Ariel Hsing’s College Guide for Junior Table Tennis Players by Ariel Hsing I have been feeling like a princess living in a fantasyland since last September, because I have been at the best school in the world—Princeton University. Here is my advice on attending your perfect school, and I’ll also show you a glimpse of the college life. Touring the Schools: You need to know the schools, and the schools need to know you. Try to convince your parents to take a family vacation to visit different colleges. You can even use your younger siblings as leverage, since sooner or later they will need to apply for colleges too. The best family vacation my family ever had was visiting colleges on the east coast. We joined a campus tour in the morning and learned all kinds of interesting stories about the schools. Did you know that Princeton used to have a bar inside the library? Some moms would cry, “How hard have you made my poor baby study? The library is charging us $200 this month!” After the tours, we would try to eat lunch at the school cafeteria, (my favorite part of the visit.) Just being among the students, and seeing how they talk, dress, and how sleepy they look, you can get a pretty good sense whether or not you belong there. We then liked to wander around campus. My mom like checking out the neighborhood. My dad liked checking out the local cuisine. Then we moved on to another school the next day. Also, don’t forget to register with the school before your visit!
This way they know you are sincere and interested, and that just might give you an advantage during admissions. Touring the Princeton campus feels like walking into the Harry Potter books. The buildings and cafeterias resemble Hogwarts, and it’s really like going to school in a palace. And now you know what my new home is like. Financial Concerns: Almost every table tennis junior player is smart and hard working, and they all deserve to go the school of their choice. It would be so sad to see someone have to choose a different school because of financial hardship. It’s comforting to know that there are schools like Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, and many others that admit students based on their abilities first, and then help them resolve financial difficulties by offering a combination of financial aid and student loans. Princeton even takes this up a notch by having a No-Loan policy,which means that the school will cover everything, from tuition to living expenses, for the lower income family students, and the students don’t have to pay anything back. For some of my friends, attending Princeton is even cheaper than going to a local community college. Applying for Colleges: Find out the requirements of your dream school ASAP. Almost all schools require the SAT or ACT test, and many require two SAT Subject tests; (MIT requires three and it’s optional for UC colleges.) Find out the SAT test dates and give yourself enough time to take it two or three times. I almost missed my only chance to take the test because of an unexpected surgery, and I definitely wouldn’t try my luck if I had to do it again. There are many kids that have great grade point averages and high SAT scores. What distinguishes you from others is your essay and extracurricular activities. The admission officers will also use your essay to see if you will fit in on campus. Have at least two friends review your essays. Any grammar or spelling errors are just not acceptable. I had one friend from high school write about his love of making knives and guns. I just looked at him and told him to rewrite the whole thing. You shouldn’t lie, but you can choose a different story to tell to help your admittance chance. You can buy or borrow the book “On Writing the College Application ESSAY” by Harry Bauld. Check out the “College Confidential” website from time to time. I don’t particularly like the movie Admission, but you can watch it to get a general idea of how the college admission process works—minus the cheating (and meanwhile check out the beautiful Princeton campus.) You can apply to one college for early-action admission and that can be your dream school. But if you have more than one dream school then you should pick the one with a higher early admittance rate. You might be shocked that the rate can be dramatically different between schools of similar caliber. Choosing Roommates: We all like to have our own room. But will that give us the best college experience? I don’t think so. I applied for the dorm unit
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