What I thought I knew about college

Like many fellow seniors, I am currently in the process of committing to a university. For us, there’s a sigh of relief that we finally have the college process over with, but for many juniors and sophomores, the journey is just beginning. I’ve been asked what the “trick” is to being accepted, and this, if anything, is what I’ve found most worthwhile out of my experience.

College has always been important to me, perhaps too much so. I started planning where I wanted to go when I was a freshman. Wholeheartedly set on getting out of high school and Castro Valley, I meticulously organized a schedule for the next three years in order to ensure my success in a prestigious, intellectual university, and hung it on my corkboard proudly above my desk. This list, which at the time I thought proved vigilance and zeal on my part, was in reality quite juvenile and unrealistic, and it’s easy to see why.

First, I believed the only way to get into a good college was by taking a tremendous amount of AP and honors courses. That’s not true. Yes, these courses prove you are smart, but in reality there are many, many smart students. Burying your head in textbooks will not ensure you anything. It’s important to challenge yourself and show schools you are able to manage a reasonably hefty workload, but there is absolutely no reason to take four accelerated classes in your junior year of high school.

I speak from experience. I attempted my three-year plan, and found that is was not only a ridiculous amount of work, but a serious afflictor on my ability to do anything else. Every weeknight and on the weekends, I was spending hours and hours on school work. Within two months of my junior year, I knew there wasn’t a point. I wasn’t truly learning anything, I wasn’t satisfied with the work I was doing, and I was constantly overwhelmed with the amount I was expected to finish. With that realization, I dropped my most difficult AP (which was calculus, I actually hate math, and if you, dear reader, also hate math, I highly advise that you don’t follow my footsteps) and decided to dedicate my time to something I actually enjoyed doing, and that made me feel like I was using my time the way I wanted to. And that is exactly what I did. I started volunteering with an organization I personally connected to, which changed my life. I attempted my first stint in theatre, which proved beyond amazing. I was so much happier doing what I wanted to do, and finding activities that helped me develop my own character and sense of being was in all ways better than an extra GPA boost.

The most important thing I drew from high school was that it’s important not to dedicate your life to getting into college. Should you think about it? Yes. Should you make goals for yourself centered around it? Probably. Should it be your one and only reason you do 95 percent of the things you do? Never. Seriously, don’t do that. Doing things outside of school that you enjoy is important. Developing a well-rounded skill set is meaningful. I am lucky enough to say I am planning to commit to UCLA, and only took one AP and one honors class my junior year. Your application will be about more than just your classes and GPA. Try going out and doing something new, something that isn’t like thousands of other applicants. Find what makes you unique and what makes you happy, and pursue it. In the end, that’s what’s going to impact your life, and hopefully your future as well.