Okay, I've been gone since July, and since then I've had a few things happen in my life. One was getting accepted into college. To all that have gone to college, I'm pretty sure between acceptance and actually going can create tons of moments where you just want to pull your hair out. To those that haven't gone yet but have been accepted and will be going in the next year, it feels like everything a about to change. And to those that are too young to consider college now, you might want to.
Living in a family that has one Tech College Graduate but w/o a Degree, and one University Grad currently going back for a Master's, college is a pretty tough thing to bear, especially if you are the first born (as in my case). Also in my case is that I knew what kind of degree I wanted to go in, but there are barely any schools around where I live that teach it. (Degree: Game Design & Development; Closest site: Twin Cities, 250 mi. away)
Around early August, I was accepted into Collins College. Their school had the degree I was looking for, along w/ a Master's program. Along w/ housing, a laptop would be given to me after my first term, with me getting to keep it. The interview with the admission's director had me nervous the entire time, and more and more people were brought in so that they could question me too, and though the degree itself isn't cheap, it was one of the cheapest places around that had it. The only problem is...Collins College is in Arizona. Around 2,000 mi. away.
Now I had a problem. Find a closer school? Or move halfway across the US just to go to school for three years? God knows the first choice is better.
Just trying to find a second schoool was tough enough that after the entire month of August, I hadn't found anything else. It wasn't until school resumed that I found another school: Brown College in the Twin Cities. The source: my friend, who was accepted into Brown.
Once again, filing the peperwork, getting the call back, and having to do the interview (once again, over the phone) was nerve-wrecking, but at teh end of October, I had been accepted into Brown. I also soon found out that four of my friends would be going there as well, including the friend that gave me the info.
Now I had to sing dozens of paperworks for Brown. What my classes would be, where would I be living, who will I be living with, if I have my US citizenship authorization, and a partridge in a pear tree. (As a little note: the building that I was to be staying in has apparently burnt to the ground, so now I have to do that part all over again.)
After that, I thought that everything could just relax. I was kidding myself. Now I had...scholarships.
Being 1/3 Native American, I can get tons of scholarships that other people can't. Thanks to my two guidance counslers (one school, other Indian) I managed to pile up an impressive amount of scholarships. None have been touched.
Why do you ask? No time.
With sports taking up my evening, work my weekends, and homework during my study hall, thet scholarships have kept piling, while the deadline for them edge ever so closer. Another thing that was preventing me was the FAFSA. Once taxes are filed, I can start looking through the scholarshiops and find the ones that will accept me (mostly because I am right at the edge on the income cutoff for a few dozen scholarships).
So there's my story. It's the end of February right now and I begin classes on July 13. I've been to the campus once so far for scholarship testing, and from it I can see the Mall of America and the airport, creating plenty of ways to get there. It's nice to know that I'll be going with people that have known me since elementary school, and making new friends shouldn't be that diffucult.
I'm pretty optimsitic about my future, though the major population change (20,000 -> half a mil) and location might though me a little off, it shouldn't be that tough. I better spend these last few months greatly...
~OLSP42
*THIS TOPIC WAS MADE FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE THEIR STORIES ON THEIR TIME(S) LEADING UP TO COLLEGE, OR FOR ANY HELPFUL INFORMATION FROM COLLEGE KIDS/GRADS TO THE INCOMING STUDENTS-TO-BE*
I AM CURRENTLY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND GETTIN GUD GR8S FOR CALLAGE
Interesting story. I've been thinking about applying for Brown college considering i live about 2 hrs away from it as well as applying for The Art Institutes International Minnesota which i think would be the best for what i want to go into field-wise. which is either graphic design or advertising. If you got any tips on colleges with these types of programs, which basically go hand-in-hand, that are arounds the mid-west let me know. Best of luck in college!