My College Application Journey and What I Learned

I want to create a blog post about my college application journey. It has been very very hard to say the least. I want people to know not to take acceptances personally. You will end up at the school you are meant to be at, and it sounds very cliche but it is true. I say don’t underestimate the amount of supplemental essays you have to write. Some schools can ask for an additional 7 essays varying in length. Give yourself plenty of time. Take your ACT and SAT at the end of junior year as opposed to senior year because it will help with this workload.

I myself have two published medical research papers as well as an abstract, and I have presented a poster at SAEM. I tutor for calculus, have been captain of soccer for 2 years, play club soccer all in high school, run this website, etc., and have never gotten a B in high school, along with a letter of recommendation from a doctor I have shadowed over 60 hours with. However, I was still rejected from Duke, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Stanford, and Brown. Those were all my top choices. I didn’t know what I did wrong. So this process is hard and it doesn’t mean you are a bad student if you don’t get into the schools you want. It sucks and it is hard, but it is leading me to the path that is meant for me.

But I did get into many other schools such as Cal Poly SLO, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, Baylor Honors College, and VMI Institute Scholars with a full ride. These are not bad colleges by any means, but in my mind I always imagined myself at one of the other schools I got rejected from. But there is nothing I could have done to my essays or anything to make my application better. Also, a nurse is a nurse and a doctor is a doctor, you will all end up in the same place one day.

You will also have hard decisions. Some people I know turned down top 20 schools because they were very expensive. They didn’t want to graduate with a bunch of debt, and that is very self aware. It feels like a time where everyone wants you to go to the best of the best schools, but that has no bearing on who you are. Also everyone forgets where you go to school in a couple of weeks.

I would recommend writing or at least drafting your main Common App personal statement during the summer before your senior year. This gives you more time to focus on supplements and editing your personal statement as needed. I think one of the most important things as well is to give yourself grace and have a good support system. Being able to lean on people and have them lean on you in hard times is a crucial skill.

Here are some basic and not so basic questions with my opinion:

1. What GPA do I need for my dream school?

Honestly the college admissions process has been changing so much, no GPA guarantees you a spot in any school anymore. I got a 4.7 in high school and the best college I got into was UCSD and UCLA. They care more about a cohesive story. Aim for quality not quantity. Do things that are meaningful to you and build a personal project or extracurricular off of that. I would say still do as well as you can in all your classes so you don’t have to rely only on essays and activities, but if you slip up maybe once or twice don’t sweat it.

2. Which standardized tests should I take and when (SAT, ACT, AP, etc.)?

I think it is a personal preference. I started off taking the SAT because that is what my school did. But then I talked to some friends that were in college and they all took the ACT. So I took a practice ACT to see if I liked it better and I did. I thought the reading and English passages were more straightforward and less Shakespearean in style. Also the ACT has a science section and I was applying for science majors.

3. How many extracurriculars do I need?

I think it is less about the number of activities but the importance of them. It is better to be a president, founder, or captain of something than a participant in multiple things. Do activities like a sport or volunteering that show your commitment rather than just aiming for numbers. Try to find things that not every generic high schooler is doing but you don’t need to cure cancer to get into college. Make sure you will be able to explain why and how the things you are doing are meaningful to you. Making a story to show admission readers who you are is important.

4. When should I start thinking about college essays?

I started thinking about college essays during my junior year, especially the Common App main personal statement. I started drafting as early as April in my junior year. It took me more than two months to finally figure out what I was going to write about and even then I needed to expand and make revisions. You can’t really start supplementals that early for specific schools because they don’t open that early. But the UC PIQs generally don’t change from year to year, so you can get a head start on those as well. This ends up being so helpful because when school starts you have sports, school, and essays which can get to be a lot.

5. Do I need to start volunteering or doing community service now?

I would say start as early as your freshman year. There is no time when you should or shouldn’t start. Starting earlier helps you find opportunities that are more interesting to you and gain more experience with them over the years. Volunteering and community service are not the only things that matter or stand out on an application. There are many other things you can do that are not volunteering or community service, such as a passion project rooted in a deep interest. My website is my passion project. It doesn’t have to be some big nonprofit. Don’t do community service just because you feel you have to, they will be able to tell on an application. It is better to stick to one for a long time than jump around and do not many hours at a lot of places. I chose my church’s kids ministry.

6. How important are my freshman and sophomore grades?

I would say freshman year grades are not the most important thing in the world, but it does help you get off to a strong start. I didn’t take any honors classes my freshman year and then took 5 AP and honors classes my sophomore year. Colleges understand that in 8th grade you might not know if you want to take honors classes or not. But I do encourage doing as best as you can in all the classes you take, not only to have no regrets in the future but to keep your options open in case later on you want more competitive colleges. I know people that got one or two C’s freshman year and then did great in all their classes from then on and got into schools like Boston University. Definitely try to lock in sophomore year and on, but I wouldn’t slack off just to slack off.

Another tip is to do well and work hard in your classes because some summer programs require a letter of recommendation. The more you put in the more the teacher is likely to help you. I needed a letter of recommendation as early as freshman year for a nurse camp I was doing, then again sophomore year. Putting in the work on the front end helps you on the back end if you ever need a favor such as a letter of recommendation.

7. Should I take honors or AP classes?

I would say if you are aiming for top schools yes you should. Although taking these classes doesn’t inherently get you into a top school, it does show the school that you are able to keep up with intense rigor and that is important. It showcases your academic capabilities in the classroom and your ability to keep up with large workloads. If you do well on the AP exams, usually a 3 or above, you can even gain college credits for the AP you are taking. In college this can be a big advantage, you may be able to skip some GE classes and start taking higher classes early. AP and honors classes also give your GPA a boost. The boost itself depends on the school. GPA alone does not get you into college but it can keep you in the door while extracurriculars and essays carry the rest.

8. When should I start visiting colleges?

I would definitely think about what you want from your college experience whether it be parties, academics, sports, etc. Touring colleges during your junior year gives you plenty of time to see all of them. During winter, spring, or any breaks ask your family if visiting is possible. Keep in mind that certain elements like weather while you are there can sway your feelings about the school. If your family cannot afford visiting many colleges that is ok. Many schools have virtual tours online, and YouTube videos of students’ personal experiences helped me with the schools I was not able to visit. Some schools track demonstrated interest, many top colleges such as Stanford do not. Look up if your colleges of interest track demonstrated interest and I would recommend visiting those if possible.

9. How do I research colleges that fit me?

I would say YouTube, college websites, and reaching out to people who go there are very helpful. There are many resources that can help you evaluate colleges such as Niche, College Database, and maybe even Reddit. I would even look things up on Instagram. Many students and colleges are using social media to talk about their school. Hearing things from students themselves always seemed to resonate better with me because they are in the position you will soon be in.

10. Do I need to get letters of recommendation now or later?

Junior year. Ask teachers you have that year that are recommended. Early spring is when I asked both of my teachers. If you know what you want to major in, ask one teacher in that field and another in a different field to show diversity. I am a science and math person, so I asked my AP Calc teacher and my Spanish teacher. I asked my Spanish teacher because it shows I am well rounded, and I also have a good relationship with that teacher.

Asking for a letter of recommendation early not only helps your peace of mind but it shows the teacher you respect their time. You may have to fill out some surveys or provide information for the teacher’s letter. I worked hard on these surveys so that my letter of recommendation would be great. You don’t know how early deadlines could start so having the letter early helps everyone involved. Also if you ask early the teacher is more inclined to say yes because no one has started asking yet. This can be huge. Some teachers might be known for their letters so go early. But don’t just ask a teacher because they are known for good letters if you don’t feel they are the teacher that knows you best or could speak to who you are as a student and person.