By Kiara Ventura
Six months ago I was one of the juniors in the audience as MCSM graduates of the class of 2013 appeared on a college panel speaking about their journey through their college process. That was the moment I got inspired to tackle my college application process the right way. Now here I am, having a journey of my own.
One of the 2013 alumni whose words encouraged me was Gates Millennium Scholar and (now) American University student, Yamillet Payano. She said: “My advice to all of you is to never give up on this process. No matter how many times you are rejected from a scholarship or a school, keep dreaming big and working hard. Because if you give up,” Payano added, “you are giving up on your future, and starting a tendency of not fighting for what you want. Big rewards come to those who work…so put in the sweat and tears now. Rewards will come later.”
Affirmations like this from the college panel gave me the wakeup-call I needed before I embarked upon my senior year of high school starting in September.
September
I was not satisfied with my SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) score from the first time I took the test in May, so I decided to retake the SAT in October. Therefore, September mainly consisted of me studying for the SAT. Aside from studying, I opened my “common app” account and filled out my information. I also rewrote my personal essay that I originally wrote in the summer. I accomplished this with the help of my mentor and AP Literature teacher, who both revised and refocused my ideas in the essay.
At the end of the month, I applied to the Questbridge program, which gives low-income students a chance to apply and get a full scholarship to top colleges around the country. This application requires students to submit general information, a detailed resume, two essays, and short responses to eleven key questions.
October
I took the SAT test once again in the beginning of the month and found out that my score increased. I applied to the Macaulay Honors Program for CUNY (City University of New York) colleges and submitted my application (even though it was due December 1st). Towards the end of this month, I found that I was a Questbridge College Match finalist, and prepared to send out my common app and supplements to the schools I applied to through Questbridge.
November
I gathered my financial materials such as parental income tax forms and W-2 forms to mail out to my Questbridge schools. I scrambled to submit my common app and supplements to the six colleges on time. After I completed my applications to the schools, I worked on my CSS (College Scholarship Service) profile on the College Board website with my mother, which took about two hours. The CSS profile is a detailed application that asks about all aspects of your own and your parent`s finances. Usually, private schools ask you to send your CSS profile. Along with sending out materials, I signed up to take my third SAT test because I saw it as my final chance to take the test before I completed all my college applications.
December
I began my month of December by taking my third SAT test with a positive attitude. I then found out that I did not get accepted to the Questbridge College Match schools; however I did not give up and I planned to apply again directly to the schools through their regular decision process. In addition to forwarding my applications via regular decision, I added three more private schools to my list. In mid-December, I filled out my SUNY (State University of New York) application and applied to four SUNY schools.
During the winter break, I worked on five college supplements and seven scholarship essays for the New York Times Scholarship semi-finalist application. Each day, I timed myself for each essay and organized how many I would complete every day. I also had the help of my aunt who is a student at Lehman College and helped me with revising my essays. By January 1st, I submitted all my applications and finally took a deep breath of relief.
January
Once I entered January, I opened up my FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) account and completed the application with my mother and tax forms beside me. I then sent my FAFSA to 10 schools, filled out my TAP application (which links to FAFSA), and sent my financial materials to remaining colleges.
Also, I applied to the Gates Millennium scholarship which consisted of writing eight (1000 word max) essays by January 15th. The Gates Millennium scholarship is aimed toward minority students from underrepresented backgrounds and gives the opportunity of a full scholarship to a four year college. I was struggling to decide whether to apply due to my intense workload at the time but I did so anyway. I felt that if I didn’t, I would be losing an extremely valuable opportunity.
To make sure all my materials and my applications were received, I called or emailed most of the schools I applied to and asked about my application status. For other schools, I logged-on to my already-established personal accounts to check what I was missing. Some schools have sent emails requesting to interview me and I gladly accepted. By the end of January, I would have completed four college interviews. From the ones I’ve experienced so far, all were very comfortable and enjoyable. The interviews were usually held in a café of some sort by one of the school’s alumni. They were less nerve-wracking than what I expected. I always reminded myself to simply be myself and tell them every major aspect of my life so they could see if I’m a good fit for their school.
As of now, I have applied to 21 schools in total and I will wait for responses from March thru April. I am glad that I can say that I handled every opportunity given to me to the best of my ability. However, I must admit that it was quite a challenge to balance the college process with school and home responsibilities. I am aware that I may have overworked myself, lost sleep, and that some have called me crazy at times… but I am also aware that every bit of hard work pays off in the end. Also, the process doesn’t stop here. I am going to tackle life like I tackled this college process– with determination. Just as Yamillet Payano stated, “Big rewards come to those who work-so put in the sweat and tears now. Rewards will come later.”