Getting In and Beyond

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...

Everyone is confronted with rejection at some point in their lives. I underwent the classic college rejection in late January, when I got rejected from the most competitive school of the four I applied to. My initial reaction was one of shock. I had maybe anticipated I would manage to get in, but maybe not qualify for the highly competitive program I applied to. A flat-out rejection stung. I tried to forget about it, but I let it marinate over the weekend, and I would be lying if I said that self-doubt didn't cloud my brain. Was I not as good as I thought I was? What did they not like about me? Was it more about incompatibility or me being not qualified? The best thing I ever did was not let it ruin my life. I thought little of it after that weekend. I had already gotten into my top choice school, and I didn't let the rejection determine what I could or couldn't do. I didn't need to reevaluate my career choices or question my academic merit because I didn't get ...

I've noticed that this blog might be incredibly unhelpful if you're not an upperclassmen, so I thought I could take the time to give some underclassmen some college-related advice. Obviously, being a freshman and sophomore is stressful enough (trust me, I've been there). But here are some things I recommend you do during these two years as you start to barrel towards your junior year. As a Freshman... 1. Toy around with career interests, and maybe the kind of schools that could fit those tentative plans. I get it. You're fourteen. Senior year is far away. Even my eager self who jumped at a career path in my sophomore year had no idea what she wanted to do when she was a freshman. At the same time, you don't want to be a senior approaching college apps without any clue of what your career interests are. Take the time as a freshman to just lightly consider it. It's probably been itching at the back of your head at some point, right? 2. Meet with your counse...

Self-care, physically and mentally, is really important. Since early February is the beginning of the wait between ED/EA decisions and RD decisions, you have some time that you can use to focus on yourself. Here are tips to keep you healthy not only physically, but mentally as well. 1. Do things you love. Whether that's something strenuous as exercising or something as relaxed as listening to music, putting yourself in a stress-free zone is paramount in putting your mind at ease. Personally, I started to listen to more genres of music after submitting all my college applications, and discovering new music has always made my mind really happy and at ease. I also watched a lot of films in theaters, something I always wish I can do more. Catch up on a TV show you've been meaning to get to. Eat good food. Clean your room if you need to declutter. You deserve it. 2. Try something new that you've had to put on the back burner for so long. Whether that's picking up a ne...