Well, I submitted my application a few minutes ago. I’ll admit, I felt a little emotional after I hit “submit.” I really poured my heart and soul into the essays. And the interview. And my visit to the school. And every one of the countless forms I’ve filled out these last few months. Even so, I still don’t know if my grades, and scores, and activities, and awards, and essays, and recommendations, are good enough.
I didn’t pour my heart into the sea of scantron sheets I’ve had to wade through these past few years. The SAT did claim a few hours of my life and rather a lot of my happiness during the weeks I spent waiting for results, so I’m glad a retake wasn’t in order. Some of my friends weren’t so lucky, and a few will be getting test scores two days before Christmas. There’s a dark side to the application process.
When I started looking into colleges, I promised myself I wouldn’t fall in love with one school. On a rational level, I knew it was foolish. A recipe for heartbreak, and a lifetime’s worth of stress in two short years. My mother wanted to be sure I’d make college choices of my own accord, so she made a conscious effort not to talk too much about UChicago, when there were a million things she could’ve said that would’ve had me sold on the college in a heartbeat.
None of that mattered. I gradually fell in love with the school, for reasons that I couldn’t list here if this post were a thousand words. long. I visited Chicago for the first time a year ago, and was just as smitten with the city as I was with the university. As much as I tried not to grow attached to the school, I couldn’t really help it.
Whatever happens, I’ll move on. If I don’t get in, I’ll survive. But I’ve put so much into this application that I can’t help wanting it to go well. I wish UChicago could admit everyone posting here, or worrying about their application at home, or lying awake wondering if they should’ve rewritten their essays. I wish they could admit every student who applies. This thread can’t be the best place to let all my angst out, but it’s the first one that came to mind, and it’s helped me a little. Good luck to everyone who’s applying - I hope we all meet on the quad next fall.
