Reporter: Eunice Minji Choi - Morth Hollywood High School
As high school seniors are com-mitting to their colleges and fu-tures, juniors are now starting their journeys. As a junior in high school, the summer to fall of this year will be the busiest time of my life. I have to start what will deter-mine my future path- college ap-plications. I’ve worked my entire life (literally) to get to this point and plan the best college applica-tion I can to get into a good college. Juniors are usually overwhelmed with the process, unfamiliar with the application process and wor-rying if they are “worthy” of being admitted. I feel the same way, and luckily, the colleges heard my cry because many invited me to their presentations about the applica-tion process and their options.
I was privileged to be invited to the Exploring College Options Program on May 9, 2024, held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel lo-cated in Downtown Los Angeles. This event was held by top colleges: Duke University, Georgetown University, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania. Admis-sion officers from these schools presented their schools, campus life, financial aid, and facts that make each school unique.
Once I checked in, I received a folder with a pamphlet from eve-ry school. UPenn’s pamphlet was by far the most creative because it looked just like a newspaper! The pamphlets included pictures of the campuses, student testimo-nies, financial aid information, and fun facts about the college. The schools focused on financial aid quite often during the pres-entations. I was glad to find out that all 4 years of tuition, hous-ing, food, and travel will be pro-vided to those who need it. I also learned that these schools were “need-blind,” which means that they do not take your financial situation into consideration dur-ing the admission process. And as everyone should know, affirm-ative action is banned, meaning race will not be considered dur-ing the process. All schools also talked about early action and early decision when it comes to applying for the schools.
After all the presentations and Q&A, I had the chance to talk to each admissions officer privately. My first conversation was with the representative of Stanford Univer-sity. Stanford has always been my dream school, so I had a lot of ques-tions. We talked about test scores, extracurricular activities, and ways I can make my application stand out. The admissions officer answered every detailed question I had, and through this conversa-tion, my worries shrunk. I then talked to Harvard’s admissions of-ficer and asked similar questions because I knew each school had a different approach to the applica-tion review process. Throughout the night, I talked to all admis-sions officers and received similar feedback and advice.
Overall, this event bettered my confidence regarding the applica-tion process. Before this, I worried about everything- my academ-ics, essays, extracurriculars, etc. However, after talking to those who had read our applications, I learned that the application pro-cess is not as stressful and difficult as I thought it to be. Hopefully, this summer will be enough to prepare an amazing application!
The Korea Daily Youth Program
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