I will continue updating after Wednesday. Sorry about the hiatus. Here's a fast update about the craziness that has been going on lately:
-I took three AP tests. I had four. I missed the AP Calc BC tests because, wait for it- I thought it was in the afternoon. I was 100% sure. Pretty pathetic, I know. And embarassing. And annoying- having everyone in my class ask me what happened. Apparently people thought I either had a freak accident or overslept. Nope, I was just an idiot! But the good news: I wrote the College Board a letter and my high school college counselor talked to them, and they're letting me make up the test on Wednesday morning. Three days from now. So that's good.
-I had decided on Berkeley, right? Well... I got an email last week, on Wednesday, from none other than Vassar College. It was a bit bizarre. It was from the representative of my area or something, and she informed me that she had my file in her office as a person she wants the admissions committee to consider taking off the waiting list. She said a "few" people would be taken off in the next couple days. Basically, she wanted me to tell her how badly I wanted to go. I said I wanted to go really badly. But in the back of my mind, I had gotten used to the idea of UC Berkeley. Again, choosing between polar opposite schools! But I was just like, I'm probably not going to get in off the wait list and I don't want to regret missing an opportunity to get into Vassar. So basically I wrote back that it was my top choice yadda yadda, but hoping I wouldn't get taken off so that I won't have to make a difficult decision like that. Well, lo and behold, I checked my email the very next day and what was there but another email from Vassar, congratulating me on being accepted to the class of 2012. WTF. I was in shock. But also more than a little horrified that I would have to make this decision. And worst of all, they only gave me one day to choose. Actually less than a day because I came back from swim city finals late, and I had to decide before 5 pm the next day. Which probably meant 2 pm for me, because of eastern time.
I was so confused. I didn't know what to do. I worried about the money- $50,000 for Vassar, $25,000 for Berkeley. Quite a big fucking difference! But my parents told me that's how much they paid for my siblings' education, and I deserve the same. Well, I wrote back saying that I accept the offer. The thing is, I still haven't retracted my Berkeley spot. Ha. Trying to elongate my decision-making time, you see. I've been reading a lot of good and bad stuff about each school in the last couple days... but I have a feeling I'm going to choose Vassar. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, what is there to lose. Plus they're almost too good for me since I was only acepted from the wait list, which make it all the more appealing. We'll see though.
So yeah, pretty crazy. More from me after Wednesday then... see yalls then.
Showing posts with label UC Berkeley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UC Berkeley. Show all posts
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
AP Test Hell
I'm going to be studying for/taking AP tests all of this week, next week, and half of the week after that. I'm taking 4 of them- US Government, Spanish, Physics B, and Calculus BC. I know, fun. I mean, who in the world would rather be hanging out at Coachella right now when you can try to memorize the amendments of the Constitution, right? So yeah, just a heads up, I'm probably not going to update much if at all in the next two weeks. Unless of course some sort of breaking news occurs, like if Brandon Flowers gets a new haircut or something. Hawww, just kidding just kidding. Wish me luck, I don't know if I can get through another excruciating, brain-frying AP exam marathon like last year.... eesh. At least this is the last.
Oh yeah, I've decided on a college. UC Berkeley. It's not so much that I love Berkeley- it's more that I just really didn't click with Oberlin or Macalester. I'm a little confuzzled now because my mind was so set on liberal arts schools, i know I'm veering in a completely different direction- the direction I had established in my head as WRONG up to less than a month ago. So I'm trying to reset my brain, let go of some previous feelings... the dumbest thing is that I didn't apply to a lot of schools specifically because they were big and career-oriented and blah blah... and that's pretty much exactly the kind of school Cal (Berkeley) is. But it is in a city area, it is well-known and whatnot, it has a variety of people so it's safe to say that if some people want to burn me at the stake for liking the Killers, at least it's not everyone. I mean, in the facebook group music section for Berkeley 2012 a lot of people mentioned The Killers, Muse, Arctic Monkeys... yay! Also there was rap, hip hop, and plenty of indie snobbery as well. A good mix, that's what I like. So I'm warming up to the whole thing. But I've pretty much decided for sure. I don't feel like I have but I have, haha.
Oh yeah, I've decided on a college. UC Berkeley. It's not so much that I love Berkeley- it's more that I just really didn't click with Oberlin or Macalester. I'm a little confuzzled now because my mind was so set on liberal arts schools, i know I'm veering in a completely different direction- the direction I had established in my head as WRONG up to less than a month ago. So I'm trying to reset my brain, let go of some previous feelings... the dumbest thing is that I didn't apply to a lot of schools specifically because they were big and career-oriented and blah blah... and that's pretty much exactly the kind of school Cal (Berkeley) is. But it is in a city area, it is well-known and whatnot, it has a variety of people so it's safe to say that if some people want to burn me at the stake for liking the Killers, at least it's not everyone. I mean, in the facebook group music section for Berkeley 2012 a lot of people mentioned The Killers, Muse, Arctic Monkeys... yay! Also there was rap, hip hop, and plenty of indie snobbery as well. A good mix, that's what I like. So I'm warming up to the whole thing. But I've pretty much decided for sure. I don't feel like I have but I have, haha.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Final Verdict? More Confusion!
So I am not dead, I did actually visit the two schools... Here is what I got out of the whole ordeal:
OBERLIN
This was the first college my mom and I visited. We flew to Cleveland, Ohio on Friday. In the airport there, they have a church. Like, in one of the rooms in the main terminal. That was sort of weird but it is the Midwest after all. Another observation- a lot of people dye their hair blonde there. For some reason it was much more noticeable than here in Los Angeles... I think that's because even lots of the older women have platinum blonde hair. But anyway- onto more important business. Oberlin!
We slept overnight at the Holiday Inn, and then got a ride from the hotel to Oberlin College early in the morning. It was cold but not too much, and the sky was overcast. Definitely a different environment than I'm used to- all the houses on the way were sort of gloomy and had these really tall, steep roofs, apparently to keep the snow from piling on. Also, each house had an identically sized shed outside, my mom said in order to keep stuff in there over winter. These are all assumptions, of course. My mom and I "approved" of the houses, especially the fact that each one had a huge expanse of land all around and (leafless) trees. Our driver was this grumpy old man and the funniest thing was that my mom sort of accidentally gave him a $20 tip for driving us for 15 minutes... hahaha... he sure wasn't grumpy after that. But anyway.
We ate the "continental breakfast" with other admitted students- it was whole wheat bagels and fruit. They said 65% was locally grown or something but I don't know how that makes sense. Oh well. We sat next to a kid from Maryland who stayed in a dorm the night before and who was really nice- he was deciding between U. of Maryland and Oberlin so he's in a similar predicament as I am. It's funny because the week before the trip, I kept saying that I wasn't nervous about visiting colleges because I was now the one to judge them and I didn't need to worry about being so proper myself. But of course the moment I got there, that all changed. Suddenly I felt all self-conscious next to the admitted kids, the current students, even the admissions people who I have no need to impress anymore! Gah. But I was still very judgmental of my surroundings and observed everything, as I promised. This girl soon joined our table- apparently she had met the Maryland boy the night before. She was... man, I don't want to get too picky, but I can't help it. She was exactly the type of person I feared I would encounter at Oberlin. She had the "cooler than thou" attitude down pat, she had this crazy curly hair with blonde tips and a scarf head band on. She mentioned at least twice that she stayed up until 3 am the night before, talking with her roommates. Like, a really deep conversation, you know? I don't mean to demean anyone and once again, this is just me looking after my own ass because people like that make me feel intimidated and uncomfortable, and I can see through them but yet I'm still intimidated.
Well, I saw a lot of people like that throughout the day at Oberlin. This is one of my biggest worries about the school. It's just that the great majority dress hipster-y, and the great majority are just so cool. And they don't even dress in a similar hipster style. They're all very consciously different- you can tell they're trying to be- yet they blend together and look the same after a while. This probably makes no sense... the school was gorgeous, but almost too much. I think this is because it wasn't really a classic college pretty- it's more of a quirky cool look. The library is very colorful and edgy. I came out feeling like I will become a spoiled brat if I attend this school. Everything seems to be handed on a silver platter to the students. And there's nothing wrong with that- I'm sure most liberal arts colleges are this way- but the mixture of that and the students who are so cool and environmentally conscious and sort of stuck up looking and the quirky decoration... the whole deal tended to feel kind of phony. I'm used to working for what I need at a huge public school, so this will be a different experience to say the least. I think I'm better when I work to achieve something, and I just can't imagine sitting at the cool cafe in the library, with the big (and of course cool) display of news magazines and couches all around, reading about the news to learn. This barely makes sense even to me but I think it would all feel so phony. But I don't know. I'm very confused about it all. the school was great and beautiful and the kids seemed interesting, but I don't think it clicked... yet there are so many opportunities there, and I just found a hefty scholarship in the acceptance envelope so that does not hurt one bit either... what am I to do? Gahhhh.
The area is not wonderful either- it's basically the middle of nowhere. I've had several road trips to places like Las Vegas and San Francisco, and the main town aside from Oberlin was identical to the weird highway/truck stops where all the Denny's and Motel 6's are. I wouldn't mind one bit if there was just forest around, but it wasn't like that- it was all a bunch of pavement and street and motels. Not my style at all- a bit depressing, to be honest. When I said I didn't mind living in the middle of nowhere, I meant a woodsy area- definitely not this. Cleveland isn't great either, so there is really not much to do outside of the school. But I do want snow and snows quite a bit there. The food was great, the facilities were flawless, there were some nice people we met.
We'll see what happens, I guess. It's down to Oberlin and Berkeley for me because I've basically dropped Macalester for now after visiting. It was nice but I think Minnesota might be just a bit above my cold threshold, and the students were reeeally nice and the boys were very cute and my-type-ish (the girls, on the other hand... damn, they have clearly let go of themselves. All wearing fleece. Polar opposite of Oberlin). The library was butt ugly- worse than the one in my local community college. The whole college wasn't very impressive indoors, and that is most important because I'm sure that's where I'll spend most of my time during snow storms. Also I talked to this girl who it turned out felt like the school didn't have a community feeling- the international kids generally kept to themselves (the international factor is what mostly attracted me to the school) and I guess she just couldn't really find herself. And she was form NYC, so she can't be so different from me. I don't know, I just sort of lost enthusiasm for the school after the visit and it has gotten buried on its own accord in my mind... thank god I visited.
So we'll see what happens... I have, oh god, 11 days to decide! Wow, this sucks.
OBERLIN
This was the first college my mom and I visited. We flew to Cleveland, Ohio on Friday. In the airport there, they have a church. Like, in one of the rooms in the main terminal. That was sort of weird but it is the Midwest after all. Another observation- a lot of people dye their hair blonde there. For some reason it was much more noticeable than here in Los Angeles... I think that's because even lots of the older women have platinum blonde hair. But anyway- onto more important business. Oberlin!
We slept overnight at the Holiday Inn, and then got a ride from the hotel to Oberlin College early in the morning. It was cold but not too much, and the sky was overcast. Definitely a different environment than I'm used to- all the houses on the way were sort of gloomy and had these really tall, steep roofs, apparently to keep the snow from piling on. Also, each house had an identically sized shed outside, my mom said in order to keep stuff in there over winter. These are all assumptions, of course. My mom and I "approved" of the houses, especially the fact that each one had a huge expanse of land all around and (leafless) trees. Our driver was this grumpy old man and the funniest thing was that my mom sort of accidentally gave him a $20 tip for driving us for 15 minutes... hahaha... he sure wasn't grumpy after that. But anyway.
We ate the "continental breakfast" with other admitted students- it was whole wheat bagels and fruit. They said 65% was locally grown or something but I don't know how that makes sense. Oh well. We sat next to a kid from Maryland who stayed in a dorm the night before and who was really nice- he was deciding between U. of Maryland and Oberlin so he's in a similar predicament as I am. It's funny because the week before the trip, I kept saying that I wasn't nervous about visiting colleges because I was now the one to judge them and I didn't need to worry about being so proper myself. But of course the moment I got there, that all changed. Suddenly I felt all self-conscious next to the admitted kids, the current students, even the admissions people who I have no need to impress anymore! Gah. But I was still very judgmental of my surroundings and observed everything, as I promised. This girl soon joined our table- apparently she had met the Maryland boy the night before. She was... man, I don't want to get too picky, but I can't help it. She was exactly the type of person I feared I would encounter at Oberlin. She had the "cooler than thou" attitude down pat, she had this crazy curly hair with blonde tips and a scarf head band on. She mentioned at least twice that she stayed up until 3 am the night before, talking with her roommates. Like, a really deep conversation, you know? I don't mean to demean anyone and once again, this is just me looking after my own ass because people like that make me feel intimidated and uncomfortable, and I can see through them but yet I'm still intimidated.
Well, I saw a lot of people like that throughout the day at Oberlin. This is one of my biggest worries about the school. It's just that the great majority dress hipster-y, and the great majority are just so cool. And they don't even dress in a similar hipster style. They're all very consciously different- you can tell they're trying to be- yet they blend together and look the same after a while. This probably makes no sense... the school was gorgeous, but almost too much. I think this is because it wasn't really a classic college pretty- it's more of a quirky cool look. The library is very colorful and edgy. I came out feeling like I will become a spoiled brat if I attend this school. Everything seems to be handed on a silver platter to the students. And there's nothing wrong with that- I'm sure most liberal arts colleges are this way- but the mixture of that and the students who are so cool and environmentally conscious and sort of stuck up looking and the quirky decoration... the whole deal tended to feel kind of phony. I'm used to working for what I need at a huge public school, so this will be a different experience to say the least. I think I'm better when I work to achieve something, and I just can't imagine sitting at the cool cafe in the library, with the big (and of course cool) display of news magazines and couches all around, reading about the news to learn. This barely makes sense even to me but I think it would all feel so phony. But I don't know. I'm very confused about it all. the school was great and beautiful and the kids seemed interesting, but I don't think it clicked... yet there are so many opportunities there, and I just found a hefty scholarship in the acceptance envelope so that does not hurt one bit either... what am I to do? Gahhhh.
The area is not wonderful either- it's basically the middle of nowhere. I've had several road trips to places like Las Vegas and San Francisco, and the main town aside from Oberlin was identical to the weird highway/truck stops where all the Denny's and Motel 6's are. I wouldn't mind one bit if there was just forest around, but it wasn't like that- it was all a bunch of pavement and street and motels. Not my style at all- a bit depressing, to be honest. When I said I didn't mind living in the middle of nowhere, I meant a woodsy area- definitely not this. Cleveland isn't great either, so there is really not much to do outside of the school. But I do want snow and snows quite a bit there. The food was great, the facilities were flawless, there were some nice people we met.
We'll see what happens, I guess. It's down to Oberlin and Berkeley for me because I've basically dropped Macalester for now after visiting. It was nice but I think Minnesota might be just a bit above my cold threshold, and the students were reeeally nice and the boys were very cute and my-type-ish (the girls, on the other hand... damn, they have clearly let go of themselves. All wearing fleece. Polar opposite of Oberlin). The library was butt ugly- worse than the one in my local community college. The whole college wasn't very impressive indoors, and that is most important because I'm sure that's where I'll spend most of my time during snow storms. Also I talked to this girl who it turned out felt like the school didn't have a community feeling- the international kids generally kept to themselves (the international factor is what mostly attracted me to the school) and I guess she just couldn't really find herself. And she was form NYC, so she can't be so different from me. I don't know, I just sort of lost enthusiasm for the school after the visit and it has gotten buried on its own accord in my mind... thank god I visited.
So we'll see what happens... I have, oh god, 11 days to decide! Wow, this sucks.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Last Envelopes Have Come In...
Wesleyan: waitlisted (that's five wait lists in all :/)
Yale: rejected (surprise, surprise. I'm actually glad I at least didn't get waitlisted haha)
So, that's all of the colleges. I got into all the UC's but only three out of 9 privates, one of which was a safety. And then all the privates I didn't get into except for Yale were waitlists. So now it's between Berkeley, Macalester, and Oberlin. I'm not really counting on the waitlist schools- I just have a feeling like that's not going to go anywhere. I think I'll try to visit Macalester (Minnesota) and Oberlin (Ohio) because they're in such random places that I don't want to decide on them and then get a total surprise when I arrive. I'm still a little bitter about Vassar, but oh well. Things happen for a reason. And I was stupid not to appreciate the schools I did get into. I have no idea how I'm going to decide in less than a month. I'll keep updating about my progress but right now I'm trying not to even think about college stuff.
Yale: rejected (surprise, surprise. I'm actually glad I at least didn't get waitlisted haha)
So, that's all of the colleges. I got into all the UC's but only three out of 9 privates, one of which was a safety. And then all the privates I didn't get into except for Yale were waitlists. So now it's between Berkeley, Macalester, and Oberlin. I'm not really counting on the waitlist schools- I just have a feeling like that's not going to go anywhere. I think I'll try to visit Macalester (Minnesota) and Oberlin (Ohio) because they're in such random places that I don't want to decide on them and then get a total surprise when I arrive. I'm still a little bitter about Vassar, but oh well. Things happen for a reason. And I was stupid not to appreciate the schools I did get into. I have no idea how I'm going to decide in less than a month. I'll keep updating about my progress but right now I'm trying not to even think about college stuff.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
College Update #3
The good news:
I got into UC Berkeley and Oberlin
The bad news:
I got wait listed at Vassar and Skidmore.
The Skidmore wait listing was a major "WTF?" moment because that was one of my safeties, but it makes sense if they assumed I wasn't going to go.
The Vassar wait listing is a major downer for me. I think the moment I opened the envelope I realized just how much I really wanted to go there. I visited, and everything about the school was just so perfect. Now all there is left is Wesleyan and Yale and I'm pretty much sure I'll get rejected from both (I better get rejected somewhere because so far I've only gotten wait listed and it's driving me crazy!)
So while my whole family was ecstatic about Berkeley, I was kind of depressed today from Vassar. I don't think I can get off the wait list either because the letter said they have accepted as many as 50 and as little as zero people from the wait lists in the past years, which does not sound promising at all.
I can't even get myself to appreciate getting into Berkeley, which is absolutely rediculous. I guess because a lot of kids at my school got in. Ugh, I'm pathetic. I think the major reason I'm not too excited about it is that it's like the exact opposite of the ideal school I have been looking for this past year. It's a huge school, huge non-personal classes, California, heat, non-liberal arts, ugly campus... it does have the reputation and name recognition but frankly I don't care much for that. Maybe I should but I've gone past that already. But, like my brother said- it's hard to say no to frickin' Berkeley.
I don't know what to think. I hope I can visit some colleges and then decide. I'll try to write Vassar a letter saying they're my top choice. I'll have to keep my grades up, even though it's second semester senior year, when I'm supposed to relax and not care about anything for once. I guess that's not happening.
I got into UC Berkeley and Oberlin
The bad news:
I got wait listed at Vassar and Skidmore.
The Skidmore wait listing was a major "WTF?" moment because that was one of my safeties, but it makes sense if they assumed I wasn't going to go.
The Vassar wait listing is a major downer for me. I think the moment I opened the envelope I realized just how much I really wanted to go there. I visited, and everything about the school was just so perfect. Now all there is left is Wesleyan and Yale and I'm pretty much sure I'll get rejected from both (I better get rejected somewhere because so far I've only gotten wait listed and it's driving me crazy!)
So while my whole family was ecstatic about Berkeley, I was kind of depressed today from Vassar. I don't think I can get off the wait list either because the letter said they have accepted as many as 50 and as little as zero people from the wait lists in the past years, which does not sound promising at all.
I can't even get myself to appreciate getting into Berkeley, which is absolutely rediculous. I guess because a lot of kids at my school got in. Ugh, I'm pathetic. I think the major reason I'm not too excited about it is that it's like the exact opposite of the ideal school I have been looking for this past year. It's a huge school, huge non-personal classes, California, heat, non-liberal arts, ugly campus... it does have the reputation and name recognition but frankly I don't care much for that. Maybe I should but I've gone past that already. But, like my brother said- it's hard to say no to frickin' Berkeley.
I don't know what to think. I hope I can visit some colleges and then decide. I'll try to write Vassar a letter saying they're my top choice. I'll have to keep my grades up, even though it's second semester senior year, when I'm supposed to relax and not care about anything for once. I guess that's not happening.
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