Page 10 - Menlo School – KNIGHTtime News

KNIGHTtime News
GUIDING YOUR COLLEGE PROCESS
By Amanda Crisci ’17, University of Michigan ’21
Asleep-deprived high school senior sits in her car, which has died
on the side of the highway. It’s the Thursday of nals week. She feels the pull of her backpack, which begs her to get back to work on the English essay she needs to nish. She can hardly hear AAA over the thundering rainstorm that is smacking her dead, tiny Volvo around. After hanging up and soaking up the nightmare she is living, her phone buzzes. An email. A college decision. After allowing a wave of fear and excitement to pass over her, she opens the email... A deferral.
My college process ended up looking much di erent than I thought it would. In the fall, I was hoping I would get into my Early Decision choice and be able to relax through nals and second semester. What actually happened was that I was deferred by my ED college in the
fall and eventually denied in the spring. At University of Michigan, where I ended up attending, I was also deferred in the fall. In the spring I was waitlisted, and nally, well into May, I nally knew where I was going.
A NOTE FROM A MENLO GRAD
“WHAT I WISH I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS WAS TO BE MORE OPEN AND EXCITED ABOUT THE EVER-CHANGING POSSIBILITIES.“
While this might be a more atypical example of the college process, the reality of my situation is probably relatable for many of my peers. Even though it is nice to have an ideal version of your application journey, it is unlikely that everything will go exactly according to plan.
What I wish I could have done better throughout the process was to be more open and excited about the ever-changing possibilities. The university I currently attend is one that I never would have looked at if it had not been recommended to me. This school originally contradicted
a lot of the criteria I had originally determined as important to me; I didn’t truly look into the school until after I had submitted my application. After visiting and learning more, I realized that while it wasn’t what I was expecting, it t me like a glove. By the time I was accepted in May (o the waitlist!), I was ecstatic!
Re ecting on how my peers and I treated the process, I now see we all put much more stress on ourselves than necessary. It made moments like getting a deferral feel like the end of the world. While application stress is born from good intentions, namely wanting to achieve your full potential, it often times draws away from experiencing the nal moments of high school.
I tell a lot of the seniors the same thing: you won’t believe the process will work out until it does, but I promise that it does. Even if you are considering schools you don’t know that much about, or keeping up with your academics while nishing applications, remember that it is important to stay positive and know that you will end up where you’re meant to be.
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