This is my first time logging on since around March 10th, when I scanned through hundreds of messages on the Wait List thread. After that, I signed off for 3 months… until this post. With this post, I want to give some advice, and to open up a thread that real and realistic, but I want to start it with a little of my story – and to explain why some of us do log off after M9/10 and disappear.
I applied to five schools. 98th percentile SSAT, three grades ahead in math, CTY SET verbal qualification, All-State trumpet, international awards in robotics… I had good stats. Stats that were high above the averages of two schools I applied to, and on-par / above another school I applied to. I worked on my essays for months until they were me in 500 words, and had presumably good recommendations (I hope).
I opened up my portals on M9 to four waitlists, and one acceptance that I couldn’t take because there wasn’t enough FA. I don’t know if I was waitlisted because of FA, because of a lack of any athletic talent whatsoever, or because of something else… but at the end of the day, I’m not going to boarding school.
Don’t stop reading now thinking “this will never be me.” That’s what I thought. But ANY applicant can slip through the cracks of admissions and end up with nowhere to go but public school. So I’m currently finishing up my freshman year at a public high school.
I’m doing fine.
I logged off of CC on M10. I focused on school. I focused on my future. I stayed away from every voice from these schools that said I wasn’t good enough, and instead focused on making myself good enough. I focused on growing. I focused on building myself up again until I was ready to return and post this now.
I sold my soul to schools that I will never go to. I ended up in the same place I would have if I never applied. I grew through the application process, but I also became a little obsessed.
So, 1. Sometimes it’s okay to log off of CC. Don’t read Chance Me threads, they truly do mean nothing. And take some time to LIVE. You’re probably in eighth grade – enjoy what might be the last moments you have with your friends!
I don’t regret anything about March 9th. I was at a robotics competition. I was surrounded by friends. I opened my portals and, while surprised and honestly embarrassed, it was okay. It meant I would get to stay in my state, stay on my team, and dedicate myself to a new future.
Instead of running out of options, I suddenly was surrounded by so many more possibilities. I was gasp happy. It felt like it happened for a reason.
- But let's discuss that embarrassed feeling. I was waitlisted at a school that anybody who knows me thought I would get into easily. I have friends that got in. I have classmates from other grades that got in. I didn't. Explaining to people that they got accepted and you didn't... yes, it is and was embarrassing. But getting it over with is great. And none of my friends doubted me, or thought I was any less than they used to think... I got more of a "their loss" response.
- I never said "their loss." Instead, I said... okay, maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I really wasn't good enough. So... learn from every experience. You can always be better. A better person, a better student, a better friend...
- You're only a kid once. Live. In. The. Moment.
- Back to learning... Since March 9th, I've moved up positions on my robotics teams and have plans to truly make a difference, I've learned another half octave or so on trumpet and auditioned for another statewide ensemble to increase my experience, I've joined a new program at my school that will give me more experience in music... I've taken everything my state and my hometown can give me and have started to make the most out of it. Every experience that boarding school really couldn't have given me.
- Forget about school reputations. And by that I mean focus on how you feel at the school. I had many, many ideas about what Andover would be like based on what I'd read about it... then I visited the school and loved it. What you feel at a school is so much more important than what other people say about it. And especially don't let those reputations change how you feel about a school and your application to it. Just be yourself, and focus on how you feel.
So, you’re a new applicant. Or maybe you’re a future applicant two years from now. Whatever it is, remember that there is a future in which you don’t get into any schools, or you can’t go. Plan for that future too. Don’t end up with waitlists and rejections and nothing you can do about it.
Maybe there is a future in which you’re in your hometown four years from now. How bad would that be? Would it be good if you’re valedictorian, headed to an Ivy League school, captain of a sports or academic team, and surrounded by supportive friends? There is a future in which that could happen too. At a local public school.
Boarding school isn’t the only option. Prepare for a future in which it isn’t an option, because that might happen.
That’s all I have to say for now. What does the CC community recommend on how to plan for that oh so dreaded possibilty? Comment below please 