Getting In and Beyond

I'm back (a bit of surprise, I'm sure) for a special edition of Getting In and Beyond! For those who do not know, I started college in late August of 2018 and am currently getting through my spring semester of freshman year. While my fall semester was pretty light on academic commitments, I've committed to much more this semester. Thus, my days in college are pretty long and can get pretty hectic. If you're reading this before the end of April 2019, chances are I'm stressing out over getting work done, sitting in class, or getting a few hours of shut-eye. Here's a look at my weekly schedule this spring semester: Monday 7 am: Wake up and morning routine 8 am: Eat breakfast (dining hall) 8:30 am: Commute to class 9 am: Sociology (class) 10 am - ~10:45 am: Break (turn in chem homework) 11 am: Chemistry (class) 12 pm: Russian Fairy Tales (class) 1 pm: Lunch 1:30 - 3 pm: Research at lab 3:30 - 4:15 pm: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant meeting 4:30 pm

Dear Reader, Today's blog post marks the final post of this academic year-long project. I just want to extend a massive thank you for anyone who has read any of my previous posts (even if this is the first post you're reading on this blog, thank you!). I've decided that I wanted to enjoy my last couple of weeks as a senior in high school with as little added stress, so that is why today's post is the last one. Getting In and Beyond  has been a joy. I've enjoyed posting on here more so than I thought I would. Arguably, the readership hasn't been great (arguably, I'm not a great promoter of this blog), but I'm glad that people are still reading it, and from the little feedback I have received, the stuff I've written hasn't been completely unhelpful. I'd say that's a win for me. I hope this blog has helped or will help you through the very complicated and sometimes-confusing journey to get into college. All posts will be archived on t

Now that all of my peers are committed somewhere, I took the time to ask them what they thought of the college application process. I took the time to ask my friends Mallika, Amy, and Rachel about the college application process and to reflect on what they would or wouldn't have changed. 1. If you wouldn't mind sharing, where are you going this fall, and what are you planning on studying? Mallika : I'm going to the University of Maryland (College Park) to study Computer Science. Amy : I will be going to Carnegie Mellon University this fall for computer science. Rachel : I’m going to Ursinus College and I plan to major in Computer Science and minor in French, Peace and Social Justice Studies, and hopefully also Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies if it fits. 2. How did you handle the stress of college applications in your senior year, if you had any? M : For me, it only got very stressful around Christmas break, because I had to write a lot of college essays durin

AP exams are approaching, whether you like or not. As someone who likes to call herself a seasoned AP test-taker (I took five exams in the two-week exam schedule last year alone), I have some helpful tips that managed to get me some pretty decent scores on the exams: 1. Sleep. You've heard it again and again, but sleep does actually. Try to adjust to a healthy sleep schedule (I'm talking at least seven hours a night) a couple of days before your first AP exam, and maintain that sleep schedule until your last one. Your classes will tend to go lax on the workload, so you'll have less things to do anyway besides studying for your exams. This will mean you'll have a lot of time to sleep, so get your hours of rest! 2. Have a test-taking kit made. That includes No. 2 pencils (sharpened), an effective eraser, test-appropriate pens (for free-response sections), a calculator (when allowed), a snack, and water. Depending on the room you're taking the exam, you might als

Deciding which college you'll be attending is challenging, especially if you have more than one option to choose from. I will say as a disclaimer that my decision was easy. I wanted to get into the University of Pittsburgh since my sophomore year, and I've never looked back (I committed last week). But I have plenty of friends who are going through what many will be going through for the next couple of years, so here are some things you should consider before making that tuition deposit and officially committing. 1. Visit the school (if you can). I recommend you visit the school no matter how far the distance, because a campus can only be experienced if you're actually there. College campuses have certain energies that are near-impossible to experience in any other setting than an actual visit, and I've heard plenty of people make or break their decision on a school after they've visited. Even when you think you're dead set on the college, visit one more time

It seems everyone and their pets are somehow the expert on your own college admission process. Growing up in the community I did, many of our family friends went off to prestigious schools and majored in some STEM field. It's understandable that the people around you have firsthand experiences that they feel the need to share. Some of the advice I've received in my first three years of high school helped me a lot in my senior year. For example, as a freshman, I took the advice of one senior to heart and started my essays really early after she told me of the stress she experienced trying to juggle her senior year coursework with the demands of college applications (she's at UC Berkeley right now). While information can be useful, advice about the college admission process is unreliable 99% of the time. Too much information can seriously clutter your brain. As corny as this sounds, you need to stay authentic to yourself. Do what you think is right. If you don't like

If you're fortunate enough to visit a college, you'll probably want to maximize the time you spend there. Here are tips on how to make the most of such a visit. 1. Have a clear plan about what you're going to do there. You're investing already quite a lot of time visiting. Most likely you're not the only one visiting (as in you're probably accompanied by your parents), so take some time (I'm not even suggesting you spend a whole day) to learn things about the college you're visiting. For example, if you're aiming for a specific field of interest, have questions ready about the field of study you're interested in when you visit. The worst thing you could do during a college visit is not engage with the people that you encounter during a visit, so don't be afraid to ask questions. 2. Have some sort of record of your visit. I'm not saying you have to write a journal, but you probably shouldn't depend on your brain to remember every