So you think college and major scholarship applications are tiresome – try doing eleven at the same time! Not that anyone enjoys ranting about his or her life and how amazing they are for hours on end, but having a super paranoid dad who knows nothing about your academics and school life insisting that you won’t get into the majority of universities you apply to results in this madness. Well, I wouldn’t exactly burden him with all the credit; being a little directionless and a little keen on winning all the scholarships out there, a pile of paperwork/form-filling has befallen upon many unfortunate souls out there, as I have come to learn.
Whilst talking to friends, most say they are applying for three or four universities – maybe five or six at the max. Though suffocating from under those a hundred and fifty flattened trees, I had the privilege of boasting (yes, boasting – absolutely not complaining or procrastinating) about my near-dozen applications. Not to mention the increased intensity of love coming from teachers/volunteer supervisors whom you’ve pestered for the tenth recommendation letter… Yes, you’ve come to realize that all your efforts are paying off: academically, your awesomeness will be seen across the nation among the other twenty thousand applications; your relationship with teachers/supervisors is just off-the-charts stupendous. Especially when you’ve written a novel just to answer the question “Where is Waldo?” (I heard it was a question on one of the US college applications. The admission committee is wonderfully imaginative at times.)
After all this work – whether it is one, two, or fifteen applications – it is undoubtedly time-consuming and brain-freeze-levelled tiring, and I’ve often found myself wondering if it is actually worth all this effort. I mean, one could always choose two universities to apply to and be done with the whole process. I think the choice of which universities to apply to really depends on your goals – if you are as indecisive as me, it would be a good choice to apply to more universities for flexibility, given that you have the finances to pay those hundred-dollar application fees. If you are set on, for example, pursuing engineering in the oil sands industry, the suggestion is to go to a post-secondary in Alberta so your relations are secured after you graduate for career opportunities. And just remember, in the end, the process of answering those irritating leadership questions is always worth it – it makes you put into perspective what you have achieved thus far in your student career and possibly encourages you to make plans for the future. Take advantage of the thought process involved with answering those questions to pave yourself a good route to your first-choice post-secondary institution.
Hereby, I leave you with this:
If you are a grade twelve student, keep going! There is only a couple months left before graduation; your voyage to the New World is seeking closure. Give it your all with those diploma exams. To the grade elevens and tens: start planning for your applications! Preliminary research helps in the decision process (especially for those with interest in US universities – The Common Application is open to students starting as early as the summer of grade eleven).
“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.” – Anonymous
