Jane Collins
Jane Collins
! About my hometown, Camden, Maine—what living in a small town next to the ocean means to who you are and what you value, and the impact it has had on me. I can go far away from Maine, and I am going to Whitman College in Washington. But I realized that my upbringing in Maine has everything to do with who I am.
Seohyung
! About my experience at math camps. Math makes sense to me. Words don’t make as much sense to me as a one-line equation. The application I struggled most with—and I wanted to go there—was U Chicago. The essay had to be based on a quote from Susan Sontag. She said, ‘The only interesting answers are those that destroy the questions.’
Part III: Making the Decision Alex I never really thought about what was most important to me, and asking the question why was even more important than what. Brown had a great computer science program, but not a great architecture program (I thought I wanted both). I could take physics, applied math, and keep up my writing. I could play squash. It’s an urban school with a vibrant community. The fact that there are no course requirements means it caters to a special kind of person. It tells me that most people are there because they’re motivated. They have ideas about themselves. They have to make their own future. It’s very diverse.
Brown had separate revisit programs for black students. At Harvard, the students were all mixed up [racially]. The black students were student leaders, really reaching out to both black and white students. That helped me decide to go to Harvard.
to take a course in mediation and courses in martial arts. I’d like to get a job and make some money so that I could go abroad and travel to several Spanish-speaking countries before I start college.
Oliver
I learned about myself, what kind of people I’m crazy about, and what kind of things I can do without. I learned the kind of things I envision myself doing, and how to manage myself.
I may have had a better sense than others of what I wasn’t looking for, even though I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. Oberlin offered me a very nice merit scholarship. I’m required to major in either math or science. They just picked me out. Then I went to look at it to make sure I didn’t hate it. I loved it: I went to classes, met great people. I liked it better than other schools I got into and certainly as much as the schools where I was wait-listed.
Erin It’s hard to be at Milton and stay out of ‘bumper-sticker land.’ It would be hard to go to a college people aren’t talking about. Milton has given me so much, but especially the ability to pick myself back up, to be realistic, to have confidence and to have resilience. That will help me in the future, because admission to many things at the next level beyond college becomes even more arbitrary.
Final Words Henry Yes, I’m a different person, but not because of the college process. Rather, it was a product of the rest of my life, more like the natural trajectory of maturity and growth. I’m much more willing to commit myself to ‘extra’ things now—like acting. I finally tried it and it worked out well. I’d like a ‘gap year’ next year [a year between high school and the beginning of college]. I want
Shellonda Anderson I was choosing between Harvard and Brown: both were urban; the atmosphere at both seemed relaxed and laid-back. But 8
Milton Magazine
Shellonda Anderson
Seohyung
Choosing a college doesn’t define you. It makes no sense to say this or that is the best. There are no real means of comparison. I talked with people at these amazing colleges, and some of them were unhappy. A choice doesn’t guarantee anything. I have to make my own mark. The person I am just doesn’t stop here. I have to ask myself, if I didn’t have money, or my reputation, or my college, who would I be?
Sasha Doing the essay was a learning experience: it made you look both forward and back. You talk about yourself, what’s important, what you want for your future. Senior year forces you to become reflective. The next four years seem daunting; the decision about where to go seems like such a big one when you’re 18. Then, the minute you actually make the decision, you’re in hindsight mode, looking back at why and how some things happened. I’m very optimistic about next year; there’s no reason not to look forward to college. Stresses, disappointments, realizations and triumphs seem routine for Class I students. Either because of, or despite, the way they tackle their final courses and getting into college, most do develop insight and resilience that will serve them well. All of them credit the college counselors with knowing them well, and insisting that they be true to themselves. Shellonda probably spoke for most students when acknowledging the rite of passage: “It’s hard for seniors to be the same at the end of the year as they were at the beginning. You gain so much knowledge over that year. Your courses change your point of view and your perspective. You speak more with your teachers, your coaches and your dorm faculty as adults and friends. I feel much less like a child. I am optimistic; I am very excited about next year.” Cathleen Everett