The end of the first semester is just around the corner. With midterms, scholarship deadlines, and colleges’ final decisions approaching, I need to do a lot of planning and organizing to keep things under control. I have already discovered how easy it is for life to get chaotic when two hands and 24 hours are no longer enough.

I am somewhat relieved after having completed the application to my first-choice college: Harvard University. Indeed, the process of applying to Harvard ended just hours ago after I was finally interviewed by a school alumna. I closed this chapter and prepared myself for the short yet dreadful wait for that December 15th e-mail, the one that will tell me of an acceptance, a wait list, or a denial.

Last week Pamela, the alumna, called and explained that the office of admissions asks graduates to help evaluate applicants by interviewing candidates that live nearby. Although not all universities request an interview as part of the application process, an interview can work to the student’s advantage. As much as it serves the admissions committee in finding out if the student’s personality depicted through essays and letters of recommendation is authentic, it also gives students a chance to demonstrate how and why they would be a unique asset to the college.

This was the first time I was going through an interview and, as it drew near, my nerves were frazzled. To prepare myself, I sought advice from other students who had been through an Ivy League college interview. I asked about the formalities of the interview, the questions I should be expecting, etc. I also made sure to have a general knowledge of current events just in case I was asked to take a stand on a specific news topic. I forgot to ask Pamela if she wanted me to bring a resume, but maybe it would have been a good thing to bring along.

On interview day I made sure I arrived in plenty of time for the 5 p.m. interview. As Pamela came out of her home to welcome me, all the ideas I had formed in my mind suddenly vanished. Her smiling face and casual appearance made me feel comfortable. Things got even more relaxed after we entered the house and SHE TOOK OFF HER SHOES! The interview definitely was more informal than I had anticipated.

She started off by asking open-ended questions just to get a feel for my background and school activities, since the only information alumni interviewers have is the applicant’s name and high school. As I spoke I tried to sound confident and pronounce my words clearly, since sometimes when I get nervous I tend to speak extremely fast and this, with my thick Cuban accent, can be a problem. She asked other questions about community service projects, jobs held, summer activities, hobbies, and books I’ve read. I was certainly expecting more questions about my interest in Harvard and what I had to offer the school, but she barely mentioned the university. Only after I had purposely asked her about her experiences as a student was I able to give her some insight into my own opinions about the school.

I knew that it was important to be myself. I realized that an interview can do you more bad than good, meaning that a great performance probably will not determine whether you get accepted into the university, but demonstrating arrogance or immaturity will certainly lower your chances. The key was to control the situation and not let nerves control me instead.

So I’m now marking days off the calendar and hoping for the best. In the time remaining, though, I’ve got to get busy.

These past days I have been harassing my college counselor in search of fee waivers and scholarships. There are so many good scholarships out there, and I’m trying to narrow down the list to the ones I actually have a good shot at. Since most of them ask you to write an essay about personal challenges and obstacles overcome, I decided to write an initial essay that I can modify for each scholarship. I have done the same with teacher recommendations, asking my teachers to change the name of the recipient for each letter to save them time and effort. At this point in the year, you have to be practical.

I’m also working on applications for the rest of the colleges I’m considering. Although I had requested hard copies from each school, I’m now thinking of applying online to benefit from discounts for applying this way. I was a bit paranoid about online applications since I feared materials would somehow get lost, and I preferred to pay some extra money for priority mail. However, applications are much more expensive than I thought they would be. Sending an application costs an average of $60 plus the money you have to pay to send extra test scores and financial profiles. Applying online is usually $10 less; if this is multiplied times the many schools I’m applying to, there’s definitely a reason to consider online applications.

The advantage of applying to so many schools is that you have the opportunity to compare many different financial aid offers and visit the campuses to see which ones fit you best. I didn’t want to bind myself to a school through an Early Decision application which, if I were admitted, required me to attend that university. Early and Regular Action are much more convenient. With Early Action, you apply to your top school in early November and hear back from the college in mid-December. The benefit of this process is that if you get deferred, your application still gets reevaluated along with the other Regular Action applications; if you are admitted, you have the chance of either accepting or rejecting the offer. You can only apply to one school through the Early Action policy, and I applied to Harvard. Usually only the more selective universities offer Early Decision and Early Action admissions. With Regular Action you are evaluated once for admission, and the application deadline is usually early January. You can apply to as many schools as you want.

With all the college stuff in mind, I have to be careful not to neglect my class work. It’s still my most important responsibility. Here in Miami we can still feel the burden of Hurricane Wilma as we desperately try to catch up on material before midterms arrive. This has led to an excessive load of work coming from each class as sometimes teachers forget that we have five other classes to take care of. The insane amount of homework and tests that teachers are assigning is exhausting me; I usually can’t get to bed before two in the morning after a non-stop studying session.

Oh well, Thanksgiving and then winter break are coming soon and I am ready to take off for some good vacations. I have to admit that after having experienced a weekend of college life, I hardly can stand high school any more.