<p>I don’t think my college counselor liked me very much or had high hopes for me. He probably had to bite his tongue a few times. He kept on suggesting schools like Rochester and Syracuse after I told him I had no interest in going to school in upstate NY (with Cornell as an exception). He didn’t sound very enthusiastic about my decision to apply to several Ivy league/other top schools and mentioned that another girl in my class had applied to my ED school a day before decisions were released.</p>
<p>But the joke is on him because I got into my top choice ED school though he seemed like he was having trouble hiding his surprise. Fast forward four years later, when I emailed my research advisor to tell him that I got into one of my top choice grad schools ranked number 1 in my field (with a fancy fellowship), his response was “Great news, I am happy for you but not surprised.”</p>