Freedom To... Freedom From

As students chew on their cuticles waiting for acceptance or rejection letters and as their Junior peers wait in the wings knowing it will soon be their turn, I urge both sets to consider this momentous milestone as both grand but also less critical than social pressure dictates. Applying to college, getting accepted to your ‘dream’ college and finally deciding on the right college with sound mind and heart is a draining process with tons of noise which could, if not careful, drown out your inner voice. Make sure you are actively participating in all steps of the process.

Our crossroads season, April – July, reminds me of the contrasting personal liberties ideology, I believe coined by Immanuel Kant, but don’t quote me. Recently I came across the phrase twice. In a more cynical deployment in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and then in an inspiring podcast, Shane Parrish’s The Knowledge Project, “Naval Ravikant on Reading, Happiness, Systems of Decision Making, Habits, Radical Honesty”. It’s a two hour listen which I did in three sittings but completely worth it. (Ravikant is CEO and co-founder of Angel’s List and simply put an individual who seems to have the life balance thing down.)

Back to Freedom To…Freedom From – students, as you make your choices, think about what you want to do with your newfound freedom, who you want to be in college, how you want to grow and evolve, and then what you want freedom from…to not do, to get away from, to change…knowing both sets can have positive and negative consequences. Happy Waiting!   

Is Your Social Media College Ready?

You may think your social media pages are college ready but are they admission officers ready? While waiting for those acceptance letters to roll in, consider filtering your social media footprint.

Filter your social media. Perhaps ask an adult to look through your social media and see if there is anything you should remove. Although your social media is not part of your application packet, it is out there and you want to make sure if an admission officer stumbles onto your page(s), they will they see someone who would represent their school with integrity.

As a rule of thumb, THINK BEFORE YOUR POST/ TWEET/ SNAP. Remember that anything and everything you share online will remain out there in some form or fashion.   

Here's a 2013 NYT article that may be of interest "They Loved Your GPA Then They Saw Your Tweets"

The Waiting Game

Here are a few things to do while waiting for your college acceptance...

Keep up with your courses. This is not the time for SENIORITIS. Colleges receive your final transcripts. It is important that you maintain your grades, activities; keep up your overall dedication.

Get your finances in order. Consider applying for scholarships, make sure FAFSA is complete since schools look to that information for need based but also some merit based awards.

Contact but don’t overwhelm your top schools. You may find contradictory information on this topic; however, my recommendation is to follow up with your top schools (via email is best). Start a thoughtful conversation with the regional admissions rep. Ask questions about the school, or send an updated activities list or even an extra letter of recommendation. Don’t overwhelm them with tedious questions. For most institutions, you can track your application online, but do share with them your genuine interest.    

Georgia Tech Short Answer

In 150 words or less, Georgia Tech asks you to write on one of three prompts. My favorite is the following option: We challenge our students to "be comfortable being uncomfortable". Tell us about a time in high school that you felt outside of your comfort zone and the resolution.

Consider a lively, fun, could be a bit self deprecating anecdote that SHOWS this. Then explain how the anecdote/ your experience was thriving in discomfort. Happy Writing! 

http://admission.gatech.edu/freshman/personal-essays

Welcome!

Welcome students and parents to Musings, the blog and to Write Your Acceptance!

My name is Josie Urbistondo. You can read more about my bio and experience on the Meet Josie tab, but I wanted to say thank you for visiting and allowing me to be part of your college application journey. It can be a daunting and overwhelming process, but getting organized can de-stress your life and transform your experience into an exciting process of self-reflection, inspiration and growth.  I look forward to sharing a few tips and techniques...and perhaps even working together. Any questions, I am here.