Anybody college age/applying to college?

Since I am apparently one of the older members here (oh my God you guys make me feel so OLD!), I just thought I'd start a topic for anyone who's applying to college or will be applying to college soonish and I figure I could answer y'alls questions (if you have any, haha)!

So, if anyone has any questions about the application process or just college in general, feel free to ask!

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I'm only 14 and in my first year of high school, but my goal is to take a graphic arts class at a community college sometime soon. We've been emailing a professor guy from the college, and I have to be a junior in high school or have a score of 30 or more on the ACT to attend. I'll probably wait until I'm a junior, but I'm taking the ACT in April for practice.

No, I didn't get into my top choice school, but I knew it was going to be hard to get in.

My top choice was the University of Virginia and my second choice was the University of North Carolina, both of which were out of state for me. And my grades and GPA were pretty good but not super-outstanding, not to mention that those schools are very competitive anyways (when I toured UVA the admissions representative said something like 2/3rd of the applications are from out of state while only 1/3rd of the accepted students are out of state). I ended up getting outright rejected from both of those schools

I also applied for early notification at my in-state school (meaning that I submitted my application by mid-October and heard back in December and then you have until May to commit) and got in, and that's where I am now.

To be honest, I don't know what set me apart from the other applicants. Early notification at my school means that you only send in your GPA and test scores. You don't write out the essay portion unless you're applying for regular admission or you get deferred to regular admission from early notification. So for early notification at my school is purely about the numbers and not about you as a person. But most schools don't do that and make you feel out the entire application for both early notification/decision AND regular admission.



So I don't really know much about how to make your application stand out, but I can offer a few tips:
1. Write multiple drafts of your essays and get someone to proofread them. Take them to your English teacher and have him or her look over it and help you edit.
2. Really become friends with your favorite teachers so that you have someone to write a rec for you.
3. While a lot of it is about the numbers, don't take easy classes just to protect your GPA. Have a class schedule that will challenge you.
4. Even though it's long and boring, it's a good idea to take the SAT or ACT multiple times to get the best score possible.

That's all I can really think of at the moment, and that's mostly tips that the college counselors at my high school gave us. I know this whole process is still a few years off for most of you guys, but I just want to say not to get TOO stressed out about it.

Im only in middleschool. First year. And I still have about 6 years til college, but I'm thinking of gong to either MIT or Yale. Which school would you recommend?

I originally wanted to go to UNC Chapel Hill like my mom did. Then I decided I'd rather stay closer to home and my family and go to a community college.

Yeah, it is a little scary suddenly being on your own and not seeing your family everyday. The good thing about my school is that it's only about an hour away from my home, so it's easy for me to come home for the weekend if I want (as opposed to UVA, which was a whopping ten hours away by car). But it's also nice to be far enough away that I can learn how to live on my own.

@Amaranthine: Well, I'd always planned on being a lawyer and I knew that I really love history and politics and so the international relations major seemed to encompass all (or most) of that. I might still try to go to law school but I'm not sure; my dad's a lawyer and he thinks I'm crazy for willingly wanting to pursue that after seeing how much he has to work.

But I wouldn't worry about not knowing what you want to major in; I know lots of college freshmen who are still undecided and it's very common for people to change majors a lot during college. So don't sweat it, you have plenty of time.

@Atina: Well...I didn't look at either or those schools because I knew I didn't have the grades to get into there. >_>

The best thing I can tell you is to tour the schools and look at the programs they offer and to see which one feel best. And also keep your options open; look for a school that feels right for you and don't feel like you have to go the prestigious Ivy League route. And good luck with your dream!

I'm getting "stalked" by so many colleges right now. All because I took the PSAT last October.

Right now, I'm probably going to go to University of Houston, unless I get a full scholarship. Then I would love to go to The Theatre School in Chicago. <3

Yep, last year for me. I don't really want to leave home and since where I live they have the program I want to take, so its nice. I plan to go the collage where I live and take graphic design. I've been in love with it since I discovered it about a year ago, but I've been doing graphic design stuff even before that and just didn't know I was doing it. Plus it incorporates all of my favorite creative activities together.

wow i feel so old right now the only other one on here who it seems is going to college is sarahthegeek and shes 20 i'm 21. hehe im old

Once i graduated high school (way back in 2008) i went to valencia (a community college) of and on but i didn't do to well so just this term i transfered to seminole state college and switced my major (to early childhood education) and so far so good hoping to go to a universtiy once i get my A.A degree. i'm getting there anyway hehe long process though one tip i have start preparing in high school ididn't and its a lot harder now

That's good advice jedigirl1990! I've been planning and trying to figure out what I wanted to do since I was in about grade 8. I started out wanting to be a forensic anthropologist after watching the tv show Bones (dont know if any of you have seen it). Basically the study of bones but the skills are applied generally for crime investigations. Then I changed to early childhood educator but even though I liked that career idea it wasnt for me and for a year or so I just soul searched and after starting at a new school I landed on graphic design and having been preparing and learning as much about it and the programs in my area as possible.

Thats awsome Starwarsforever i always though i knew what i wanted to do since i was little i always wanted to work with animals so my first major was in biology but then i realized how much i love teaching at my church and i'm like hello this is my calling and my family was like finally you see what we see so i switched my major right now i'm taking intro to teaching and we have to do classroom observations and after sitting in on some classes and learing more about teaching there is not a doubt in my mind this is what i am meant to do in life

I'm not college age, but I am in college. I early enrolled into my local college and am currently in my third semester there. I took the PSAT last summer and college's have started hunting me though. It's getting about time for me to choose go to a real college. lol the prospect seems a little less frightening now that I know more of what to expect.

haha thats awsome college isn't bad it just requires organization and self discipline. I know what you mean about picking out a college i'm glad i'm starting in community college and then going to a univestiy so much easier in my opinon hehe good luck i know you can do it

Heh, yeah, I don't so much do organization and self discipline.... but I seem to be doing well in spite of that.

I'm about to finish up my last year, 12th grade, of homeschooling. I have been homeschooling since I was like, 3. I'll be taking my GED, and then enrolling in a technical (community) college a couple of months before I turn 17. I was planning on enrolling next year in August, but I have a lot going on in July and August (including CVI!) so my mom said it will probably be more convenient to wait until January. I'm pretty confident in my abilities to handle it, even though I've never done anything like school in a public environment. Haha, it seems my parents think I'm a genius, because they think I'm more than ready now. @.@
I'll be taking a course on Early Childhood Care and Developement/Education, because I absolutely love little kids. And, as it seems, I'm a "child whisperer", because babies who I've never seen before want me to hold them and I can make strangers' children stop crying just by smiling at them. My mom thinks it's amazing, lol! xD
The course lasts a little over a year, and the classes don't look very hard. Most of it is hands on stuff, and child phsycology and all that jazz. I think you get a degree, but it might just be a certificate, I can't remember. Once I have it though, I can work at a daycare, preschool, kindergarten, or anyplace like that with small children.

I don't plan on going to college early, nor do I want to. I have no real big plans but I do know I want to go far,far,far. Also it's easier to get a scholarship in another state. Not even out of high school yet so I really don't have to worry much. I don't get it when 5th graders are prepping for the SAT's seeing as they are losing their power and that's too young. I'm going at my own pace and I don't need to skip a grade to know I'm smart (not intending to criticize people who go a grade ahead, this is just how I do things). Besides, I can take advanced classes.

i agree with you it sometimes seems that people are rushiing their education (not meaning skipping grades though i don't complertly agree with it each person is different and it may work for some) but down here we have the fcat and in my opinion they expect way to much way to fast. this test can determine so much for 3rd graders who really don't need that kind of pressure and as early as middle school stundents are choosing tracks of what they want to do after school they should use that time to experiment and change their mind several times before deciding in college middle schoolers shouldn't be forced to decide what they wanna do anyway i will stop rambling now

I don't see any need to take longer than someone (in some cases, including mine) needs to learn something. School work gets boring and tedious when you have to "learn" something for a certain amounth of time, but you already learned it and are doing things over again that you already know. Kinda like a broken record, imo. And even if you didn't skip a grade, per se, you could still go onto the next thing, or just learn something extra for fun. For example, if someone finished their science text book early on in the year (not because they were made to, but because they did it at their own pace, which was faster than usual), they could do an extra book on something they're interested in. Also, being ahead gives you more flexability with taking breaks from school (when you're homeschooling). There are lots of pros to being ahead in school. It's not just doing it because you want to prove you're smart, or are rushing into/being rushed into education or college. Some people just really enjoy school, and choose to go ahead with things sooner.
And I am strongly against all the ridiculous testing and pressure that's on kids to test these days in schools.. All this testing and test prep is ridiculous, and very socialistic (Like, communists who try to make everyone the same) in my opinion, because they're trying to make all kids learn the same way and be smart in the same way. And then they think if a kid/person doesn't learn like everyone else, or doesn't know the same things as everyone else that they're stupid or something, which is so not true! I don't take tests, and never have. My parents are strongly against them too, which is one reason my mom says she didn't put me in public school. (Nothing against you guys who go to public school, but I know y'all don't like the tests and pressure either!) Okay. I'll stop ranting on with my opinion now. xD

futurejedigirl0202 wrote:

I don't plan on going to college early, nor do I want to. I have no real big plans but I do know I want to go far,far,far. Also it's easier to get a scholarship in another state. Not even out of high school yet so I really don't have to worry much. I don't get it when 5th graders are prepping for the SAT's seeing as they are losing their power and that's too young. I'm going at my own pace and I don't need to skip a grade to know I'm smart (not intending to criticize people who go a grade ahead, this is just how I do things). Besides, I can take advanced classes.

I completely agree!!! I don't get it when people try and make it to college by 14 or 15, because even if they're smart enough, they won't be mature enough to handle it. My cousin is trying to finish 4 years' worth of college in a year on some online thing. Even after he finishes, it'll probably be hard to get a job because a) who wants to hire a 14/15 year old for a serious job? and b) It'll be harder to prove you've learned what you need to learn if you do it online. Those are just my thoughts, though.