The best of 2019

This Thursday I’ll be publishing one last blog post of the year, but for now let’s look back at the five best posts of 2019.

If you’ve been an Apply with Sanity reader for the past year: thanks! I really appreciate it and hope you’re getting something good from it! Come back Thursday for the last post of 2019!

If you haven’t been following all along year: thanks for reading, whenever you started! Keep coming back! And here’s a rundown of what you may have missed earlier.

1. What do colleges want?

So what do they want? They want you to be you, the best you, and to let them know who that is. You can’t do that if you’re too busy trying to be what you think they want you to be. There are schools out there looking for you, so you have to tell them who you are, not what you think they want to hear. Just like in a good relationship.

2. How do wealthy kids get into elite colleges?

There are a few dozen schools that are both need blind and meet full demonstrated need. They don’t take your ability to pay into account when deciding to accept you, and they will make sure that you get all the financial aid that you need based on FAFSA. There’s a reasonable expectation that many of their graduates will have high earnings after graduating, so there’s no need to prefer one person over another based on the assumption that they might be donors. These schools ought to be the very definition of meritocracy, since almost nobody needs to worry about the cost when they apply, and the schools only look at your academic records, not your financial records, to make their decisions. And yet, those schools are all elite colleges dominated by wealthier students. Is this the proof that wealthy families game the system? Sort of.

3. The two things you need for success in college and beyond.

Today’s post is about two things you need for success in high school, college, and beyond: a meditation routine and a time management system. Maybe need is a strong word. You can get by without either of these things—many people do. But I promise that a meditation routine and time management system will never be a waste of your time or effort.

4. You’re not trying to impress anyone.

If you’re hoping to get into college by impressing the admissions office, I want you to let go of that idea right now. You’re not going to impress them. Your SAT or ACT scores—even if perfect—are not going to impress them. Your GPA is not going to impress them. Your list of activities and awards is not going to impress them. Your letters of recommendation are not going to impress them. If your college admissions strategy is to impress, rethink your strategy.

5. Three things parents should stop saying to their children.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it covered.”

“We can’t afford anything, so you’ve got to get a full scholarship.”

“We fall into that window where we make too much money to qualify for financial aid, but not enough money to pay for college.”

Also this year I began the Three Quick Questions section, where I ask admissions officers from all over the same three questions.

What would you like to see in 2020? Have you got any questions, any suggestions, any requests? Put them in the comments box below, or hit the Contact button to send a message.

Thanks for reading!

Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

Photo by Zoe Herring.

Apply with Sanity is a registered trademark of Apply with Sanity, LLC. All rights reserved.

Jenna is in the fast lane

What do you do after you apply to five colleges, and get accepted to all five, in a single day? According to Jenna, you work on school projects, go Christmas shopping, take another SAT…and apply to more colleges. Read all about Jenna’s busy Novemeber!

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, how did the college application fair go for you on the 9th?

The college admissions fair went great! I applied to Oakland, Michigan Tech., Northern Michigan, Central and Eastern and got accepted into all 5 (woo!). It was a super quick process and when I picked up my results in the afternoon it was pretty clear which ones had accepted me because all the colleges had given me something if that makes sense. For instance, Michigan Tech gave me a shirt, Central gave me gloves, Oakland gave me a magnet etc. since I had gotten accepted.

Now that you have some applications out and several acceptances back, how are you feeling about admissions season?

Now that I have some applications out and several acceptances back, I’m feeling more calm about admissions season. For some schools, I really wanted to meet that November 1st deadline but for others I wanted to do regular decision or at least take my time when writing essays such as Michigan State, UMich Ann Arbor and Stanford. I’m starting to get more worried about scholarships though. It's a very tedious process and finding scholarships that are right for me isn't easy, especially considering they might require an essay or video etc. It’s hard considering lately I haven't had much free time to do these things and deadlines come very quick.

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?

As for school, it's going decent I guess. I really only have to worry about my 3 morning classes which is nice about the way I setup my schedule. But sometimes they all give a lot of homework or multiple projects at once which puts a bit of a damper on my personal time to finish applying to other schools or look for scholarships as mentioned earlier. Though applying while still in high school is changing a bit of my daily basis. My routine doesn't change much besides maybe the way I think about my day or how it’s going more. It's a bit overwhelming to know these are my last few months with the people I've grown with but at the same time I'm in a way ready to move on and get a new start. But also so far luckily the senioritis hasn't settled in yet. I have responsibilities that can't be avoided here at school. Although once it gets closer to prom and graduation, I'm sure senioritis will definitely settle in more.

Did you go on any college visits or have any interviews in November? Do you have any planned for December?

I still haven't gone on any college visits in November and I haven't planned any for December. I think I want to wait until I finish applying to schools and then narrow it down to the top 3 ish and then visit the campuses. I'm not really sure, I haven't really talked to my mom about visiting college campuses. I brought it up once and she shot down the idea very quickly so when I get my license in the next month or so. I'll try to bring it up again soon probably and if she shoots it down again then I guess I’ll be on my own for that too or I'll try to gather a group to come along with me, so i'm not alone.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you do any college-related work over the break?

My Thanksgiving was great though, being able to relax for a day or so with my family was nice. I didn't do any college related work over break really because I figured I still do have some time to finish applying etc. I had gotten out of school on Wednesday, but i had to run errands all day then Thursday was Thanksgiving and then Friday I had to go Christmas shopping. I also had a project due the Monday we came back from break so I had to finish that on Saturday and Sunday.

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 somewhat involved-ish in the process. My mom still hasn't really done much to help me with the college process unless I ask her to but there's not really much to ask. My mom as of right now wants me to attend Wayne State University for my first 2 years then transfer to Central Michigan. So far Wayne State has given me the most money out of all the schools I've applied for which makes sense for me to go there. In the end, I feel that it is still my future and of course I will take my mom's opinion into consideration when making my final decision but primarily I'm calling the shots. Plus I'd prefer to go to a college for all 4 years instead of having to transfer. If I have to transfer though, that's fine too but I'd prefer to not have to go through all the paperwork and then wondering if my credits will transfer etc. But it also depends whether or not if I’ll have a car to be able to get to where I need to be or if I can get a summer job before I start the new school year. It’s the small things like that, that will have a big impact on my decision and how I choose to go about it.

Let's go over your list and make sure I have it correct:

Central Michigan University (applied)

Cleary University (applied)

Eastern Michigan University (applied)

Henry Ford Community College

Madonna University

Michigan State University

Michigan Tech University (applied)

Northern Michigan University (applied)

Oakland University (applied)

University of Michigan Ann Arbor

University of Michigan Dearborn (accepted!)

Wayne State University (accepted!)

Is that right? Are there any changes?

Yes the list is correct, but in the beginning I have mentioned which schools I have been accepted into.

I’ll start my applications to Henry Ford, State, Ann Arbor and maybe Stanford? sometime in January since I'm just planning for regular decision. I'm still on the fence about applying to Stanford and I know my answer changes almost every month but I'm still not sure what to do about it.

Is there anything you want to share that I didn't ask about?

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I had planned on retaking the SAT which I finally got around to!!

I retook it on December 7th and I'm not sure when i'll get my scores back. I'm still a bit upset I didn't get a ton of time to study but I did study a little bit which did end up helping but I'm still not sure I can say to did great which is a little disappointing. Whatever happens, happens in the next few months and we'll see how this all plays out.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. Check out Jenna’s past interviews and interviews with other Meet the Class seniors.

3. Ask a question in the comments section.

Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

Photo by Angela Elisabeth.

Apply with Sanity is a registered trademark of Apply with Sanity, LLC. All rights reserved.

Katie has finished applying

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.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, here are three easy things you can do:

1. Share it on your social media feeds so your friends and colleagues can see it too.

2. Check out Katie’s past interviews and interviews with other Meet the Class seniors.

3. Ask a question in the comments section.

Apply with Sanity doesn’t have ads or annoying pop-ups. It doesn’t share user data, sell user data, or even track personal data. It doesn’t do anything to “monetize” you. You’re nothing but a reader to me, and that means everything to me.

Photo by Angela Elisabeth.

Apply with Sanity is a registered trademark of Apply with Sanity, LLC. All rights reserved.