Last night, I successfully completed my first college application. I'm assuming this is really the first official step to my future. 40 bucks, hours stretched between weeks, and a requested transcript later, my finished application has been sent to Oklahoma State University. Now when school starts I'll begin another application for the same school, but for the honors college at OSU. These multiple applications aren't fun or easy, but I guess they show dedication or something. I picked OSU to start with because it was 10x easier than Penn State or Yale. I could just do all of them using the nifty universal application I have to use for any of the Ivy Leagues, but that's even harder than OSU and PSU combined. I get why they have to be so difficult though, I mean it's not like you want some undetermined lazy kid getting into your school - even though it seems to happen often. I just wish they included an essay part where I could write about whatever I wanted. OkState provides you with 8 options and you choose three. Penn State lets you write about why you want to go to PSU, and Yale, well I haven't gotten there yet. If I could pick one part that was the only part I was responsible for, it'd be the essays. I enjoy writing. I like being able to show complete strangers what's happening in my brain. I think what I can say in 250 words or less is a lot more important than my GPA or ACT score. If I could, I'd probably just post a link to my blog. I think that'd be a good insight into my head. I don't like the pressure that little essays has though. Like these 750 words could possibly determine how much I pay for school, and I don't even like the topics I have to choose from, how does that make me feel? It makes me feel pressured. It's not that I won't automatically be admitted because of what I said, that's what my GPA and ACT determine. It's just that if I could save $5,000 a year by changing what I say, that's a lot of pressure. I guess I'm lucky though, I know I'm going to end up at Oklahoma State, it's where I fit. Penn State and Yale are like my dream schools, the ones you apply to even though your credentials aren't exactly what they're looking for and you're most likely going to receive one of those horrible "Sorry to inform you" letters. I think I could probably get into Penn State, Yale I'm not even keeping my hopes up for.
I'm just glad I'm not going to OTC or another little technical school 20 minutes from my house. That's something I've always been sure of. I'm not going to attend a school close to home. That's not where I belong. I need to be at a D1, at least 3 hours from home, where I can learn who I am and really be on my own. I'm also extremely picky about which college I want to attend when it comes to dorm rooms. I don't want to share a room with some stranger, I've never had to share a room with anyone. I also don't want to share a bathroom with an entire floor. That's just too personal for me. I'd much rather share with one to four people. Even that's asking a lot, I have my own bathroom now, and I like it that way. I'm also picky when it comes to dining options, the town the college is in, and campus layouts. So, when it comes to deciding on a college, it takes a lot for me to settle on wanting to apply there. That's why I'm only applying to three, and only really plan on going to one of those three. I've yet to visit Penn State or Yale, and I don't know if I ever will. All I know, is for now Oklahoma State University works for me.
