October sounds a little less hectic for Tyra than September. Her school is more healthy, and she has a new job. She has not heard back from the technical college she applied to, though. But she’s got a Plan B. Read the full interview below.
Things are more steady for Breya
Thanks to Breya, I learned what a Dorm Haul video is, and now I’m watching them too. (It seems you can have a pretty sweet dorm room if you have Bed Bath & Beyond or The Container Store giving you lots of free stuff.) But Breya isn’t just watching videos. She’s sending off early applications, applying for scholarships, and even joining a new school organization. Things aren’t great—she’s still in virtual school and anxious—but her tone sounds more calm and steady than last month. Read the full interview below.
Julianna is optimistic and happy. No, really.
I sent these questions to Julianna—and heard back from her—on election day. On top of one of the most contentious elections in American history, we’re in the middle of another wave of the Covid pandemic, with US cases up over 40% from where they were two weeks ago. It’s not a great time to be a high school student trying to figure out college next year, or even to be a high school student trying to figure out high school this year. But Julianna is still optimistic, still excited. Read this month’s interview below.
Checking in with Diana
When I first spoke with Diana just two months ago, she was frustrated and demoralized because she really didn’t know how to get started with college applications or who to go to for help. Things aren’t free an easy, but they’re certainly looking better: she’s applied to eight colleges and has an acceptance. Read her short-but-full interview below.
Checking in with Jenna
Jenna’s admissions experience is really great to read, because it reminds us how many bright, successful students have a story that’s quite different than the ones we tell ourselves over and over about how college applications work. By early November, she’s already applied to at least nine colleges—and been accepted to at least two! She has a preferred major, but she knows it’s likely to change. She wants to write a great essay, but has also gone quite a way into the process without having one finished. Jenna is just one of hundreds of thousands of college-bound seniors who are working hard and are aiming high, but aren’t agonizing over the one perfect application to the one perfect super-selective school because they think it will give them a perfect life. Cheers to Jenna!