Thursday, December 15, 2011

ALLOW ME TO BE RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED!

WAOHOFHWOJF:LSKDJFpoiuweqrlkdjf; <-- This is me because it's almost winter break over here! I'm so excited. School has been tough lately, but mostly because I've become lazy. I promise I'll be better next year, 2012!

Anyway, I've recently realized that it's almost the holidays, and next month will be my birthday! Even though winter can be really bitter cold, all these things make it bearable. I feel like this holiday is going to be rather peaceful, less all the work I have to do.

SPEAKING OF WORK, I finished a bunch of IB work, so I feel a little more on track, though my grades are somewhat slipping >____> But mostly in stupid classes, so it's okay haha.

Anyway, I'm also in a good mood because two of my really good friends got accepted into their early action schools! One got into Stanford, and the other one into Princeton :) I'm so proud of them both!

But I guess everyone talking about colleges has gotten me thinking about them too (I'm only a junior, so I apply next year). I haven't really figured anything out, but after doing a bit of research, I've come to think that King's College, Cambridge would be the perfect school for me, if I can get in... >___> We'll see how I do on my IB tests this year. But I'm a little bit worried because it IS an international school, which certainly complicates things for me. If anyone in the UK has any advice for applications to UK schools, that would be fantastic and much appreciated :)

Anyway, are any of you at the college-able age? How are your apps going, and have you gotten into any of the schools you want to go to?

And how are your holidays going? I hope they're going well! I do promise to respond to comments in this post, so post away!

15 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Wao I can totally feel your excitement reading this! I also love this time of the year, and while you are thinking about what to do about college I'm also thinking about my future since next year I will be finishing my career, so I totally understand you. Anyway I really hope you get in the college you want, I'm sure if you try hard you will definitely get in! I'm cheering on you :D!! My best wishes for you in this holiday season and as usual thank you for your hard work on the projects!! :D

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  3. Ah, I'm not sure if you ever told me what you do, but what do you do? And how are your plans going? Thank you so much for the support! It is very much appreciated!

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  4. I'm in Uni now! IB's absolutely fantastic at getting you into the schools you want. I've gotten early acceptance into all the schools I applied for but ended up going somewhere that wasn't my first choice (parents won't let me move out, go across the country or go overseas).
    I hope things will go well for you. Was there anything specific about King's College that interested you? What are you thinking of studying?

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  5. I was thinking of applying to grad school for next year, but I kept putting things off because, well, I'd rather work. Getting paid brings me a certain kind of satisfaction that nothing else does... but I sort of feel like I need to go back to school if I want to advance in my career... you know what I mean?

    Oh well, we'll see what happens... best of luck with your applications an such. I came to the USA as an international student myself, so things can be complicated, yes! However, it's not everyday that you get an opportunity where you get to start off fresh. Where noone knows you and you can be whoever you want to be... fix all those little things you wished back in high school... ahahaha... well anyway

    As always, thanks for working on The One and the other projects. Appreciate it.

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  6. Oh I'm studying Communication (Not sure if you are familiar with the term, but it's about working in the media like journalism, tv producer, etc)

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  7. Ah college... Well, sort of University here in Australia. I remember back in high school, people were scrambling about which school to go to. Worse, people still didn't know what career they wanted to take. Haha! You best enjoy high school life. As what my demon of an aunt said, it's the best stage of one's life.

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  8. Yep Amari9 High school is the best! Anyway, Kat I'm so glad you're break is here same with me. This sem was so tough. I'm so glad it's over. College is tough but awesome at the same time. Thank you for translating The One. Ganbatte ne! :)

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  9. I'm at University (in Italy we don't have colleges), I study Art History, and I really hope to graduate next year becouse I want to enroll in a 2 years advanced course and maybe gain experience abroad!
    I hope you'll be able to apply for the college you want! I agree with Maliha whan she says that it's a great opportunity "to start off fresh"...even if I study near home going to University (and finally study what I like) made me feel extremely powerful seeing all the potential changes! It's a great feeling!
    But(!) in the meantime let's enjoy the holydays!!! Sadly this year I don't particularly feel the "Christmas atmosphere" but it's alwas a nice time of the year!...so best wishes!! :)

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  10. oh my. I'm a junior too. for some reason i pictured you older :). I feel kind of out thou, my school doesn't offer IB courses. Soo I don't know how applying to the college I want is going to work out for me. But do you have any tips, like what do you need to o exactly to get into the college of your choice?? thx :)

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  11. Hey could anons leave their name in their posts so that I can address them? Thanks :)

    @Anon1: Wow, that’s great that you got into all your schools, but it’s too bad that you couldn’t go to your first choice. I hope you’re still happy at your university. I’m planning on studying mathematics, then switching into economics, though it’s quite possible the switch into economics may not happen depending on how it goes. I really actually like King’s College’s architecture hahaha. I’m a little embarrassed. I just think the campus is beautiful, but I was really drawn to the green activities they have. I wasn’t too sure from reading all the college blurbs how different the colleges were academically. Do you know anything about that? Thank you so much for your kind words!

    @Maliha: Ah, I definitely know what you mean. I was so tempted to take a part-time weekend job that actually would end up paying me almost as well as my mother, but my parents wouldn’t allow me to take it because they thought I needed to take the time to study, though getting paid for my work would have felt really good, so I do know what you mean haha. Thank you for the advice! That is actually a very good point.

    @Maria: (Sorry I can't type the accent in your name haha. Silly American keyboards....) I have heard of communications—what kind of a career are you considering pursuing?

    @Amari: Well, I actually hope high school won’t be the best part of my life haha. I hope I’ll have lots of things to look forward too, or else that’d be a little depressing.

    @Anon2: Thank you!

    @Giulia: Wow, art history sounds fascinating. It seems like an especially amazing subject to study in Italy! You have so much history around you, and I think it’s something so lacking in the states. I live in a city that was built in the late 1800s, so it’s so hard to see anything really old. That’s why Europe seems so romantic to a lot of Americans. I wish you the best of luck with your studies and work!

    @Anon3: Well, it really depends on what kind of college you want to get into. For incredibly competitive colleges, it won’t be enough to have good grades and extracurriculars, you really have to stand out as a person, both on your essays and in your community activities, as well as in your particular interests. I think it is important to show a passion for something that you do. For public state universities, I think that fairly good grades, SAT scores, and a few good extracurriculars are enough to get in. Of course, you can’t bomb your essay, but good grades will get you really far.

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  12. (formerly known as Anom1)

    I`ve heard of King`s College, though I don't know much about it. It's hard to get a good bearing on these schools from blurbs and I always take testimonies with a large pinch of salt, especially after I attended a "bad" high school that turned out to be quite good, and would very likely be a top school if it was in a different neighborhood. The best way to know, especially for yourself is to actually go and try it out. And between you and me, The school's architecture is a HUGE factor in how much I like the school. Incredibly bias, but my excuse is that the environment plays a large factor in my habits, and school with beautiful old architecture makes me feel a need to be studious.

    As for your work problem... I wonder if King's have a co-op program of some sort? That is a program where you switch between work and school, but will still be considered a student of that institution. Or I also find it's much more possible to have a job in university than it was in IB. Or I love volunteering, and that's often a nice work experience. Especially useful if it's within the school and then you try and get an on campus job.

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  13. I have done co-op here without being part of the co-op program, but then again, I'm in the USA, and not sure how things work in the UK. If you're in the right program then these co-ops can be very satisfying. I believe I learned TONS from my co-op experience (also not to mention with the right program you can also get paid a LOT) and afterwards all of the full time job interviews I went through they mostly focused on my experience while I was doing my co-op. Internships are the same though. Either/or works just fine!

    Also, throughout college (other than co-op) I also worked on campus. Being an international student and what not, I must say the extra cash did help out a lot. It gave me a tad bit more financial flexibility and a little more room for breathing. I was working as a Resident Assistant for some time which was super sweet... not only did I get a stipend, I also had a free single room in the dormitory... sweet deal huh!!! =D

    Well anyway, I know college search and preparations can be hectic, but looking back now I realize that I also had tons of fun! So yeah, best of luck (once again) with your preparations... =)

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  14. Well, too bad I'm not in the UK. So I can't help very much. I'm in America, and I applied to college last year (that certainly was the most stressful time of my life!...but looking back it really shouldn't have been). But my advice is the earlier you start thinking about it, the better (I wasn't sure about were I wanted to go until the end of Junior year/start of summer and I wished I had been more prepared.)

    And as had been my experience: good test scores are very important but they are not everything. For me, what counted most was the amount of hours that I spent doing extracurricular activities, volunteering (I did a LOT!), and my good grades during school (they counted more for me than the tests did. So don't let grades slip too much.). Because let me tell you, my national test scores were average/a bit above average. What allowed me to get into my top school was that.
    (It would also be a good idea to add what you do for this site on your transcript because it would show you have dedication to a task you take on.)

    But anyway, I go to a college I love now and just finished my first semester as a Biology major in Pre-Dental course. So yay! And I can only wish that you will find the right school for you. -F.T.

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  15. Ah, thanks Mousetail and Maliha for your advice and information. It is much appreciated!

    Thank you FT for sharing. I'm glad that you're happy where you are :)

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