It’s been a busy month for Jenna, and she’s staying on top of things, from planning the school Homecoming to getting her first college acceptance! Read all about Jenna’s past 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. 

Jenna ATTENDS A Public HIGH SCHOOL IN Michigan

First, do you have any college-related activity this month? Any campus tours or interviews? Are you applying early anywhere that has a November 1 deadline?

As of right now I don't have a ton of college related stuff going on. I am attending the college rep visits at my school which is helpful since I can ask questions on the spot and it’s during school hours. After school I'm a bit busy and haven't had a ton of time to plan interviews, go on tours etc. I have started applying though! As of right now I have only applied to Wayne State and Central Michigan University. I applied the 1st of October and got accepted into Wayne on the 4th so I'm very excited. I was planning on focusing on college and retaking the SATs after homecoming because doing both at once would stress me out completely. Although I do hope to make the November 1st deadlines and update my scores later and getting those out of the way first.

What else is going on for you at school? Are you active in any sports, clubs, and/or student government?

As for school I am very involved, I enjoy keeping myself busy which is exactly what the clubs do. I'm not athletic in any way, I tried out for volleyball when I was a Sophomore and didn't make the team. Seeing how my year played out, I'm glad I didn't make it as my time would've been spread pretty thin. Anyways, I am in Student Gov. and right now we're in the middle of planning our first district wide homecoming hence why I haven't had much time to figure out college things. I'm also in Key Club, NHS and a new program at our school called One More Meal. I also recently signed up to be a 5th grade camp counselor so fingers crossed I make it as they had a lot of candidates this year.

What else is going on for you outside of school? What else takes up your time and energy?

Outside of school is mainly just trying to finish whatever it is I need to do for the clubs, meetings, homework and the occasional volunteering opportunities. It doesn't sound like much but can take up a large chunk of my day so then after I finish all of that, if I have time I will relax or take a break at least to eat and have a moment to take care of myself which I think is super important.

How are you feeling about college applications right now? Has your mood changed in the past month?

Right now I am feeling a bit more confident in the college application process. A month ago I was very anxious about it all but now I have already finished my FAFSA forms and have already applied to a few colleges so I think right now I'm doing well.

What is the mood of the other seniors at your school right now? Is college stress a part of the atmosphere?

As for the mood of the other seniors in my class seems to be pretty calm. Their minds are kind of on Homecoming too so it’s not a first thought but I do think once this all done, it'll turn into somewhat a mad house trying to meet deadlines, writing essay and applying for scholarships.

The FAFSA opened up for students to start applying for financial aid this week. How ready are you for the paperwork? Will you fill it out soon?

I've actually already filled out FAFSA. I did it the day it came out and as soon as I got home. I just thought to get it out of the way asap and it wasn't as bad as I thought honestly. It took my mom and I about an hour to fill it all out.

How much, including application fees and other costs, do you think college applications are going to cost you this year?

Some colleges are saying to apply now like Wayne and Central and I don't have to pay a fee or possibly don't have to write an essay which for me is a win-win because writing essays isn't exactly my favorite thing to do but it’s necessary to the process.

And if a fee is required and essays are due, that's fine too and since I do come from a lower income household i'll try to look for a fee waiver form but if not that's okay too but I honestly can't give you a rough estimate because I genuinely don't know. Some obviously will cost more than others to apply and some I won't need to pay.

Do you have a sense of what you'd like to major in?

Right now I'm interested in Biomedical. It allows me to be in the medical field but also it's something that probably won't die out. I still have time and might change my mind because for a while I was thinking about nursing. It'll more than likely be somewhere in the medical field as i really do enjoy helping people in anyways I can. I think the aftermath is a rewarding feeling.

Last month you were curious about the Common Application and how it works. Have you got any help with that? Are you ready to start working on it?

I also still have not gotten anymore information or help with The Common Application. I'll probably just talk to seniors that already graduated and ask them if I need help or have any questions and then if not i'll go to my counselor. Also for me this is something I’ll start after homecoming because I like to take my time writing essays to make sure they're well organized, thoughtful and concise.

Let's look at your college list as it stood last month:

Stanford (top choice)

University of Michigan Ann Arbor

University of Michigan Dearborn

Henry Ford Community College

Michigan State

Central Michigan University

Madonna University

Do you have any changes to that?

I don't have any changes really to that list, I put all of those colleges on my FAFSA form and so we'll see soon what happens.

Thanks for reading! If you have college admissions questions for Jenna, leave a comment or email me. You can find Jenna’s past interviews and other Meet the Class responses here. Please send this to someone who would like to read it, or share it on your social networks.

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