I’ve been a little worried about Katie. She and several members of her family had been sick. Flu-like symptoms are bad enough, but during our current pandemic they can be pretty scary. Also, she seemed to be leaning heavily toward one college, but wanted to delay her decision until the end of May. I thought maybe she was having doubts. Katie has allayed my fears, though. Read the full interview below to see how she’s feeling and where she’s going to college. Congratulations, Katie!
In the several years I’ve been following seniors through Meet the Class, I’ve never been as anxious and excited to hear back from them as I am right now. I haven’t met any of these students in person, but I’ve really come to like them over the past eight months. So I’m relieved to hear from Katie, who was able to make a campus tour before everything closed down, and is making use of her extended time to make her final decision. 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.
Although it’s now early April, Katie answered these questions almost a month ago. She got busy—as we all did—and didn’t have a chance to send them until earlier this week. Keep that in mind as you read these—they were written before most of us were in Social Distancing. By early March, Katie had, unfortunately, heard “no” from a number of schools. But she heard “yes” from one that has the program she’s most interested in, so there’s good news in here too! 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.
Katie answered this month’s questions while on her way back from doing 10 auditions in two days. She’s applied and been accepted—and offered scholarships—to a number of schools, but she’s still working to get into their BFA programs for musical theater. It’s a reminder that for many applicants, getting accepted to college is only the first step. Katie’s looking to get accepted into a particular program within the college with its own admission requirements. In her case it’s for musical theater, but students across the country are aiming to get into special honors programs, arts, programs, science programs, and so many other programs that are above and beyond just getting that first acceptance. Read her full interview below.
Early January means the end of the application phase for most seniors. And while Katie is technically done applying, her musical theater ambitions means she still has a lot of auditioning to do on top of regular applications. That and a bout of pneumonia have kept her a little more stressed into the new year. Read her entire interview below!
There are two primary phases of the college admissions process for students, the applying phase and the deciding phase. They often overlap when you’re already getting responses from some schools while you’re still applying to others. Katie is finished with the first phase, having applied to 20 different colleges. Congratulations, Katie!
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.
Katie ATTENDS A Private Christian HIGH SCHOOL IN Ohio
You had several applications due in November and also several prescreens due December 1st. Did you get those complete and submitted?
I did not get all of the things I needed to submit submitted. There was a complicated situation with my Roosevelt and the University of Oklahoma prescreens, so those two were not submitted. Everything else I needed to complete was submitted, though.
Now that you have some applications out and several acceptances back, how are your feeling about admissions season?
I am feeling much, much better than I was last month. It feels really great to be getting accepted, although I know it doesn't really mean that much. It feels nice to have a lot of things just off of my to-do list and out of my hands. I am still concerned about my applications, but I feel a lot more relaxed about this whole process.
How's school going for you? Does all this focus on the future change how you go through high school on a daily basis? Are there any signs of senioritis yet?
School is going well. I am taking more classes than I have in years, and it is a lot. I am really enjoying it all though. Exams are very soon, though, and there is a lot of stress that comes with that. I don't think that my focus on the future has really changed how I have felt about this year, but the fact that I am attending quite a few on-campus college classes has made this year much more fun for me. I don't have senioritis just yet. I am excited about my next chapter, but I am also excited about all my new classes next semester.
Did you go on any college visits or have any interviews in November? Do you have any planned for December?
I did not have any interviews or visits in November. I don't have any planned at the moment, but I am considering going to visit the University of Central Missouri this month.
How was your Thanksgiving? Did you do any college-related work over the break?
Thanksgiving was good. I really needed the break. I did a ton of college work that weekend. I filmed a few prescreens, wrote some supplemental essays, and finished a few applications.
How involved has your family been the past few months? Do they have any preferences from your current college list? How big a factor will your family be in your final decisions?
My family has been a part of my college journey, but not a positive part. My family and I have very different views of what I need for the next four years of my life. They want me to go to a private Christian school and double major, but that is not what I want at all. Neither of us has really budged from our camps, so while they have been involved, I have been applying to these schools completely on my own. My family wants to be the sole deciding factor in my college decision, but I don't think they will end up being involved at all. I have added a school to appease my family because it was a free application and decent.
Let's go over your list and make sure I have it correct:
Penn State (top choice)
University of Hartford (top choice, applied)
Ball State University
Central Washington University
Columbia College Chicago (accepted, offered scholarship!)
Indiana University Bloomington (applied)
Minnesota State Mankato (accepted!)
Montclaire State
North Dakota State (accepted!)
Rider University (top choice, applied)
Roosevelt University (applied)
Temple University (applied)
University of Central Missouri
University of Utah (applied)
University of Minnesota Duluth (applied)
University of Minnesota Twin Cities (accepted!)
University of Oklahoma
University of South Dakota
University of the Arts
Western Michigan (applied)
Is that right? Any changes?
I have applied to all my schools by now. I was accepted to the University of Central Missouri and Western Michigan. I was offered a scholarship at the University of Central Missouri, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minnesota State, and North Dakota State. I was invited to a scholarship competition at Western Michigan. I was accepted to the honors programs at Columbia and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
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If I’m counting correctly, Katie has applied to 12 colleges already, and has got acceptances from four of them. She’s also working furiously to finish her audition videos and wrap a school play. Did you know there’s basically a Common Application for theater auditions? I didn’t. Read about that and more as Katie reports on her October.
Meet the Class is back for a third year! It’s an opportunity for parents, educators, and admissions professionals to get a look at individual seniors and what they go through to find their school. Below you’ll meet Katie, who is quite ambitious—she plans to apply to around 25 schools. Read her full first interview below.
