I don’t mean to make light of disasters, natural or otherwise. I live in Houston, so I understand how serious and tragic hurricanes are. But still, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything that exemplifies the fervor of college admissions season quite like “We had school cancellations [because of Hurricane Michael] so that gave me time to work on college stuff.” Read about that, and everything else Faulkner is up to this month, below.

Meet the Class gets updated each month from September to May. Each installment features an interview about both the facts and the feelings of where the student is in the process.

Interviews may be edited lightly for clarity and grammar. Names may be changed to protect privacy. 

FAULKNER ATTENDS A PUBLIC MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL IN GEORGIA.

You live near the coast in Georgia. Are you, your family, and your community doing ok after Hurricane Florence?

My family and I are doing fine after Hurricane Florence. We were lucky in that it skipped us over and we just had Hurricane Michael come through today. We had school cancellations so that gave me time to work on college stuff.

Do you have any deadlines coming up soon? What about any visits or college-related activities? What does your October look like in terms of college admissions?

The deadline for the application for UC-Davis Regular Admission is coming up on Nov 30th and since they do not use the Common Application I have been putting my energy towards them. I currently attend Savannah State University as a Dual Enrollment Student so I will be taking advantage of their upcoming Open House to explore what I do not already know about the campus and the admissions process. I am also actively working on the Common Application to send out since all my other schools have application deadlines in January.

The FAFSA just opened up. How soon do you plan to submit yours? Do you have all the information you need?

My parents have already begun the process of applying for FAFSA and I am looking towards them to complete that process.

How much money do you anticipate spending on college admissions? In terms of application fees and other expenses, how much is this going to cost your family?

With the application fees and taking the SAT again, I am looking at the cost being between $500-$600.

Other than college applications, what else is going on for you at school? What kinds of things are you involved with at school?

I am finishing my midterms at Savannah State. I am involved with multiple clubs at high school such as the Environmental Club (President), Anime Club (Vice-President), Beta Club, National Honor Society, and Math Club. Anime Club is busy focusing on creating a Manga and I am hoping to create more activities for the Environmental Club working with the Oatland Wildlife Center since they have re-opened after tornado damage.

What other types of groups or activities are you involved with outside of school? How busy do you feel on a day-to-day basis?

Outside of school, I have a job dog walking. It is currently a busy season in Savannah for activities so I volunteer with the Historic Downtown Neighborhood Association and the Savannah Historic Foundation. I feel pretty busy daily. I am focused on my classes and getting ready for college.

How are you feeling about college applications right now? What's your current mood as far as college goes?

Right now I am feeling scared and stressed about the process. I have a chart up in my room to remind me of deadlines and application requirements.  I have to create visual reminders to help me due to my ADD/HD. About college, in general, I am nervous and excited.

What's the general mood of your senior class? You say that most of your classmates are also applying to college. Do people talk a lot about college applications? Does that common experience help you bond, or is it competitive?

I am on campus at Savannah State full time so I do not spend a large amount with my fellow seniors from my high school. We see each other at clubs and tend to focus on those activities or when we see each other on campus we are talking about our shared classes. I do know that quite a few of my classmates are applying to colleges, but I have heard many of my classmates talk about joining the armed forces. Savannah is a big military town with several bases.

Let's do our monthly checkup on "The List." Last month your list was:

George Washington U.

U.C. Davis

  Tulane

  N.C. State

  Michigan State

  Kent State

  Southern New Hampshire

Are there any changes to that?

Add Savannah State University to the list.

Thanks for reading! If you have college admissions questions for Faulkner, leave a comment or email me. The next round of Meet the Class interviews will be in mid-November. There are lots of ways to get regular updates from Apply with Sanity: like me on Facebook and Twitter, get the monthly newsletter, or connect on LinkedIn.