Application Process & Expectations

I never really thought about the college admission process as much as I have now that I’m reading this book. The extent of my understanding was that I had to have certain things (essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts…) by certain due dates. All of which was very time consuming, very taxing, and very annoying to have to deal with. It was like taking another class on top of my already busy schedule. There were way too many things to keep track of for the different schools I applied to. But I never really gave any thought to what happened to those papers and forms once I sent them in (mere moments before the deadlines, of course).

The beginning of the second section of the book is all about Portia in “reading season.” It’s so bizarre to think of these people whose job it is to basically dig a hole in the ground and (instead of hibernating) read through all of these folders filled with dozens of papers summing up numerous kids’ lives. I started thinking about my own essays and (from what I remember) they just seem so lame. I hardly gave any thought at all to them; I was so completely overwhelmed at the time. I guess it all just seemed so remote—what college I would go to, to study what subject, and do what for the rest of my life… I was (am still, actually) so completely uncertain about my future that the whole thing seemed absurd.

Portia is very perceptive when she says that these kids are just teenagers feigning certainty in themselves and of their aspirations and goals (of something to that effect). The college applicant is practically required to lie a little because they feel they are expected to have their lives planned out already. Which really isn’t far from the truth. Just like Portia, I am a middle-of-the-road kid. I dabbled in everything and did well in everything but I don’t have an area of expertise. I thought college was going to be about taking whatever classes I wanted to, just to learn as much as I possibly could about all the things that interest me. what I found, thought, is that it is much more about figuring out what you’re going to do (or at least what area of study) and become as much of an expert as quickly as possible. I didn’t expect college to be this way and I certainly didn’t want it to be this way.