i got a really good "cracking college admissions" book that i bought after being absorbed in it sitting in barnes and noble for about 2 hours straight. princeton review really puts out some solid stuff.

Scary:
(Parke Muth is the assistant dean of admissions at U of VA. This was written a few years ago but is still an accurate description of how students write college essays.)
"This last academic year, Mr. Muth says, his university received 16,000 applications for 2,600 places, and he read 3,000 essays on participation in a summer program and 3,000 on students' travels around Europe with the theme 'It's a small world, after all.'"

p.s. i still want to go to tufts.


i really really want to sit down and talk with my guidance counselor. she answered ONE email this entire summer. it's not her fault... it's the schools for not putting any money in where it counts (e.g. HS guidance department, or sharon dog park? mediocre labs and struggling sci department, or the probably-less-than-an-acre 'beech tree park'?)

but let's be serious. i'm confused. my parents, naturally, don't know anything about the college process, and nor do any of your parents, unless you've got an older sibling who went through it already, or your parent works in education.

i mean.... tufts vs. upenn, for example? i could probably pretty easily get into tufts, especially with early decision, and i LOVE the school and the fact that it's in the boston area. but upenn has a better program and a better eng. ranking. does that matter?

and early decision... of course the bells all go off that it's easier to get in with early decision. however... it means that you can't change your mind later.. and more importantly: when you get accepted to a couple of decent schools and you are a solid candidate for both, you can go back and forth between them and bargain for the best cost. "well... i want to go to your school, i really do, but the thing is, school Y offered me this big scholarship..." yep, dan told me about that one. not a bad idea, and it works!!

AND WHAT THE HELL DO I WRITE MY ESSAY ABOUT??????

and then of course there's that boy of mine to worry over. the future is so difficult. let's be serious, i'm not going to be able to drag him to pennsylvania if he's going to school in boston.

dan's view about boyfriends/girlfriends and college. you have to decide if you are #1, #2, or #3:

1) The relationship takes top priority; pick a school in the same city. You can possibly share an apartment. (Boston is one of the easiest cities in the country to pull something like this off, since there are so many colleges in and around the place.)
2) Relationship and school have similar priority; look at a 2-3 hour radius. You can see each other on weekends.
3) The right school takes priority. You see each other on breaks and vacations.

he was guessing that i'm lookin' at option #2, which is probably about right... HOWEVER, if we can be in the same city that would be splendid, and we can do it if he gets into, say, northeastern.

i dunno, i dunno, i dunooooooooooooooo..... :(





any ideas for possible essay topics, or just good ideas that you have heard about?