I’ve figured my total amount spent applying to college to be around $800.
That’s application fees + score report fees.
Holy crap. My parents should have stopped me. But they encouraged me to apply to as many as I needed.
However, I suppose that number isn’t exorbitant. It’s just kind of sad. But for 20+ schools, that’s almost a good deal. It helped that half of my schools were fee-waived.
Since colleges are so intent on knowing the real me, they should just look at my Tumblr.
Risky? Superbly. But I always felt the real me was a good me. And it may just be the most interesting me.
Seriously considering this now…
I almost didn’t apply. Can you believe that?
Carnegie had been my dream school (along with Stanford) up until my Senior year. Then as I researched more colleges, my eyes started straying to the racks on racks on racks scholarships at some schools and the exotic locales of other schools (NYC!). But I came around, took a long, hard look at Carnegie, and instantly I’m back.
It is beyond the most perfect fit for me. The programs are fantastisch, the campus is superkühl, and the people are wünderbar.
It is incredibly humbling to see that some kids have to muster up their own pocket money to apply to college. For the luckier among us, a good education should absolutely not be taken for granted. It is something that many have to fight and sacrifice for.
vtng asked: I went through your same predicament picking Cornell or NYU, and seeing as I'm now an NYU student... you can guess which choice I made. For this, try to think of college as not just "going to school" but also "living life," and considering which lifestyle you would want to have at the college of your choice. Cornell is in Ithaca, which is upstate New York and is very collegiate. NYU, on the other hand, is very immersive in the city culture in addition to education. I hope this helps somehow!
Yes, it does help to think that way! Lots of people only look at academics and forget they’ll be spending four years of their lives at the college choose.
Right now I absolutely long for big cities because I want a strong community of entrepreneurs/investors in order to work on a startup. But who knows if I’ll change my mind about life, in which case I might enjoy attending college in a secluded forest where I can just focus on my studies.
redheaded-bombshell asked: i'm warning you right now, Cornell is in the most boring city on this planet haha (: great school, terrible location. if that factors into your decision at all (:
Yes, I’m definitely considering that! I’ve visited Cornell, but I didn’t want to judge since I was only there for a day. It did seem like a real isolated place though, especially for someone like me who would prefer to be in NYC. That’s a world of difference.
You know, like here.
It’s quite frustrating! I’ve been up to Montana and down to Arizona, but never all the way to the coast. I’d love to go to a west coast school, but I’m only applying to USC and Stanford, so chances are slim. Not sure when I’ll ever get to visit.
A wholly wonderful little book. It also happens to smell like a clean public restroom.
It’s a great school, and I freaking love Austin, but the application is way too much standalone work. Interestingly, Texas has its own common application for dozens of in-state schools. Too bad I’m not applying to those other ones. Plus, the application fee would’ve been $75 where I have fee waivers for most other places.