Jenna made some las-minute changes to her college list by applying to a few that weren’t initially on her radar. She’s also dropped a few. But Jenna also has enough acceptances already that she’s building a plan. We’ll see how it changes over the next few months, but for now she has some school spirit to plan and a visit to her top-choice school. Read all about Jenna’s holidays and January 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

How were your holidays? Did you get a good break? Do you feel rested?

My holidays were nice. I spent them with my family then after got some much needed rest before I returned to school and it got chaotic with finals and our school pride week.

Have you sent in all your college applications? What did you decide about Stanford? Have you heard back from SAT yet?

I have still yet to submit my last two college applications to UMich Ann Arbor and Stanford. Ive been so behind and busy I'm not sure I’ll have time to collect and submit all the recommendations or if they’ll get my test scores back in time. Even if I don’t, I'm content with where I've applied and been accepted at. I have also gotten back my SAT scores. I actually didn’t do as great as I wished, which is fine. There was only a slight difference in my score and at this point I think it’s too late to do anything about it anyways.

Reflect on the past five months: do you have any regrets? Have you gained any wisdom you can share? Is it what you expected it to be?

In the last few months I do have some regrets. Academically this year I’ve done great. The way my scheduled played out has been in my favor which will help me hopefully rise my GPA just a bit before graduation. Since school has started my time is spread thin. It seems to be one thing after another. I’m always busy doing homework, some club duty or helping plan something. Finding time to properly study or hang out with friends was difficult. It all gets demanding and results in missed opportunities to enjoy my last year.

It’s not at all what I expected. Everyone says this year will be easy breezy but honestly this year has been a different type of stress compared to the other years.

It’s a little hard to explain but just finishing school and figuring out the future is scary and can be overwhelming.

You've reached the point where you no longer add to your college list but start reducing it to the final one. What's your plan? What are your priorities? What's you best-case scenario that will make you the happiest?

As of right now, my plan is to attend to attend Wayne State for at least two years, then transfer. They’ve given me the most scholarship as of right now and money is my biggest priority. It’s a good school but I can’t see myself there for four years. I really liked Central Michigan University but their scholarship isn’t as good as Wayne State’s so after my two years I’ll have to transfer, which isn’t my first choice but it’ll do for now.

What's your spring semester at school look like?

As of right now, I plan on spending my spring break at home. I never really plan anything or maybe a surprise trip will come up. I’m not really sure.

Have you got any college-related events planned soon? Any tours or interviews?

I planned on visiting Wayne State once Pride Week and my finals are over.

Our pride week is always on a time crunch leading up to the week then that whole week is chaotic. There’s always people finishing last minute posters, teaching people the class skit and all in the middle of finals. It’s a fun class bonding experience but it’s just a lot to plan since we are now having our first ever masquerade snowball.

Here's your list as it stood in December. What news is there to share? Any changes? Have you already eliminated any of them from consideration?

Central Michigan University--accepted

Cleary University

Eastern Michigan University--accepted

Henry Ford Community College

Madonna University

Michigan State University

Michigan Tech University--accepted

Northern Michigan University--accepted

Oakland University--accepted

Stanford University

University of Michigan Ann Arbor

University of Michigan Dearborn--accepted

Wayne State University--accepted

As for the list I’ve applied and been accepted into Cleary University, Madonna, Rosevelt Uni., and Long Island Uni.

I applied last minute to Rosevelt and Long Island because they offered a big scholarship, but I’m not sure I’d be willing to leave Michigan.

I also took Cleary and Michigan State off my list. When I spoke to a rep from both schools I just wasn’t interested, nothing about them interested me or my mom for that matter.

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Photo by Angela Elisabeth.