools like WW.
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Jadestone
in November 12th, 2009 @ 22:27Wow, I’m the opposite of you two it seems. I refuse to go anywhere within my state, or the ones bordering it actually. I need to get out of here, get a change of view. I’m pretty sure I’ll have a much better relationship with my family from a distance. Not to mention, I’d like a change of scenery, literally. Some coast or mountains instead of plains.
Axa- I looked at the Claremount colleges a bit, but not much. They all seem to have ONE specialty though, and I’m not sure what I want to go into yet–either biology or some form of English/Writing is my current idea : / So I don’t know which I would apply too, because even if you can cross-register I’d want the one I graduate from to be good in that area.
I don’t really want to go to an all-female college either. Not because I plan on partying with the guys, but being on female sports teams my god the drama can get intense if there’s no guys around to mellow people out sometimes.
aaaaand here’s the part where I am kicked off
finish later
bye
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Axa
in November 13th, 2009 @ 00:57I actually really want to leave since I know if I don’t I probably never will. That’s what happens to people and that is definitely not what I want at all. I hate the idea of flying but I will probably have to suck it up lol
I understand that! They do kind of have specialties. Scripps is more humanities and literature type stuff but like I said my guide was a bio major and she was going crazy over how great she thought the program was. but lol I don’t want to seem like I’m being pushy! i just wanted to type something up cause that’s basically all I can contribute
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Elias Eiholzer-Silver
in November 13th, 2009 @ 04:21I’m going to Scotland for a four day weekend over Thanksgiving to visit the universities I’m applying to. Will check out Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow.
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Midnight Fiddler
in November 13th, 2009 @ 20:5275.1~ I actually found about about it from HAWK and his family one time when we were there. I don’t think he’s seriously considering it for himself though.
My terror of higher education is that I have virtually NO educational credentials. I’ve never been to a public or private school in my entire life, I may not even end up with a diploma. And we haven’t really done the greatest as far as documenting everything.
I just feel incredibly inadequate. I have no idea how I stack up, never having taken tests or really followed any particular, unified curriculum. I know I’m incredibly behind on some things, it just feels like I’ll never get ahead. Nothing seems to change, and I have nothing to show for anything we do.
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79.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in November 13th, 2009 @ 22:25Fiddler: You do have something to show for it all: you! And I have a strong feeling that you’ll be all right.
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79.2
Elias Eiholzer-Silver
in November 14th, 2009 @ 06:01How old are you?
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Midnight Fiddler
in November 13th, 2009 @ 22:2879.1~ Thanks. I really hope so.
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Midnight Fiddler
in November 14th, 2009 @ 09:3979.2~ 17.
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Vendaval
in December 2nd, 2009 @ 00:04AAAAHHHHHHHH!
deadlines soon. dead. lines.
my essay is almost done, but I need to have it great by friday and I’m not sure this can be accomplished. I don’ know where I want to go, because there are a few great school, I guess? but will I get in, there’s another issue. and my mother is saying I should go away overseas, which we’ve discussed before, but I have no resources for it, and I think I’ll need to be truly committed if I do, whatever I do.
euch! I don’t even really understand the ranking system anymore, and there’s that feeling that everyone knows what’s happening, but I do not.
I do not know. there is the trouble.Fiddler, when will you be applying, next year?
Frigidy, why Scotland?
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Jadestone
in December 3rd, 2009 @ 15:56AHHHG DEADLINES indeed : /
I haven’t applyed anywhere yet and the first day I could do so was monday, so I’m already behind. I technically have till Jan 1st but I have to apply before the end of the week according to my parents.
But I haven’t finished any essays (well, I finished one optional one) though I’ve started nearly all of them. I can’t seem to write them. Everything I say sounds awkward or like it’s a lie, and I don’t feel anythign about any of them–they’re just words on paper. They don’t mean anything to me. Even the simple “why this school” short paragraphs.
And if they seem like that to me and I *wrote* them, they’d suck to admissions officers. Uhhg.I’m really having trouble with the Williams prompt–
“Imagine looking through a window at any environment that is particularly significant to you. Reflect on the scene, paying close attention to the relation between what you are seeing and why it is meaningful to you. Please limit your statement to 300 words.”
Usually I like this sort of thing, where I can be creative, but… it just feels bland to me right now. I don’t know. It’s not an essay that’s already inside me like the Tufts “Are we alone” one was.and the Brown one.
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in December 3rd, 2009 @ 16:13Maybe you could use one of your photos as a starting point. Don’t worry about the sound of the words, just freewrite until you hit a vein that interests you.
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Purple Panda
in December 3rd, 2009 @ 16:33I’ll join in: AAAAAHHHHH DEADLINES.
I haven’t applied anywhere yet, either. My earliest deadline is January 1st, then the rest are either on January 15th or February 15th. But I’m probably going to turn everything in on January 1st (except for some of the supplements, for which I’ll need as much time as I can get). Most of my recommendations are all squared away, so I just need to fill out a bunch of transcript request forms.
But my Common App essay is still terrible. And I don’t know how to fix it. -sigh- …and then come all of the supplemental essays. Gah.
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Jadestone
in December 3rd, 2009 @ 23:0183.1- That’s a good idea, thining of it like photography. Thanks.
Hey Robert you went to Swathemore(oh god spelling?), yes? Mom is trying to get me to apply there (a long with a few more other places as well), I was wondering your opinion on it. I read something in a college book and it fits the general criteria I have, but I’m not sure about it.
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85.1
Zallie
in December 4th, 2009 @ 15:43Swat is really great! Their campus is beautiful, and it’s a really excellent school academically. The students I know from there are very passionate about school, but also really down to earth. I feel like the students go on to do really interesting, unique things, not just on to a career/gradschool. One of my friends, instead of getting a ‘real’ job, started an improv/sketch comedy troupe and is now performing with it in Philly!
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Axa
in December 4th, 2009 @ 00:11add my voice to the chorus of horror!
I actually think it’s exciting so many of us are applying at the same time, though. And to some of the same schools too!The only applications I’ve submitted are for the UC schools since those were due on the 30th (though I submitted them about two weeks earlier…i kind of copypasta’d my commonapp essays
) Vendaval– Even if it’s only hypothetical, what country were you thinking of? One of my friends is applying to several schools in England and I have to say that I think that’s amazing…although I don’t now if I could do it! Or do you mean study abroad?
Jadestone I am having the same trouble you are! It’s a simple prompt on the surface but it’s really quite diabolical…especially since the word limit is set at 300. I think I know what I want to write but it will either work or fall flat on its face. I had the same trouble with the Amherst essay (respond to one of these 5 quotes blah blah) until I realized there WAS something I wanted to write about but I was just telling myself I shouldn’t. Once I actually did it turned out a lot better than what I thought I should write. So basically, I agree with Rebecca (wow I totally just typed Ribbeca..ribbit ribbit…sorry
)What I’ve been doing is thinking of words I’d like to use, and writing what I want to convey in the essay in a kind of stream of consciousness way, very “also this maybe that, this??? mention X don’t get too Y about it”
Sometimes it’s better to think of any idea to express first and then shape it to the prompt, that’s what I mean.Also, are any of you planning on sending in supplementary matrieal, as in art, music, scientific research and the like? I REALLY think you should send in your photography, Jadestone, it’s amazing.(I was actually thinking about this the other day since I am an extraordinarily creepy person, and I hope that if you do, you send in the one with the clouds and the moon because I love it so much)
I wish I had something to send in but I don’t think the take literary supplements (as if I have enough done anyway, haha) But yeah don’t feel pressured just because I’m a creeper….:lol:
the end of the week?? that’s crazy! although I know someone who applied to 16 schools and did so over a month ago. *boggled*While this is all very exciting the entire process has convinced me of the propensity for phoniness in everyone. everyone tries to game the system and I find it depressing. My momeven has this book about what college don’t tell you and it has all these horrible tips and so on…I don’t think she actually reads it though.
wow I always write such long replies here, I’d better stop. I’m supposed to be working on essays right now, actually….oh the irony
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Zallie
in December 4th, 2009 @ 15:46Some schools accept writing supplements (and I don’t mean essays)! I submitted my creative writing chapbook to the school I’m at now and I think it was definitely one of the reasons I got in. Basically, if you have something that will make you stand out to them or appear as interesting as you actually are, send it!
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Vendaval
in December 4th, 2009 @ 23:36Axa, I was looking at schools in Norway, Iceland, and Scotland. The idea was kinda to go off to a very different place, and learn another language. Study abroad is good, but really expensive. It would make more sense, for me, to simply enroll locally. It would be so hard (although we know people everywhere but Scotland), but that would be the idea, in a way. A more rounded education? We know a family half American half British, they raised their kids here, and sent them to school in England for Art and Literature. They’ve gone on to travel the world, (writing travel books, blogging for EarthRace [Now owned by Sea Shepard!] , car trip through Spain w/o any Spanish) etc. So I think that’s the path I’d like to follow, in a way.
Ugh, I’m running on sentences now.That’s really interesting Jade, using photography to start an essay. I had to go through a brainstorming process that was probably more painful than necessary.
I wish I had something to send as a supplement, but I have nothing I’m really comfortable with.
Also, the phoniness is ridiculous! I can’t count how many times I’ve heard “Write an essay that’s original- admissions officers read so many you have to stand out!”
Yes, I will write an essay. No, I have not ridden a tricycle across America, so I can’t write about that. Writing about, say, a spoon or something original and possibly irrelevant is interesting, but carries so much risk!
My essays are in better shape now though, so that’s an improvement!
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87.1
Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in December 4th, 2009 @ 23:59I don’t know that “originality” per se is the key — after all, some originality can be obnoxious or out of place — but I know from reading scholarship submissions and the like that the memorable applications are those that give concrete details about the person’s experiences and show some personal style, they demonstrate that the writer has lived what en describes and makes the reader want to know more. The same rules apply for any good writing: Show, don’t tell; don’t try to impress, try to engage. If you don’t believe in it, neither will your reader. </my_two_cents>
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in December 5th, 2009 @ 05:39The comedian George Burns is supposed to have said that the key to success as an actor is sincerity: “Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” It’s a funny line, but I don’t think it’s a good guide to life. As an editor, I can tell when a writer is writing without conviction. It’s true that some people succeed in gaming the system (or think they do). But as a general rule, I find that there’s a special power in writing things you care about and believe in, and it disappears if you try to be too clever.
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Jadestone
in December 7th, 2009 @ 21:10Axa- I considered maybe sending a link to the site where I store my photos or something, but I have *no* idea where I’d put that in my application or anything. The only school that’s mentioned anything about supplementary arts stuff is Amherst, and that requires I fill out the Arts Supplement Form which needs a recommendation letter from an instructor I’ve had, and I haven’t really had any formal teaching about photography besides one summer workshop class (and it was more photo editing, and I wouldn’t be able to find him).
So I have no idea how I would even do that, it’s kind of frustrating.And haha, it’s not that creepy, don’t worry.
Also out of curiosity which Amherst quote did you pick? I think I am going to write on the first one
Vendy– That sounds awesome. I am definitely doing a year of study abroad, not sure where though.
But I am still so stuck on my common app essay, I don’t know what to write anymore and now I’m freaking out so please ignore me
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Axa
in December 7th, 2009 @ 21:40vendaval– okay so I looked up earthrace….I didn’t know stuff like that existed. that’s pretty awesome. I want to go to Antarctica! and iceland and norway for that matter..scotland…*sigh*
well good luck to you whatever you decide to do. that’s pretty amazing like I said!You could always put it in the additional information box on the common app– although I’m sure if you explained you haven’t had any specific instruction they’d understand! I checked Williams and they just require a CD or slideshow (I think) of your work and a form with your name and so on. argh blargh i’m being kind of pushy here…you should do what feels right to you!
/end pesteringI did the first one, actually!
I kept thinking how I wished I could write about it but too bad I don’t know enough about science…but then I started thinking about why I think that, and all this other stuff that doesn’t make sense when I try to explain it x__x but yeah I just wrote what I felt about the subject in a way and I think it turned out better than what the literature quote response was going to be. Ugh man I would give you advice but I’m hardly one to talk since I have a bunch of stuff left to do too! x___x Although I will say my main problem right now is maintaining interest in school.
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Jadestone
in December 7th, 2009 @ 22:4989- Out of curiosity where did you find that on the Williams site? Just the part about the Arts Evaluation?
The additional info box though I might end up doing. It feels less formal that way, but at the same time I don’t know if a link would be appropriate. Maybe a different document with photos? Actually that seems a worse idea x_x
Uhhhhhg I have no idea. Maybe I’ll email someplace and just ask. I’d feel bad asking this late though, like it might make me look like a slacker.
Or I could talk to my school councilor, haha. I suppose this sort of thing is part of what he is there for.
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Axa
in December 7th, 2009 @ 22:58yar at admissions > applying > application instructions or something like that….a counselor probably is more knowledgeable than me though heh. I should ask my counselor about sending in writing stuff like Zallie said…hmm *ponders*
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Jadestone
in December 17th, 2009 @ 23:54Soooo might finally have an essay for the common app that I am okay with!
I completely scrapped the one that wasn’t working for me and started over and I think this one might be okay. It’s 750 words though at the moment, although I’m going to work to cut it down a bit, but it’ll still probably be a little long : / I know the common app essay has no set length limit but usually 500 is what most colleges look for. Sigh…
Bedtime for now though
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Kokonilly
in December 21st, 2009 @ 21:13My friend B got accepted to Harvey Mudd! Can you believe it? It’s sort of my dream school. That and Stanford. (I like California.)
Well, I’m not limiting myself for now*. My goal is to get into Harvard, because then it’s likely I’ll get accepted to other colleges.
A list of colleges I’m interested in:
– U of M (backup)
– University of Wisconsin (also backup)
– Northwestern U
– Harvard
– Stanford
– Harvey Mudd
– UVA
– Princeton
– Yale
– There are so many more, I don’t even know. I’m leaning toward a major in chemistry, or biochemistry, or engineering, or pre-med…* – Please keep in mind I’m only a sophomore.
I might even take a gap year. Thoughts?
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Axa
in December 21st, 2009 @ 21:36Kokonilly— Harvey Mudd is a great great school!
I made a big post about the Claremont Colleges a while back (though I just talked about scripps actually…ah well)
Congrats to your friend!
My advice to you:
-Try to not get aught up in the mania of college acceptances and so on especially if you apply to Ivy Leagues.
– Make sure you have safety schools you wouldn’t hate attending.I’ve heard great things about taking a gap year but you’d have to look it up yourself for more pros and cons. I think as long as you’re productive it can’t hurt (as in you’re not just sitting around eating chocolate, as I invariably would….:lol: )
Jadestone — yay! my commonapp essay is about 700 words, actually. Ugh I HATE cutting stuff down, but what’s even worse is the character limits! 700 characters is not enough to express anything!
Augh I’m so close to being done and yet so far….
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Purple Panda
in December 21st, 2009 @ 23:34Jadestone (91): Congratulations! Remember: it’s usually easier to cut than to add. Mine is on the longer side. I just finished my essay today–it’s 715 words, and I’m so happy to be done!
Kokonilly (92): Good luck! I didn’t really start looking at colleges until Junior year, so don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of time to narrow down your choices (and probably add some more) before you have to even think about applying.
Axa (93): I hate character limits! Grr.
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95
FantasyFan?!?!
in December 22nd, 2009 @ 09:50I’m currently applying to:
Georgetown University
University of Pennsylvania
Harvard
Northwestern
University of Michigan
College of William and MaryOnly one of these applications is finished, and I’ve been spending my break alternating between working on them like mad and lazing around.
Jadestone–91) after trying to cut down on one of my essays, I eventually just sent it in at 820 words. It was originally 965 words, though. I felt that this was as close to the limit as I could get without destroying the integrity of my essay.
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Jadestone
in December 22nd, 2009 @ 13:55Good news is it’s only 712 words now! Also it’s mostly edited I think and isn’t exactly what I want it to be, but I don’t think it ever will be, but I think I could submit it.
Bad news is I have to submit almost everything by today D8
Family/friend party is tomorrow so I will be cleaning all morning then being a good host or hiding in the basement for the night, and on thursday we leave for the grandparents for x-mas. Then after that I’m going straight to Connecticut for hockey and won’t be back till the first, when most things are due x_x Thankfully I have one or two apps that can wait till the 15th, but I have a lot of work to do today >.<
…I should get to work then x_x
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Axa
in December 24th, 2009 @ 00:34I’m DONE!!!
it’s all in…oh man…partytime
good luck to everyone else…I’m going to retire my brain for a little while
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soccer starr
in December 24th, 2009 @ 07:34Congratulations! *pies*
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Jadestone
in December 29th, 2009 @ 18:44Good job Axa! Man that must feel great
STILL WORKING **** **** **** **** **** ****
x_x
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Jadestone
in December 31st, 2009 @ 17:24Heeeyyyyy Robert I know this is late and out of nowhere, but can I mention you in my “Why Swarthmore” short essay? Not necessarily by name but just “someone I know/admire went here” along with how it’s a good size/location and stuff.
IN other news, I finished my Brown app but I’m having technical trouble with getting it submitter. Grr…
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oxlin
in January 24th, 2010 @ 16:40Wait, Robert went to Swarthmore? Where did other GAPAs go?
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Jadestone
in March 10th, 2010 @ 19:23Much delayed response: Yes, he did, and I think at one point someone else said where they went, but I don’t remember if it was Rebecca or Rosanne or where x_x
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Jadestone
in December 31st, 2009 @ 20:16In case anyone else is having technical trouble submitting applications–
If you can’t submit something because your payments aren’t being updated fast enough (you’ve paid, but it doesn’t ay you have yet), this is what the Common App people say:
“Solution: Thank you for your message.
If you have received a valid payment receipt from a Sallie Mae payment (email confirmation), but the payment is not showing up in the Common App Online, please use the “Other Fee Waiver†option or “Mail Check†to indicate payment. This will allow you to continue with the submission process. Your record will be updated within the next 24-48 hours to indicate the successful credit card payment.
Regards,
The Support Team”
So I clicked the “mail” option for payment, and got Brown to submit. Phew.
Finishing up Tufts now.
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100.1
FantasyFan?!?!
in January 1st, 2010 @ 01:00That happened with mine too…I figured I’d wait for it to show up, because it usually comes up the next day when I check it. Glad to know that it’ll be updated eventually, though. And that I’m not the only one doing late-night applications.
BUT I’M DONE! I’M DONE! And I will shout it to the heavens. Winter break can finally be a time of relaxation.
…except for the University of Michigan, but as taht doesn’t accept the Common Application and is due next month, I’m not going to worry about it. Even if my parents are pushing me to finish it now.
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Purple Panda
in January 1st, 2010 @ 13:41Axa (97): CONGRATULATIONS!!
I’m *almost* done. My common application is completely done (finally!) so that’s all submitted, but I’m still working on some of the supplemental essays. But it’s okay! I still have a little bit of time left! *gets back to work*
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Jadestone
in January 1st, 2010 @ 22:59I am almost done too! Only Oberlin and Uni of Puget Sound left and Oberlin is basically done, and I only have to tweak a generic essay to fit for UPS. I have till the 15th for them.
I haven’t worked/looked at them at all today oh man it felt good.
It feels so weird to have applied now… it probably won’t hit me that I have till every thing is done, but… man.
*breaks out sparkling juices and prepares to serve them to everyone as soon as we’re all done*
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102.1
Alice
in January 2nd, 2010 @ 11:14PUGET SOUND?
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Jadestone
in January 2nd, 2010 @ 21:03Yep, as a backup school mostly though. Haven’t really looked into it besides stuff in one of the huge college books lying around, but I’m pretty sure I’d get into it.
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103
/gradster(1)/
in January 1st, 2010 @ 23:06I am going to cry if someone asks me what colleges I’m thinking about one more time.
-A
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Axa
in January 2nd, 2010 @ 01:17I know guys I’m so pumped this is awesome
although now i have very little inspiration as far as schoolwork goes.
good luck with all the later deadlines too!
*has sparkling blueberry juice*gradester…i will cry along with you.
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/gradster(1)/
in January 2nd, 2010 @ 21:43*holds Axa* Wahh…
It’s horrible. Horrible, I tell you.
-A
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Lizzie
in January 2nd, 2010 @ 14:03103/104 – what colleges are you thinking about?
pleasedon’tkillmepleasedon’tkillme
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/gradster(1)/
in January 2nd, 2010 @ 21:44I’m not telling you. Just for that.
-A
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Jadestone
in January 11th, 2010 @ 22:28Oh god I am DONE it is finally OVER
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Jadestone
in January 11th, 2010 @ 22:28*sparkling juices*
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/gradster(1)/
in February 1st, 2010 @ 17:55That sounds only vaguely inappropriate….
-A
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Jadestone
in January 23rd, 2010 @ 08:48Oh god I have an interview with Brown today, at 11:30… leaving at 9 to get to it… I am freaking out. I’ve only known since the day before yesterday, and I haven’t done an interview before. Oh sdjnkbdsgk;bskgbks dvknotlrjhno’46jtgfldn…
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in January 23rd, 2010 @ 09:00Just keep breathing, and you’ll be fine. The Muses are with you!
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109
Elias Eiholzer-Silver
in January 24th, 2010 @ 15:25Got a conditional (34 points in the IB) offer from Glasgow University for Philosophy/Politics.
Awesome, now let’s see if Aberdeen, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Dundee follow suit.
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Axa
in January 25th, 2010 @ 01:30Congrats Elias! And good luck with your other schools!
Jadestone– how did it go?I hope it went well! I’ve done three so far and I found that being candid really helped. i know people say “DON’T EVER MENTION YOUR WEAKNESSES THEY WILL SMELL YOUR FEAR” and so on but ~*that ain’t me
on the topic of admission decisions…I think the first school i hear back from releases decisions on March 15. The Ides of March, that sounds promising. Can you believe that in five months we’ll all be locked in to whatever school we’re going to? that’s CRAZY.
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Purple Panda
in February 1st, 2010 @ 15:59gradster (103): I feel your pain. The worst was junior year, because I hadn’t narrowed down a list yet, and I had to decide whether I wanted to burden the asker with a super-long-list that I never fully remembered, or say something along the lines of “Oh, you know…this school, maybe this school…yeah…” It got better when I could just list off my 6 schools and be done with it. Fear not, life improves!
Jadestone (106): Yay! Congratulations!
Elias (109): Congratulations, as well!
*joins DONE party*
Also, I applied Early Action to Earlham, and I got in there, so yay! They sent me a really nice, personal, this-is-exactly-why-we-love-you-a-lot acceptance letter, which made me feel warm and fuzzy. I’m going to college no matter what! (Well, unless I fail all of my classes. Which won’t happen. Hehe.) Now, I just have to wait until April for everything else.
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/gradster(1)/
in February 1st, 2010 @ 17:56Congratulations. You made it!
-A
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Jadestone
in February 1st, 2010 @ 22:03The interview went okay, I think. I talked a lot about tech crew which is something I didn’t get to mention in my application really, though I didn’t talk about hockey quite as much as I could have but I think it was okay. I asked several questions (study abroad specific stuff, intramural sports, and… something else that I don’t remember) and I used up the whole 30 min. Which is good I think? I was really nervous but I didn’t make any real blunders. I kept having to control my hands though, I fidget them all the time naturally and I was trying to keep them calm which didn’t really work. Oh well…
I had brought some photography prints with me but there wasn’t ever really an opportunity to do anything with them… I hadn’t expected there to be, it wasn’t that sort of interview at all but mom doesn’t understand that. We fought the whole way down to the interview anyway about my writing and stuff, because she doesn’t understand how people actually work outside her head.
I don’t find out from anywhere until March as well. It’s kind of nerve-wracking. Also because almost everyone I know has been accepted to somewhere, so I feel really behind, and I keep worrying that I’m not going to get into anywhere. Especially since applications skyrocketed at ALL the schools I applied to… so where I had a chance before, now I’m not so sure. I’m trying not to think about it too much… *worryworryworry*
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Jadestone
in March 3rd, 2010 @ 16:36Has anyone received any news so far?
I still have another month before I begin to hear back : /
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Axa
in March 7th, 2010 @ 17:06I hear from my first school on the fifteenth….and I think as of about the twenty fifth everyone else will start sending things out
at this point i’m not even nervous i just want to know :/
jadestone- lol yup all of my schools went up too. super late reply but i’m glad your interview went well! i also feel surprised that i didn’t make any significant mistakes whilst interviwing lolllll
for the photography thing,i know exactly what you mean, my mom wanted me to bring along some poems and i was like mother that makes no sense at all….anyway good luck to everyone….this thread may or may not be spammed with any number of existential crises on my part once i start hearing back from schools. I am here for moral support if anyone needs it and if i am not catatonic come april first
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Purple Panda
in March 9th, 2010 @ 20:47I’ve heard back from two schools, one early action and the other just let me know early for some reason. I’ll have to wait until April 1 for everything else. (Sigh.)
I don’t know how I really feel about the rest of my acceptances. I’ve already been accepted to a school that I really like and might end up going to, which has definitely eased tension and stress. However, I keep going back and forth between two schools, and if I get into the one I haven’t been accepted to yet, I’ll never be able to decide. So yes, I want to know, but I also don’t look forward to having to make a decision.
Good luck, everyone!
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Jadestone
in March 9th, 2010 @ 22:16Yeah… if I get bad news don’t expect me to be really coherent that day/week. I just want to know that I got into ONE school, I don’t know what I’d do if something horrible happened and I didn’t get into anywhere D: And there’s no way to really tell, every year is different : /
Request for April 1st: I know it’s traditionally a Museblog trick day but can we keep this thread open in case I hear back that day? Because if I post anywhere it’d probably be here x_x
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Axa
in March 10th, 2010 @ 20:45so do you guys all realize that easter is the sunday after april 1st?
it’s been hard enough deflecting questions about “where i’m going” but once i have some acceptances in hand it’s going to be ever worse. ugh I don’t even want to think about it. x___xI second Jadestone’s request, GAPAs…I would love it if I could still come here and keyboard smash.
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Vendaval
in March 16th, 2010 @ 15:35aaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
(that was a sigh of relief mixed with some trepidation)big news!
I thought this would only come after the 1st, but several of my friends and I have been accepted to schools (we like)! I got into Macaulay at Hunter, and friends are in Williams, Richmond Honors, and Cornell Engineering.
I’m really excited about finally knowing that there’s a school for me! It’s also looking like it will be where I go… though that’s worrying me because I’ve suddenly gone from “what will happen to me!” to “is this the right choice!” But the school is great, right? I know it would be a good choice, I guess I need to visit Alex (who currently attends). Then make pro/con charts.
I’m really excited to hear news from everybody else! (try not to get as stressed as I did?
)
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Jadestone
in March 16th, 2010 @ 22:39Oh god I am freaking out so bad. I got waitlisted for Washington U, which I didn’t really want to go to, but it’s the only response I have so far and it’s about the same level as the other places I applied, if not below them.
And now I am freaking out about not getting in anywhere, and what I would even do if this happened.
*****************************************
118- People have heard back from WIlliams? Did the apply early or regular?
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in March 16th, 2010 @ 22:46Don’t freak out yet, Jadestone. There are so many variables, some of which have little or nothing to do with your qualifications. There’s always a certain amount of luck involved.
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Axa
in March 16th, 2010 @ 22:54Vendy — Congrats to you and your friends!! Very exciting!
Jadestone- ahh don’t worry i love you! ;__; you will definitely get into places! the only person i know who applied to washington u got waitlisted too and she is basically the number one student at our school. *hugs*
I think anyone who heard from Williams recently got an early write. Essentially, that’s a letter to a regular decision student who is basically accepted. I think they do that because those students are students they think might go to another college and they want to ~*entice them by being the first to reply.
The waiting is brutal, dudes!!! Lots of other people are hearing back from this or that school and I’m like UGGGHH
As of the 23rd or so i’m gonna go CRAZAAAAAAAAAAY!!
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Jadestone
in March 19th, 2010 @ 17:32I am going to college after all!
Got accepted into University of Puget Sound. Which admittedly was my safety school but it means I am going SOMEWHERE at least.
VAST WAVES OF RELIEF.
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Axa
in March 19th, 2010 @ 18:02*high fives!!!!!*
life is good!
coincidentally i got accepted to a school that is kind of a safety at the other side of the country. wouldn’t it be hilarious/awful if we both ended up switching coasts? XDD (well i know you don’t really live on the east coast, but still~)
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Jadestone
in March 19th, 2010 @ 18:26Aww man, that would kind of be terrible! Maybe there’d be lapses between our thanksgiving/winter/spring breaks though, so we’d be closer, haha. But still!
And congrats to you as well!
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Vendaval
in March 20th, 2010 @ 14:14CONGRATULATIONS!
I can’t wait to hear about the others!!
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Purple Panda
in March 19th, 2010 @ 22:15CONGRATULATIONS, EVERYONE!! Yay! *waves of joy and hugs*
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Midnight Fiddler
in March 25th, 2010 @ 22:07Congrats to all!
So, we went to visit Warren-Wilson today. It looks to be a pretty awesome place, all the people were weirdos, like us! Amazing!! Seriously though, everyone I talked to was super nice and really happy to talk about the school, the classes I sat in on were quite interesting and fun, and the campus is quite nice. Oh, and they have an entirely vegan/organic/local cafeteria. I LOVE THAT. Good food too, yumm.
It’s so expensive though….. :/
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Vendaval
in March 25th, 2010 @ 23:56123- Have you asked about financial aid? Lots of schools are great about it, and I’ve heard WW is a groovy school, so they might be super helpful. I know Oberlin is.
Wooo! I just got back from a Macaulay reception at the American Museum of Natural History! It was awesome, but also somewhat terrifying. Macaulay is going to be an amazing opportunity, but it will require complete dedication. One of the current students is a triple major. Another is on track to become both a doctor and a lawyer. 0.o I’m thrilled (is there another program like this in the world?), and preparing myself. I will do what I like to do, and do it well.
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Jadestone
in March 30th, 2010 @ 11:05Accepted at Oberlin, waitlisted at Wesleyan, denied at Amherst and Swarthmore. Still waiting to hear from Brown/Williams/Tufts, but I’m not being too optimistic.
It looks like Oberlin is my first choice a the moment, until I get a chance to visit U of Puget Sound.
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in March 30th, 2010 @ 11:13Congratulations, Jadestone! Oberlin is a fine school — a little soggy in the winter, maybe, but some of my best friends went there and loved it. Let us know how the others turn out.
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Jadestone
in April 1st, 2010 @ 13:54Waitlisted at Tufts.
Didn’t get into Williams : / Expected but still sort of disappointing.
I’ll find out about Brown later today.
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Rosanne Spector (Administrator)
in April 1st, 2010 @ 14:34Jadestone, I’m one of those friends of Robert’s who went to Oberlin, and I loved it there. Winter wasn’t exactly soggy, though. It was far too cold for that. I’d describe it as extremely crisp.
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Jadestone (God/Giant Space Squid)
in April 1st, 2010 @ 22:11Didn’t get into Brown. Not too disappointed, it didn’t really feel all that great when I visited. ANd it was expected.
But now I’ve heard fro everywhere. Which means
NO MORE WAITING*sigh*
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Piggy
in April 29th, 2010 @ 22:47Bleh, college. What should I study, everyone? I’m thinking at the moment that I might go to UNL and major in Latin with a minor in Greek, but I’m not sure. I’d like to continue studying organ as well. Not sure how that would fit in.
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speller73
in June 29th, 2010 @ 19:25So… I’ve been college touring. And let me say that if your parental unit has ever been at the college you’re touring, do NOT let them go on the tour. En will tell you about where en sprained ens ankle sophomore year or insist on pointing out ens thesis adviser’s office while meanwhile, you are trying to listen to the tour guide who is actually saying something *relevant*. Anyways, I’ve visited 4 schools so far. I liked 2 of them and disliked 2 of them, which doesn’t surprise me based on what I knew of them going in. *would say which schools but is afraid of snippage*
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speller73
in June 29th, 2010 @ 20:53(By the way, GAPAs, can I discuss the specific schools more? They’re all East coast (aka not where I live) so far and quite famous.)
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130.1.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in June 29th, 2010 @ 21:10Certainly you may.
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Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in June 29th, 2010 @ 21:11Names of schools you’re visiting are okay; they’re not where you’re residing.
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speller73
in June 29th, 2010 @ 22:19OK, cool. So so far I’ve liked Harvard and Amherst and disliked MIT and Wellesley. Can’t say I’m surprised. MIT pretty much had no humanities. (They’ll deny it, but it’s true.) Also, it’s scarily like my high school, and the last thing I need is four MORE years of this. As for Wellesley, I didn’t really like the atmosphere. Everyone seemed a little too nice if that makes sense… Also, their math program is weak, so I’d wind up taking lots of classes at MIT, which defeats the purpose of going to MIT.
Harvard and Amherst on the other hand were awesome. Harvard is, well, Harvard. What more do I need to say? As for Amherst, everyone just seemed really friendly. Like at least 5 people said hi to the tour guide in the middle of summer when nobody’s around. And she seemed by far the most enthusiastic out of all the tour guides, and I could really tell she loved Amherst. Also, the info session was really well run (a welcome change after Wellesley’s awful one), and it all felt really transparent.
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130.1.2.1.1
Jadestone
in June 29th, 2010 @ 22:29If you’re still there and looking at more, both Axa and I loved Williams (in Williamstown), and I also visited Wesleyan, Brown, and Tufts along with Amherst. Earlier in this thread I posted my thoughts on all of these.
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130.1.2.1.1.1
Jadestone
in June 29th, 2010 @ 22:30Just checked, it’s post 54.
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speller73
in June 30th, 2010 @ 06:42I’m visiting Williams today actually. 2 hour drive… *grumbles* I’m also visiting Yale and Brown on this tour.
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Kokonilly
in June 29th, 2010 @ 20:21Ooh, I just remembered about this page!
So, I’ve toured four schools – not sure if the names will be snipped or not, so I won’t bother listing them. I must say, the small liberal-arts college impressed me a lot; I didn’t think it would be that good. The big party-school state college was okay, but extremely large, and the ginormous non-party state school I’ve taken classes at, so it doesn’t scare me anymore. The extremely tiny specialized state school was part of a shopping mall, which amused me greatly.
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Purple Panda
in June 29th, 2010 @ 22:17Piggy (129): Don’t worry about starting college with a specific field of study in mind–take the classes that interest you and you’ll figure it out! I have a vague idea what I want to major in, but I’m going to see what happens when I get to college.
speller (130): Haha, I’ve heard some pretty fun stories about parents on college visits. Tell us about your visits!
Kokonilly (131): Yay liberal arts colleges! They’re the best.
(Also, I don’t think I remembered to brag about this on this thread back in April, but I got into every school to which I applied. And I managed to actually make a decision!
)
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Piggy
in June 29th, 2010 @ 23:03Pan, thanks for the advice, but I’ve managed to make the situation MORE COMPLICATED THAN MOST PEOPLE’S! Basically, I still have to decide whether I’ll go to college. I’m considering becoming either a priest or a monk. If I become a priest, my life will be
[college OR no college] + [7 years in seminary]. If I become a monk, my life will be[college OR no college] + [monastery]. Of course, in either situation, there are a number of possibilities: the seminary or monastery doesn’t accept me or I decide to leave after a short time. I also know that if I don’t go to college right after high school I won’t be able to use my more or less guaranteed full ride scholarships. I ALSO know that I can enter neither a seminary nor a monastery with student debt.So bleh. Life’s too complicated, I’ll prolly just pull a Thoreau.
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133.1
Lizzie
in June 30th, 2010 @ 11:10I had somewhat the same choice to make – with me, it was between conservatory and college. I chose conservatory. Do I regret that I’m not getting the same SLAC education as everyone else in my family? Yes. Do I regret going to conservatory? I’m not sure. I don’t think so, but I am basically limiting myself to a highly competitive career path, and I’m not sure if I’ll be good enough.
My advice? Go to college. If you’ve got full-ride scholarships, you won’t have to worry about student debt, and it will give you more options if you decide a religious life isn’t for you.
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Vendaval
in October 27th, 2010 @ 00:42This!
I agree with Lizzie, as you already know. A free ride is a great thing! I am enjoying one as we speak!
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Ebeth
in July 21st, 2010 @ 13:47NOSTALGIANOSTALGIANOSTALGIA
roommate from last year just tagged me in a couple pics from college last year…i miss it *sob* TWO MORE WHOLE MONTHS #cantwait
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Jadestone
in August 26th, 2010 @ 12:57UHHHHHHHG
Sorry but I need someplace to vent right now. Trying to figure out classes for registration, so I logged onto the website that I’m supposed to. The Big Book of Forms tells me that they assign everyone a time slot that they can register during (at the school, you have to register while you’re actually there).
But apparently, “You have no Registration Time Ticket. Please contact the registration administrator.” Which is what it says for me. And it’d be so much simpler if they gave me the name or contact info or SOMETHING so I knew who the registration administrator IS.
Also, they’ve given me credit for one of the 4 AP tests I took. But I don’t know which. And I kind of need that info so I know like, not to register for a class I’ve exempted from.
UHG UHG UHG.
Also I cannot tell the difference between Calc 1a and Calc 1 and I don’t know which I should be in and I am trying to figure out a schedule around both and it is hard and UHG.
IAEHGRIG;UBDFJHNVSALHRT973RWAEHSFBVKXJBI SE
Sorry but I needed that.
BLAARG.
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135.1
Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in August 26th, 2010 @ 14:00Jadestone: Have you checked how many credits each course is worth? Maybe Calculus 1a is the first half of a two-semester course, whereas Calculus 1 is a double-credit course that packs everything into one semester.
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Jadestone
in August 26th, 2010 @ 14:28They’re both full semesters, although Calc 1a is 3 hours and Calc 1 is 4.
Bluhhh. I’m just going to include a note asking what the difference is and which I should try to get into in my email to the registration office.
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Jadestone
in August 26th, 2010 @ 14:28* Hours of credit, that is.
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speller73
in September 8th, 2010 @ 23:34I just had another college talk with my parents… I have a preliminary list now. It has something like 30 schools on it. It will become a lot shorter over time. The only ones I’m really 100% sure will stay at the moment are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and U of I. And I’d guess that Brown and U Chicago will stay too, but I’m not sure.
So… my dilemma. I really like small liberal arts schools and really dislike tech schools (eg MIT, Caltech). I also will probably be a math major. The issue with a small liberal arts school is that it is, well, small, which means it has a small math department and may not have enough classes for me to complete a math major. You see, I’m going to be coming into college with I’d guess 4 semesters of college math (excluding BC calculus). Once you figure that I can’t take any of these classes, I’m not sure there will be enough classes left for me to take… If I go to a university, I can always take grad school classes, but that doesn’t work at liberal arts colleges… Anyone know anything about liberal arts schools with really strong math departments?
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Axa
in September 9th, 2010 @ 00:28HARVEY MUDD
seriously…SERIOUSLY
they’re sorta rivals with caltech
i really recommend looking up harvey mudd (in conjunction with the other claremont colleges) cause it sounds like a good fit to me.
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speller73
in September 9th, 2010 @ 14:15Oh, I’m totally looking at Harvey Mudd. My concern is that I can’t tell whether they’re too focused on engineering… I love pure math and even the more theoretic side of computer science, but I really don’t like engineering…
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Robert Coontz (Administrator)
in September 9th, 2010 @ 14:24Pomona is said to have a good math department. And if you went there, you could also take classes at Harvey Mudd.
I also highly recommend Stanford as a pleasant place to be. *went to grad school there*
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136.2
Elizabeth Preston
in September 9th, 2010 @ 16:04Hello! I was just checking in for comments on the new Muse issue, and noticed your comment. I don’t know if you’ve looked at it already, but Williams has a really excellent math department.
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speller73
in September 11th, 2010 @ 10:01My dad was actually looking at Williams’s course catalog a few days ago, and, excluding classes that I’ll probably have taken (MVC, diffeq, linear), there may or may not be enough classes for me to complete a math major, depending on whether certain classes are really offered or some sets of classes are just easier and harder versions of the same class… I know they have a good research program, though, which is very good, since I’m already doing fairly serious research.
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Elizabeth Preston
in September 13th, 2010 @ 10:56Well, it might be worth talking to someone in the math department about how you’d structure a major. I didn’t major in math myself, but many of my friends did math research. Williams also hosts a big summer math research program called (ironically) SMALL.
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Vendaval
in October 27th, 2010 @ 00:38Two of my friends visited Williams, (neither attends, although they both loved it!) and they both mentioned the math department, even though neither is a math major.
1. Williams has one of, if not the highest percentage of math majors in the U.S.
2. Many students go on to get PhDs, and many of them get those degrees with very nice fellowships from their undergraduate research.Go Ephs!
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Piggy
in September 28th, 2010 @ 20:28All right, I’m applying to college. What should I say I’m going to study? Music? I know I could get good scholarships with that. History? That interests me a lot more as a major–I think I would enjoy it more. Undecided? That reflects how I actually feel right now, but it would prevent me from really getting to work towards a major.
But I am definitely applying to several colleges, even if I don’t end up going to any. Best have my bases covered.
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137.1
Axa
in September 28th, 2010 @ 21:31I don’t know much about music scholarships, maybe you should look into whether or not they are contingent upon actually completing a music major (in case you decide to change it at a later time).
I kind of want to say that history is a safer bet since it’s more common and more broad. It doesn’t matter too much right now what you list it as, for me it just determined what department my adviser would be in. I don’t think most colleges expect applicants to have a 100% certain plan for their major, but yeah go with yer gut. I would definitely pick history over listing undecided, though.
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137.2
Lizzie
in September 28th, 2010 @ 23:02I wouldn’t say music unless you’re actually interested in it. One, there are like no jobs. Two, if you’re applying to a school with a good music program it will not be as easy as you think, and if the school doesn’t have a good music program you will hate your life. Also, most places you don’t need to go in with a major – can just do liberal arts until you figure out specifics. And a broad education is nothing to sneer at.
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Ebeth
in September 29th, 2010 @ 08:12yeah honestly i picked my major based on what my favorite AP classes were. there’s no shame in deciding once you get to college, just figure out what classes of your GECs are interesting and what aren’t
also yeah, music is a lot harder than you’d think. i have friends who were like “i don’t know what i want to do i’ll just go into music because i like it” and they ended up in mediocre music schools doing music ed. which is fine if that’s what you want to do. personally i don’t see the appeal in being a band director and dealing with obnoxious kids like me all year
your first couple years will be mostly GECs anyway, so it won’t matter that much if you have a major picked out or not. i really like having majors decided because it means i can throw in some classes i like instead of doing math and science all day, but you can always do that with philosophy or something. philosophy’s basically good for everything. also i’m probably double-majoring so i’m taking more major classes than most…a lot of my (sophomore and junior) friends are only just starting to take classes in their major
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Tesseract
in October 3rd, 2010 @ 16:21Does anyone know anything about the University of Chicago? I like most of what I’ve read about it, but one thing I’ve noticed a conspicuous absence of is anything about professors. Does that means lots of classes are taught by TAs, or that professors don’t really have much of an interest in talking to students, or what?
I’ve also liked what I’ve heard of Swarthmore.
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Piggy
in October 26th, 2010 @ 22:05Okay: is it better to choose a major knowing that you’ll probably change it, or to apply as “undecided”? (For added information, I may just go to college for one year to take the general required classes, then go to seminary (see related posts above)).
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140.1
Rebecca Lasley (Administrator)
in October 26th, 2010 @ 22:28Speaking personally, I felt greater peace of mind when I changed my major officially to “undecided” in spite of pressure from the school to declare something.
Hm. But you’re talking about an application, I realize after reading more carefully –I’m not sure how an admissions office would view that, though I certainly have an opinion as to how they should.
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Vendaval
in October 27th, 2010 @ 00:50Generally, colleges like undecided. If they’re low in a certain major though, like Classics, that’s probably better.
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