<p>Some kids have the older brother or sister that is succeeding and follows their path but other kids don't even have both parents to push them. What was your initial motivation for succeeding?</p>
<p>Mine: Towards the end of freshman year I realized how real college was becoming (sister went to Comm.College). Before high school it just seemed like that coveted place where I was far from. Now being in junior year, I have realized how fast time goes.</p>
<p>Continueeeeeeeeeeeee</p>
<p>I knew I wanted to go to college as soon as I heard that in this country, you don’t go directly to Med school</p>
<p>End of sophomore year I was googling for info on AP tests…and I discovered CC.</p>
<p>I became interested in college(s) at the end of my 8th grade year. Towards my upperclassmen years in high school I really began to broaden my knowledge about schools and information of college in general. I couldn’t be more happy for my early interest in college since I will be attending my dream school this fall, surprisenly I only had become well informed about the school during my 11th grade year though knew all along what I was looking for in a university, location, college town etc…</p>
<p>My epic sophomore-year history teacher started my research. He taught us little about history but much about life.</p>
<p>Visiting our state flagship for a competition in 8th grade was when I first decided that I wanted to go to college. It was a given in the family beforehand that I would go somewhere, but I never really felt interested until that trip.</p>
<p>My school’s college fair… mainly when I found out that juniors actually go to it.</p>
<p>Hmm, some time in elementary school my reading teacher told me “and Val here could go to college with a scholarship” as an example of the word “scholar” and the use of “-ship” and I was like “But I don’t have money!” and she was like “No, scholarship and grants are money they give you” and I was like “HolyCrap! They do that!” So since then I’ve been wanting to go. I didn’t really start doing much research till I joined the IB though. It all really saved me because if not for the IB coordinator I’d probably just go to community college or had done cosmo and beautician or something. I really figured for a while that getting a scholarship involved being some kind of freaky baby genius. Turns out it just helps to be really poor and decently smart with a want to go to college!</p>
<p>Im going to be the first one here to actually admit</p>
<p>my asian parents started talking to me about it since i was 8</p>
<p>My grandfather decided I was going to Yale as an infant —> 17 years later, Yale waitlists me.</p>
<p>Legit though, I took the SAT as an 11 year old. I was always thinking about college. I guess I started making serious decisions about where I personally wanted to go in 8th grade when I became obsessed with Cambridge.</p>
<p>But I don’t think the idea of “okay, I need to keep this GPA” made me want to get high grades. Getting low grades was just unthinkable, despite the fact that grades weren’t really a part of my life before 7th grade.</p>
<p>Sister’s Harvard acceptance.</p>
<p>I’m just amazing.</p>
<p>@md5hash: LOL story of my life too.
Since forever, since I was like 2, it was jammed into my brain by my super-traditional Chinese parents that I’m going to a great college, most likely UCBerkeley or something awesome like that. And guess where I’m going next year? Yep, Berkeley.
I don’t mind, except, I feel like all that talk made me limit my options. I never looked into any colleges except the UC’s and Stanford (which I got rejected from their Early Decision.) But definitely, for grad school, I’m expanding my options.</p>
<p>Stanford doesn’t have early decision.</p>
<p>My parents have always instilled an importance in education in me from a very young age.
My father is an immigrant, and education is pretty much what got him where he is today.
Mother is from a low-income household, and the story is a similar one.
However, now they’re indifferent to my education. AP what…? 
It’s a strange dynamic, but I’ve done pretty well in it.</p>
<p>When I took the SATs in 7th Grade for JHU’s CTY and did pretty awesome. It was then that I was not the inept idiot that my parents made me out to be because of that one B I got in 5th grade. I realized that I had the ability to go places, and that going to a good college would be the first big step in proving to my parents that I wasn’t stupid because of one (Asian) failure. Surprisingly, for Asians, my parents don’t care or know shiz about college.</p>
<p>When my sister was looking at colleges when I was in 8th grade.</p>
<p>Honestly, my Asian parents surprisingly don’t know a THING about college. It was only because this year a bunch of my classmates started “subtly” struggling for leadership positions and taking on standardized tests…I was like, whaaaaa? What positions and SAT scores?</p>
<p>So I Googled, and I found CC.</p>
<p>My parents were both in the Air Force before they went to college, so by the time my dad was getting his bachelor’s degree, they were already married and had me. As a result, I spent a substantial amount of time in college with my dad when I was a toddler. That got me thinking about it pretty early on.</p>
<p>Fortunately for my sanity, I didn’t discover CC until late fall of senior year. Otherwise I probably would have had a psychotic break long, long ago.</p>
<p>I really started caring after my brother and his friends were looking/being accepted at colleges. It was always in the back of my mind but I never considered it truly until Sophomore year, when my brother was the school’s val. So, I’m working hard for myself, but I’ve also felt obligated to do as well as he did… Also, ever since I found this place, I’ve been thinking more and more about unis and it makes me want to wither and die sometimes; there are so many ridiculously amazing people on here.</p>
<p>Since about sixth grade, I’ve been interested in college. To me, college seemed like the best experience anyone could ever have in his or her life. I viewed college students as sophisticated, educated, and all-around great people. Maybe it was Gilmore Girls that put that idea in my head. Anyways, when I was fourteen, I developed a more realistic view of college and started to become infatuated with UVA after hearing about from CC. Despite the fact that I was interested in colleges at a somewhat young age, I never really applied myself until my junior year so I’m not really sure how that’s going to work for me next year when I apply to colleges next year.</p>