it's been a weird couple of weeks. I started out March with high hopes for acceptance letters, thinking that if all my other friends got into their dream schools, I would too. I forgot that my dream school was a reach even for the best scholarly candidates. So I got into three schools, got waitlisted at one I really liked, and then rejected by the last three, supercompetitive schools.
Of course I faced initial disappointment. I thought that I was a strong enough candidate to at least get into my target schools. But in a way, having only three choices is a blessing in disguise. The experience humbled me, and I'm also learning that the acceptance rate does not make a college good or bad. So while it was tough to see others get accepted to Princeton, Brown, Amherst, and Vassar, I know that in the end everything will work out fine, and that I'll receive a great education no matter where I go.
It's interesting when you put things in perspective, too. I talked with my friend at UW recently and he told me about kids who were the only people in their class to get accepted and attend the UW--something that we here at IHS take too much for granted. And really, at the schools I have the opportunity to attend, I'll have a multitude of options to get involved, perhaps without getting as stressed about academics and perfection.
Remember, "Today is only a good day in disguise." And I can't wait to start a new journey.
p.s. outfit posts soon (hopefully). I just bought some new clothes and I can't wait to share!
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Amherst
School is in full swing already, but I have the urge to procrastinate as usual. So, a post on Amherst is born!
I absolutely love Amherst. I'm just going to be blunt. I walked on campus, it was a gorgeous sunny day, though still a bit chilly at 8:30 am. From the moment I saw the buildings, I knew that I would love to be there. The rolling hills as a backdrop probably helped too; it reminded me of being in the Pacific Northwest with all of the lush green. What I love about Amherst is the laid back yet driven feel of the students, and the open curriculum--there aren't any distribution requirements (like Vassar and Brown). This would allow me to explore multitudes of possibilities before deciding my major, and still have plenty of time to get in the courses required for my specific major. It also helps that the dorms are HUGE as well as the nice, clean bathrooms--the buildings are all so well kept. My entire tour group (20-25 people) fit inside one of the dorms with elbow room. Although the college is relatively small, there are four other colleges within in the vicinity. This opens up the option to take classes at any of these other four colleges, and also ensures that there are plenty of students around to have a lively social atmosphere.
Amherst stats:
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Students: 1,744 (undergrad)
Acceptance Rate: 16%
Setting: Town
Cost: $50,820
PS. Due to school I haven't edited any of these pictures...but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless. View larger by clicking the pictures.
This is at the Starbucks near Amherst College. The light caught my interest so I ran back to the car to get my camera and take this picture.
i got a little sun flare happy...
i am in love with how green the campus looked, and the prospect of sliding down that hill in the snow on lunch trays :)
the buildings look kind of similar, but in a way the continuity was kind of nice and homey.
war memorial
this is literally only half of the dorm you see here. not even kidding. these dorms may be doubles, but they are huge!
it was such a beautiful day...i took this in the car as we were leaving Amherst.
Bottom line: Amherst is a great school if you're looking for a small college with lots of options. It's definitely up there on my list.
Brown University is coming up next...and if I finish my AP Bio in a timely manner I'll put up an outfit post too :)
I absolutely love Amherst. I'm just going to be blunt. I walked on campus, it was a gorgeous sunny day, though still a bit chilly at 8:30 am. From the moment I saw the buildings, I knew that I would love to be there. The rolling hills as a backdrop probably helped too; it reminded me of being in the Pacific Northwest with all of the lush green. What I love about Amherst is the laid back yet driven feel of the students, and the open curriculum--there aren't any distribution requirements (like Vassar and Brown). This would allow me to explore multitudes of possibilities before deciding my major, and still have plenty of time to get in the courses required for my specific major. It also helps that the dorms are HUGE as well as the nice, clean bathrooms--the buildings are all so well kept. My entire tour group (20-25 people) fit inside one of the dorms with elbow room. Although the college is relatively small, there are four other colleges within in the vicinity. This opens up the option to take classes at any of these other four colleges, and also ensures that there are plenty of students around to have a lively social atmosphere.
Amherst stats:
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Students: 1,744 (undergrad)
Acceptance Rate: 16%
Setting: Town
Cost: $50,820
PS. Due to school I haven't edited any of these pictures...but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless. View larger by clicking the pictures.
This is at the Starbucks near Amherst College. The light caught my interest so I ran back to the car to get my camera and take this picture.
i got a little sun flare happy...
i am in love with how green the campus looked, and the prospect of sliding down that hill in the snow on lunch trays :)
the buildings look kind of similar, but in a way the continuity was kind of nice and homey.
war memorial
this is literally only half of the dorm you see here. not even kidding. these dorms may be doubles, but they are huge!
it was such a beautiful day...i took this in the car as we were leaving Amherst.
Bottom line: Amherst is a great school if you're looking for a small college with lots of options. It's definitely up there on my list.
Brown University is coming up next...and if I finish my AP Bio in a timely manner I'll put up an outfit post too :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Yale
I've finally made my way to Yale. (Erin will be happy, I'm sure. :)) I traveled to Yale mostly out of curiosity and not because I felt that I wanted to go there. If I'm going to spend my time touring the East Coast, why not visit that grand school along the way? The architecture was pretty awesome--it was intricate and very clever, to say the least. However, Yale had a way of making things seem ostentatious. Well, of course they're Yale, but I really didn't understand the point of weathering the buildings to make them look older. (More detail on that later.) And the tour guides did seem a little egotistic, and a little less serious than I thought they'd be. Which could be a good thing, but their presentations didn't wow me on capture me like the other schools I'd visited. There are some pretty cute guys at Yale though, not gonna lie.
Yale stats:
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Students: 11,276 (5,350 undergrad)
Acceptance Rate: 10%
Setting: Urban
Cost: $51,400 (forbes.com)
this is the view of Yale I had when I woke up in the morning.
the Yale bulldog. Sadly, this only reminds me of Bellevue College...
inside the exhibition library. the light coming through is sunlight through marble.
two of the remaining seven Gutenberg Bibles.
outside the library.
the other library. the architect poured acid down the front to blacken it and make it look older. he also left the alcoves where statues normally go empty to look like they had been pillaged.
maya lin's fountain representing the women on Yale's campus from the beginning to 1993
Bottom line: The curriculum and the overall atmosphere for Yale just wasn't a fit for me. New Haven can be kind of seedy, and I felt like at Yale I'd be trying too hard to keep up with a bunch of smart people that don't have to try.
Yale stats:
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Students: 11,276 (5,350 undergrad)
Acceptance Rate: 10%
Setting: Urban
Cost: $51,400 (forbes.com)
this is the view of Yale I had when I woke up in the morning.
the Yale bulldog. Sadly, this only reminds me of Bellevue College...
inside the exhibition library. the light coming through is sunlight through marble.
two of the remaining seven Gutenberg Bibles.
outside the library.
the other library. the architect poured acid down the front to blacken it and make it look older. he also left the alcoves where statues normally go empty to look like they had been pillaged.
maya lin's fountain representing the women on Yale's campus from the beginning to 1993
Bottom line: The curriculum and the overall atmosphere for Yale just wasn't a fit for me. New Haven can be kind of seedy, and I felt like at Yale I'd be trying too hard to keep up with a bunch of smart people that don't have to try.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Vassar
I heard of Vassar after my college counselor suggested it. I became interested in Vassar when I learned that my friend Erina would be attending this fall. After looking at the virtual tour online, I wanted to visit this college more than any of the others. Hardwood floors in your dorm, anyone? I liked the school. It definitely wasn't Princeton, but it's like Yale for women (they were asked to be Yale's sister school in 1969 but chose to go coed instead). I liked the atmosphere and the sense of community at Vassar. It also helped that I knew Erina and she introduced me to some great people, but I really did think that the administration acted like they cared a lot about getting to know you and the students were all really friendly. When we first drove in, I almost thought that Vassar was France or England, but it's an eclectic mix of old architecture, 60s architecture, and more modern facades. Vassar really values the arts, which I think is important. And each of the residential halls has a Steinway, as well as all of the practice rooms--pretty awesome if you ask me.
Vassar statistics:
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Students: 2,389 (just undergrads)
Acceptance Rate: 29%
Setting: Small town
Cost: $51,370 (ala forbes.com)
the drama building is a little strange--the brick facade and the modern looking entrance are all the same building.
vassar has a mix of architecture, which i found to be interesting and confusing at the same time.
My mother said the main building looks like one you'd find in France or England.
longest freestanding horizontal branch in the world for a long time...until a chain was used as support due to safety issues.
the library was by far my favorite building. it was relaxing and so beautiful.
the dorms are really nice! i didn't take a pic when i went up to erina's dorm, but the bathrooms are clean and the rooms have a lot of space (not to mention generous closets!)
Bottom line: It's not the top of my list, but I would be very happy to go to Vassar. After all, their students are some of the happiest in the country (besides Brown. but we'll get to that later.).
Vassar statistics:
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Students: 2,389 (just undergrads)
Acceptance Rate: 29%
Setting: Small town
Cost: $51,370 (ala forbes.com)
the drama building is a little strange--the brick facade and the modern looking entrance are all the same building.
vassar has a mix of architecture, which i found to be interesting and confusing at the same time.
My mother said the main building looks like one you'd find in France or England.
longest freestanding horizontal branch in the world for a long time...until a chain was used as support due to safety issues.
the library was by far my favorite building. it was relaxing and so beautiful.
the dorms are really nice! i didn't take a pic when i went up to erina's dorm, but the bathrooms are clean and the rooms have a lot of space (not to mention generous closets!)
Bottom line: It's not the top of my list, but I would be very happy to go to Vassar. After all, their students are some of the happiest in the country (besides Brown. but we'll get to that later.).
Friday, August 27, 2010
Princeton
I'm having trouble sleeping, so I thought I'd blog a bit about my favorite college so far: Princeton.
Yes, it's an Ivy League; yes, that makes it prestigious, but that's not why I loved it so much. Even on a dreary day, I wanted to be there. The tour guide gave so much history about the university, and the buildings were gorgeous. Unlike Yale, which I'll get to in a couple of days, Princeton felt like home. People didn't seem as pretentious as other Ivies I've visited--I just felt like I could fit in. It's a suburban setting with an Ave type area right outside the campus gates, perfect for going out and getting a bit of ice cream when I'm stressed. :) And of course, the courses at Princeton are top notch, and the tour guide, who is a rising sophomore, really convinced me that the professors are willing to get to know you well and give you personalized attention despite the larger size (though it is probably still considered small, since it is under 10,000). Princeton encompassed what I really wanted in a campus--not too big, but full of history and great architecture; good classes and teacher:student ratio; suburban setting. I was constantly in the back of the tour group taking pictures of the intricate work on the buildings, which I take as a sign of how much impact the school had on me. It's quiet, but not so quiet that I feel out in the boonies. So sad that the college is so selective though...
Princeton Statistics:
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Students: 7,494 (5,044 undergrad, 2,450 grad)
Acceptance Rate: 9-10% (eek!)
Setting: Suburban
Cost: $49,830 (ala forbes.com)
frist campus center. apparently the front side of this building is used in the opening credits of House.
"the mother of all triangles"
princeton has so many cool arches, as well as a intricate staircases.
the heads on this cathedral represent the architect (a yale alum) and his assistant.
frank lloyd wright's favorite building
ironically, the architecture building is, and i quote, "the ugliest building on campus. one time an architecture professor came on the tour and heard that, and now architecture students often call the tour guides the ugliest people on campus. this is all, of course, slander on their part"--matt, the tour guide
our tour guide with the school mascot, the tiger
hibiscus flowers in the beautiful garden.
after our lovely tour at princeton, we headed off to fishkill, which is in proximity to poughkeepsie, ny. we had a nice italian dinner at a restaurant in the town. It reminded me of Italy...afterward we walked around a bit and I took a couple of pictures.
semifreddo dessert...it was like coffee ice cream.
Yes, it's an Ivy League; yes, that makes it prestigious, but that's not why I loved it so much. Even on a dreary day, I wanted to be there. The tour guide gave so much history about the university, and the buildings were gorgeous. Unlike Yale, which I'll get to in a couple of days, Princeton felt like home. People didn't seem as pretentious as other Ivies I've visited--I just felt like I could fit in. It's a suburban setting with an Ave type area right outside the campus gates, perfect for going out and getting a bit of ice cream when I'm stressed. :) And of course, the courses at Princeton are top notch, and the tour guide, who is a rising sophomore, really convinced me that the professors are willing to get to know you well and give you personalized attention despite the larger size (though it is probably still considered small, since it is under 10,000). Princeton encompassed what I really wanted in a campus--not too big, but full of history and great architecture; good classes and teacher:student ratio; suburban setting. I was constantly in the back of the tour group taking pictures of the intricate work on the buildings, which I take as a sign of how much impact the school had on me. It's quiet, but not so quiet that I feel out in the boonies. So sad that the college is so selective though...
Princeton Statistics:
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Students: 7,494 (5,044 undergrad, 2,450 grad)
Acceptance Rate: 9-10% (eek!)
Setting: Suburban
Cost: $49,830 (ala forbes.com)
frist campus center. apparently the front side of this building is used in the opening credits of House.
"the mother of all triangles"
princeton has so many cool arches, as well as a intricate staircases.
the heads on this cathedral represent the architect (a yale alum) and his assistant.
frank lloyd wright's favorite building
ironically, the architecture building is, and i quote, "the ugliest building on campus. one time an architecture professor came on the tour and heard that, and now architecture students often call the tour guides the ugliest people on campus. this is all, of course, slander on their part"--matt, the tour guide
our tour guide with the school mascot, the tiger
hibiscus flowers in the beautiful garden.
after our lovely tour at princeton, we headed off to fishkill, which is in proximity to poughkeepsie, ny. we had a nice italian dinner at a restaurant in the town. It reminded me of Italy...afterward we walked around a bit and I took a couple of pictures.
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