How to survive the college application process... if you're not a perfect Asian student.

Whether you like it or not, chances are if you're an incoming senior in high school, you're going to go through college application mania sometime soon. Yes even I still remember my time during college app mania, with the late nights, the cursing of higher education, and the breath-taking moments right before I clicked "Submit" and sent off my application for review. If your grades aren't perfect, don't worry, there's still hope for you too! Keep reading because some of these tips are especially important to remind the colleges that grades are NOT the most important thing in the world. Sadly, most of this generally doesn't apply to UC's, where it's mostly a numbers game. Berkeley and Los Angeles have a slightly more holistic system, but it's nowhere near as forgiving as private schools about your grades.

So here you are, a senior. Three long years of hard work have landed you here, but one of the most stressful times of your high school career is rolling up soon. Looking back, I think that it wasn't so bad, in the end, I was accepted into UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, Tulane University, Boston University, and the University of Notre Dame. Hopefully I'll be able to help you get through this rough time with as little pain as possible. Read on if you want to see some of my tips and opinions from my own college application experience...

1. One thing that I can't stress enough is don't take the easy way out of high school. No matter how inclined you may feel to take a lighter class load, don't. This is especially true if your grades aren't pristine. I know you'll be burned out and ready to quit, but don't. For some colleges, seeing that you're still opting for the more challenging route your senior year could be that life boat that keeps you in the applicant pool. This doesn't mean that you'll be accepted, you'll just possibly last longer while they consider you for a spot in the accepted pool.
   
2. It's a little late to say it at this point, but do things in high school because you have a passion for it, not because it'll buff up your resume. Of course there's a fine line between doing things that you have a passion for and not doing anything at all. But generally it helps more to be very involved in one or two particular clubs, and use those as anchors for extracurriculars. For instance, my favorite club in high school was Future Business Leaders of America, and while I didn't go past local level in terms of being an officer, I did get far in the competitive events (State and Nationals).
3. Be a well rounded person! At this point more than ever, I think colleges are looking for well rounded people. It's no longer the most important thing for you to have straight A's and a 2400 on your SAT. My personal opinion is that you have to show the college that you belong there. That you'll be able to contribute to the society on campus through not only your academics, but your athletics, your social skills, and your overall personality as a human being.
   
4. In regards to number three on this list, your chance to show colleges who you are is through your essays/interviews. This is important! Your essays can be the thing that pushes you over the edge from an applicant to an accepted applicant. These are two more very important lifelines for students who don't have straight A's. It's your chance to shine not just as a student, but as a human being. So focus on showing who you are, in an eloquent way that doesn't sound fake. Should be easy right?
   
5. Your SAT score doesn't matter as much as you may think. 2000/2100+ is a good goal. I ended up getting a 2150 after my first test. I was disappointed at first but I never got around to retaking it, and I turned out fine. Don't place too much emphasis on this or freak out about it. Some people are more naturally adept at standardized testing, so keep that in mind. Also, if the SAT's not your thing, try out the ACT, it might suit you better, (I never took it so I wouldn't know though.)
6. Get good recommendation letters. I didn't really get the benefit of this point, but I mention it because I think it would really help to show your personality from someone else's point of view. So connect with your teachers, or your boss at work, don't grovel or kiss butt, but be memorable. I think that's the key actually, if you're memorable (in a good way of course), then you make it a lot easier for whoever's writing your recommendation to make it not sound generic.
7. Lastly, don't be afraid to apply Early Action or possibly Early Decision to your reach or dream schools. Remember, Early Action is non-binding, this means that you're not obligated to attend the university if you were to get accepted, you just find out earlier and in my opinion you may have a slightly higher chance of getting in. On the other hand, Early Decision is binding, and so I'd only recommend this if you know for sure that you want to go to the school you're applying to.

So that basically wraps up my thoughts and tips on the application process. Remember, if you don't have perfect grades, it's not the end of the world. You definitely need to make up for it during the application process through your essays and interviews however. Remember that you are a human being, you are not your test scores. So show that to the colleges that you're applying to. Hopefully this short list will help you keep your sanity in the coming months. So good luck to you, class of 2010, and may your college application experience be a fruitful one.

Working... in progress

Recently I've found that it's hard for me to get any work done when I'm at home, so I've had to resort to going to places like Barnes & Noble and Starbucks so that I can focus. One key thing to note is that I can only get something done if I go alone, accompanied only by my trusty laptop and my dad's AT&T Wi-Fi log in. I mention this because the exact opposite happens if I go with someone in a study group, I end up half heartedly trying and failing to get anything done. I think my mentality when it comes to this is that when you're out alone in a place such as Starbucks or B&N, what is there to do but to work and focus on working? While if you go to a place like this with a friend or in a group, it feels more appropriate to talk, catch up, or gossip.

Of course, the question is what am I supposed to be doing right now? Well right now I should be wrapping up a website design for a client, but I took some time out of it to post this blog. No worries though, I'm still settling in. The basic scenario is: I walk into Starbucks, order my usual iced green tea latte, and pick a quaint little table to get settled at. I might spend 15 minutes checking my email, or any of the social networking sites, or updating my blog. Once the 15 minutes are over, I proceed into my most efficient state. For some reason at places like this and in cases like this, the usual desires to go on Facebook and Youtube every few minutes don't seem as important. They're easy to ignore and disregard. I used to think going to Starbucks was just a trendy fad, (or going to coffee shops to work in general). But it seems that even this has found a little niche in my day-to-day. I have a feeling that this is a work/study habit that will definitely stay with me throughout college, especially considering the fact that one of my roommates said the following:

"oh and just to let you know I hope you're cool with partying and stuff cus with that extra room we got we obligated to throw down big time."

Believe it or not, I'm perfectly happy with "throwing down big time" it's just I realize that if home is where I'm going to be throwing down, then I'll have to find another place to work. Because it's common sense that work and play do not mix... Unless you're a pimp... or a hooker. Then work is play, and vice versa.

[photo courtesy of my Nokia E71]

Moving into College Pt. 2

Alas! Progress! I'm pretty much all packed for daily/general wear. I still need to find winter-suited clothing, considering the fact that I spent most of my life here in the warm comforts of Southern California. After all, I'm pretty sure the jacket I wore when I was four won't fit me anymore. Anyway! I got around to taking some progress pictures of my packing skills for both our benefits:





This is what I started off with. You can see the innards of my closet spilled out with a vengeance. No, it doesn't normally look like that in my closet, this was the result of my pathetic attempt to make an inventory of what I have.





On the right, you can see one of the suitcases that I was trying to fill up. It actually remained pretty empty for the better part of my afternoon. When I first took a shot at packing my clothes in, I had a heart attack because I could barely fit in a few days worth of clothes. Then, I realized something.






I realized that you could pretty much quadruple the amount of clothes you can fit in a suitcase by rolling up each article of clothing. Kind of like a fabric burrito... Regardless, I made sure mention this little piece of valuable information for anyone that bothers to read this.





And that's pretty much it for this post. I know, I didn't get very far in terms of packing and whatnot, but hey, this post was long overdue (I generally post about things a few days to a week after they happen... unless it's very very important or I'm very very bored). Anyway, the next exciting aspect of my life will most likely be college shopping, so keep an eye out for that one.

Moving into College Pt. 1

So today's August 3rd, and that means I have about 17 more days until I fly out to college. So right now I'm sitting in my room trying to figure out what to pack. So far, after scouring countless pages on Google, here are a few things that I've decided are the most important to have/bring with you to your dorm:

• At least two weeks worth of clothing, and not more than three. (The general consensus is that you have limited space in your dorm so you won't be able to bring your entire wardrobe). Generally you also need one or two "nice" outfits, for things such as interviews, religious events, or the occasional hot date. For me I also need some swimming attire for the mandatory swim test. And some thicker clothes for the chill factor. Generally the weather starts getting cold around October, so you should bring a thick jacket or two to help you survive until Thanksgiving or Winter Break.

• Bed sheets. I'm thinking you need two sets, so you can change it if you need to. I got my sheets at Target for a lot less than what my school catalog was offering. The only thing is that most dorms have XL (extra long) twin beds, and so you'll need XL Twin Sheets. I know for sure that Target carries these.

• Laptop. A laptop is definitely a necessity, a desktop optional. I mean would you really want to forgo the pleasantness of a nice day by typing out your paper in your stuffy dorm on your desktop? In terms of taking it to class, I've heard that some professors would rather you not, and of course you're taking the serious risk of distracting yourself on Facebook or Myspace or Blogger while your professor is telling you the exam dates.

• Camera. This is one thing I know for sure I'm going to bring. College is going to have many experiences and you may want to take some pictures to remind you of such experiences once they pass.

• Laundry stuff. This includes but is not limited to: detergent, fabric softener, collapsible clothes hamper (wheels are good too), wire clothes hangers (once again, limited space).
  
  
• Surge protectors. Yeah those really long power strips will make it a lot easier to find a place to plug in everything like your desk lamp, laptop power, phone charger, and maybe a desk fan if you don't have A/C in your dorm.

In the end, I think the key thing to remember is that you can and will buy things once you're actually on campus. There's certain essentials to bring (i.e. clothes, laptop, and camera) but you can definitely get by without the laundry materials or surge protectors for at least the first few days. This is important especially if you're going to fly, since nobody wants the hassle of being two pounds over the 50 pound limit and having to pay $50. Anyway, I'm going to get back into the whole packing thing, and hopefully I can give a clearer picture of what I'm bringing once I post again.