I’m no college admissions officer, but I do believe I’ve picked up some helpful ideas during my time writing college essays. Hopefully you will find them helpful too: (more…)

Each morning during my third-period class, the school announcements begin. Last week, a new announcement was added to the traditional list of sporting events and club meetings — next year’s scheduling sheets are now available in the registrar’s office for current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.
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It’s like I’m watching the same movie scene over and over again each time one of my friends gets into college. Immediately, he or she is understandably overcome with excitement; after all, four years of hard work has been leading up to this very moment. Then, deserved congratulations come from most everyone who hears about the acceptance. It’s not until later, after the exhilaration subsides (which can take days, even weeks!) that a realization hits — how am I going to pay for this amazing school I just got into?
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Second semester started today at my school, and with it came the relief of the senior class. College applications were out, 1st semester grades were in, and all anyone seemed to be talking about was this ubiquitous disease called, “senioritis,” which apparently infects the senior class starting about this time.
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Two p.m. MST on December 8th, 2009, is a date and time I will never forget; nor will I forget the series of events which led up to and followed that point in time. Let me explain. I’ll start at the beginning.
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Last week was Thanksgiving break and except for the food, the games, and catching up with family, college applications dominated my time off from school. You know something is wrong with you when college applications surface in your dreams, or rather, nightmares! Nightmares aside, I hope to finish these applications before they are all I can think about.
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Because I decided to apply to my number one college early decision, my application was due last week. The hardest part wasn’t the application itself; it was mustering the courage to click “submit.”
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Fortunately, at the end of each October, my school has a week off called Fall Break. Many juniors and seniors take advantage of this unique time off from school to go visit colleges, as I did. There is no better way to get a taste of what a school is like than to go visit it yourself. Since college will be your home for the next four years, if you have the chance to take a day or two to go visit, it is well worth it.
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My school newspaper, the Union Street Journal, has been my greatest passion and my greatest challenge in high school. Being the paper’s editor has taught me as much about leadership and life as it has about editing and writing. The late nights in the newsroom with Dave Mathews blaring from the same obsessed editor’s computer have provided me with some of my greatest frustrations, and my best memories. And that is precisely why I am sad to say good-bye.

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I have decided to take advantage of early application options for a few of the schools on my college list. Although this decision has accelerated my application deadlines, ultimately I think the reward of hearing back early is worth the extra time I have to spend on applications now. Plus, I’ve got to finish these applications eventually, right? So I figure I might as well get them out of the way now instead of later.

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