Grace has kept herself busy. She’s preparing for her last high school musical; she’s preparing for three AP exams; she’s getting lots of email, snail mail, and phone calls from colleges. However, it’s been a slow month in terms of moving her toward a decision about where she’ll be next year. Read the full interview 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. 

GRACE ATTENDS A COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL IN MASSACHUSETTS

I think I completely mis-understood what you told me about Fordham. When you said they'd "deferred you to April," I took that to mean you got wait-listed until after April, but you really just meant that the Early Action application got deferred to the regular application pool, right?

Yes!  That is what happened.  So as for Fordham...I am still waiting.

What about Boston University, NYU, or Rutgers? 

I have not heard from any other college since last month. I expect they will all come in at once.

Have you officially told anybody "no" yet? Is there still a chance for Adelphi, Marymount Manhattan, or SUNY Purchase? (I assume Stony Brook doesn't have a chance to get you.)

I have not officially told any college that I am not going, but I know that I have to do that this month.  My mail from them has changed from “Congratulations!”  to “Please let us know.”  I get that they need a firm answer, so they can offer my slot to someone else. I will be doing this soon.

It seems like you've still got a lot of options left on the table. How does that make you feel? Is that empowering to know there's still a lot of ways this can go? Or does it make you a little anxious? Both? What's your state of mind right now concerning the next six or seven months before you begin college...wherever that will be?

It feels great to know all my options are still open, but I know I have to make a choice soon.  As for the next 6-7 months, well that makes me a little anxious.  I have a job set up for the summer so that I can make some money before I leave for school. As for high school, I just want it over….some of the assigned work seems tedious.  I have 3 AP exams in May and that makes me nervous!

Have you gone to the accepted student event at Hofstra yet? If so, how was it? What questions did it answer for you? What questions did it raise? Have you got any other visits planned right now?

I will go to an accepted students’ day for Hofstra in April, after the musical is over.  I am so busy right now, with Drama Club, I just have no time!

I assume high school is still going well, especially theater? Does it feel like it's winding down yet?

Theater is ramping up!  We have 3 weeks until the musical and I am the lead. We are spending hours every day after school.  

I'm curious about all the ways that colleges--especially the ones you applied to--have communicated with you. Has it been mostly email? Do they send texts? Old-fashioned mail? Have you seen them pop up in your social media feeds in a way that makes it clear they're targeting you? How do you prefer to interact with colleges you're interested in?

It is a combination of e-mail and snail mail, for the colleges I have applied to. They send an email every week and usually a postcard. The emails discuss the advantage of their college over others and the postcards are a combination of :  “Don’t  forget us” and “Have you made a decision.”  The colleges I have not applied to send emails and 2 colleges in particular are sending 3-4 emails a week. I am puzzled by that.  One college that I did not apply to has left multiple telephone messages on our home phone.  It is not a robo-caller, it is an actual person. I keep wondering how they picked me, how they got our number, and why they keep calling.

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