Hi guys. Today I thought it would be a good idea to comfort those who didn’t get into their dream school. It’s almost fall and high school seniors are heading off to college soon. I know that for some students, it has been hard. After all, not being accepted to your dream school can kinda hurt because people in high school tend to take it personally. I’m here to tell you guys that it really isn’t. I don’t want this to be another “cheer up” kinda thing, but I really want to tell you guys that life beyond college is more important. I have some examples of people who went to my high school that I wanted to share. One of my good friends is very very intelligent. She had near perfect SAT scores and extracurriculars that were beyond amazing. Take my word for it; she was crazy smart. Even she didn’t get into all her dream schools. She got rejected from a few schools and I was completely shocked. I thought that someone of her caliber would definitely get in But I knew that she would be successful no matter where she went because of her ambition. And she probably is doing well right now anyway.
Then, there were people I know who went to Cornell and complained about it being so competitive that people would sabotage other students’ labs so that they would get a bad grade. Now, I know that the people most upset about college rejections are the ones who worked really hard and strive to go to these top-notch ivy league schools. I sat one day and thought, is going to an ivy league school really worth it? I mean, there is a lot of stress in going to these schools at times.
Finally, I would just like to talk about my experience. My goals for college were being able to do research, publish a paper, take interesting classes, and have a good community around me. I thought that top notch schools were only capable of offering me interesting and intellectual opportunities. I ended up going to a state school in an honors stem program, and I am happy with my decision. I didn’t have to pay much and I built a good community around me. There are so many research opportunities and ways to get involved in clubs and in academics.I want you guys to know that the name of a school is not and should not be a deciding factor for the school you pick. I actually visited Columbia and Yale university and didn’t even like them. They didn’t seem like a good fit for me so I didn’t even apply there.
The stuff that I did during high school like clubs, NHS, the Science club, track, volunteering at Yale hospital and Milford Hospital, winning first place at the Mit Science olympiad, doing the discovery to cure internship, interning at the Yale School of Public health and a doctor’s office, being officers of all the clubs I was in, and almost every other activity I did showed me what was more important in life. All the time I was in activities was worth every minute. Looking back, I could have studied more for the SATs, but I’m glad I didn’t because life shouldn’t be spent on getting into a college because once you get into a school, you really won’t know what to do next. I don’t want to say this to brag (heck, i didn’t even get into that many schools), but I realized that it wasn’t the most important. And that’s coming from someone who was third in a very competitive class. School is there for you to experience life and gain knowledge, not get into a prestigious college. Use school the right way and you’ll be fine in life.
Good luck!