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| Made it: Juan Martinez attends a religion class at Boston College, his first choice. Nicole Hill   The first year |
College bound: When schools reply, the real decision looms
Applicants face a new deadline and a sharper choice: Where do they really want to go?
By Lesley Bannatyne | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the November 1, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 3
Each fall, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors navigate an admissions process that begins with a list of colleges and ends with a life-changing decision.
Though each application is but one of several million hitting admissions offices nationwide, every student's story is unique. We followed six Boston-area high-school seniors from diverse backgrounds through their year of college preparation, from their first visit to a campus to their first month as a college student, checking in periodically to see how they were doing at each stage of the process.
There's a bright, happy bubble between the time applications are finished and when decision letters arrive: Until then, every application is a potential "yes." In January and February, the kids relax a bit and reconnect with friends and schoolwork. But the college process is never far away, as most exchanges with the world of adults – even strangers – narrow to one note. Says Alexandra McSweeney, "I must say that the common two questions from every person I encounter – 'Do you know where you want to go to college?' and 'What are you majoring in?' – are getting old."
Decision letters begin arriving as early as February. "It is impossible, waiting for the mail to come," says Juan Martinez. He's on edge when a letter from Boston College arrives, "'cause at that point I knew it was where I really wanted to go." He'd been accepted. "I danced around my house for a bit and then flew to my mom's office to share the good news.… It was a great day."
Acceptance rates for these students range from 28 to 83 percent; most get a mix of acceptances, rejections, and wait-listings. It is the most stressful part of the whole process for Vadilson Pina. Not only is he waiting for decisions, but he's also waiting for financial aid offers. "It's a big factor in my decision," he says.
Juan recounts his roller-coaster of a year: "Once I sent everything in, the waiting became the killer. Those four months were torture. Then after I got the letters, it became the anticipation of going away to school."
Kids who applied to "safety" schools because they were pretty sure they'd get in, are indeed accepted – then wish they'd applied only where they'd wanted to go. Juan, for example, wishes he could have saved his parents the application fee for a school in Pennsylvania because "there's no way I would've gone," he says now. Others discover that when facing the real, final choices, they need to take a second look at schools they'd previously dismissed. Still others find themselves devastated at a closed door, vacillating between two choices, or worried they don't really know what they want. Rather than ending with decision letters, the college process intensifies. "It is difficult waiting for the mail every day, but the decision process is almost more stressful than waiting, because now it's all up to me," says Alex. Vadilson agrees: "I think a lot about if I'm going to make it on my own."
One by one, and for some it's a lot easier than others, all six students come to their decision. Emma chooses Smith, for many reasons but mostly because of the STRIDE (Student Research in Departments) program, where she'll get to work one-on-one with a faculty member. Vadilson will head to Haverford. "It's small and will help me in my transition," he says.
Ruben Solages will become a day student at Regis College, which has the predentistry program he wants. It's closer to home than the University of Hartford, and, as he admits with a shy grin, "My mom needs me. And I need my mom."
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