Just the thought of it is really scary. This year determines everything. I know that life goes on well beyond college but the reality is that college really sets you on what path you’re going to go down. Lately, I’ve been looking at the websites of colleges that I want to apply to.
From my top college’s website: Tell us your story. Show us what’s special about you. Tell us how you would seize the academic and non-academic opportunities and contribute to the community.
I know that it is important that I should not try to fit some sort of perfect mold. To be “the perfect applicant” is very difficult. In fact, the image of “the perfect applicant” might not even exist because everyone is so different. Everyone has their strengths and colleges admire diversity.
Getting accepted to Phillips Exeter, Choate, and Hotchkiss is totally different from getting accepted into college all together, although going through that experience has made me feel a bit more comfortable with the college apllication process. I’ve noticed that people have been trying to do new things in hopes that it will pad their resume better. Although I always encourage trying to do something different, I believe colleges can see right through what is fake and what is real. During this summer, I tried to think of things that I can do to make an acceptance more likely. What I came up with: do what I’ve been doing already, except better. For instance, I want to take my community service to a whole different level and not let it be just “monkey work”, as a good friend of mine once called it. Although I am already exceding my requirement, I need to actually make it matter. Wait, I need to make every single day beyond today matter.
