TCU Senior Interview

So thank you so very much for meeting with me. I'm really excited to hear about everything that's been going on, and it's such an exciting time for you. So, um, just had a few things that I was curious. Um, how many schools did you end up applying to?

Um, I think it was 9. Okay, I have my dashboard up.

Is that your student portal?

Yeah.

I'm so proud of you. What would you tell students who are younger in the program about utilizing the student portal?

Like, use it, be— especially the application outline is like super helpful if you keep it up to date. And I— it was just really nice to have everything in one spot. I think that was my favorite thing about it was the application outline. And also I would say like, don't mark things as completed unless it's totally done. Because I know one time I was like halfway through something and I was like, oh, I'll just mark it as I'm doing it. But then I forgot to finish it. So it's like, you need to actually like be honest with it.

It does no good if you try to be optimistic. Yeah. Awesome. So did you find how many schools you applied to?

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

Okay.

Yeah, 11.

All right. So can you just real quickly go through which schools they were?

Yeah. So Auburn, SMU, TCU, University of Missouri, Um, oh, I didn't end up applying to that one. UCLA, Clemson, University of Alabama, Ole Miss, NAU, and U of A.

So you were gonna kind of go wherever you needed to go.

Yeah, that was kind of all over the place.

Absolutely. So out of those, how many did you get accepted into?

Um, I was accepted into all of them, but I haven't, um, seen my UCLA.

Okay, so, so far 100% yes? Yeah, that's, that's an impressive application season. You must be so proud of yourself.

Yeah, I'm happy with the way it turned out. I wasn't expecting that.

Let's talk about what it felt like, um, Let's not say what school yet that you have accepted to, but what did it feel like when you first saw, or how did you even know to check your email if the acceptance letter was going to be there? Like, what was that experience like?

So a few of the schools like Clemson, I didn't get an email from them. They actually just sent me a letter in the mail. And so I— it was actually Christmas Eve that I got it. And like Clemson, Auburn, and TCU were my top 3, and Clemson was the one out of those 2 that I was like, I like, I might not get in. The other 2 I kind of knew I was gonna get in. Um, and my stepmom, it like had this— it like, you could tell that I got in because it was this big packet and it said like, you're a Tiger or whatever. But my stepmom like grabbed it and she was like, look, like, and she saw it in the mail. So that was exciting. But all of the other ones, you kind of get like an email from them and it just says that there's been an update to your, like most of them have, you have like an application portal. And so it says that they've updated that. And then like to, I think Auburn and another school, they actually just sent me an email saying you've been accepted. And then I got a letter like a week later.

Okay.

So all of them I got letters, but I found out online first.

So when you, when you got the dream school, the one that you are just so super excited about, what did, did that feel any different or was it just as the same as the other ones?

Um, well, so the first one I got into was NAU and that is not a school that I really want to go to. I was just kind of like an easy school for me. And I was, if I wouldn't have gotten in, I would have been concerned. And so I was kind of just like, eh, like, whatever. But then when I started to get into schools that like I would actually consider going to, I never really had one where I was like, if I get into this school, like that is where I'm 100% going. It was always between like 4 or 5. And so once I got into like the first one of that, I think that one was, I think it was Auburn or TCU. But once I got in there, it was like, okay, I'm going to college. Like, I know. But then it kind of started to get real once I actually started to get into all the schools I would consider going to because I was like, I wasn't really expecting this. Now it's not as clear, I thought, as I thought it would be. But yeah, but I also decided like throughout from getting back, like Vanderbilt was a really, really late application and I did like the 4 that I really wanted to go to were all early action. And so once I got those back, I actually decided not to apply to Vanderbilt because it was super expensive and like the application was just super vigorous and intense. So I was like, I don't— that's not one of my top schools. I kind of just wanted to see if I could get in, but I, I decided it would be like kind of a waste. And I did the same with Cal Poly SLO. I was like, I'm not gonna really want to go there. And so then that's why I decided to like not apply to schools I thought I was gonna apply to. So getting into schools helped me.

Yeah. So when did you finally decide the school? How did that all happen?

So I kind of— so Auburn was my number one for a while. I really wanted to go to Auburn and I still love Auburn, but I thought it would be okay with going all the way across the country. And I was like, I'm gonna— I'll be fine, whatever. Like, I can come home. And then like the closer and the more real it got, like actually getting into school is like Talking to people about their experiences and like, I have, I knew a few people that went like Auburn, Ole Miss, those places and they were like, "It's hard and I don't get to come home as much as I want to." And I actually started to like kind of get real and I was like, "I need to be closer. I want to be, I want to go somewhere out of this state, but I need to be closer to home. Like I can't go that far away." So that was a big deciding factor. And then the school that I decided, I actually, I visited it and that was like kind of a game changer for me. Just like seeing, it was my third time being there and seeing it. Yeah, so the first time I was really young because my cousin went there and so I just went to visit her. And then the second time my dad and I did like a bunch of schools in that area, so we didn't really spend a lot of time there. It was just like a few hours. And then, um, this last time we were there like a whole weekend and I was like, this is where I like want to go. And I met a lot of people that went there.

Like, was there one thing in particular that was like, that's it? Or was it just like a buildup of everything?

It was kind of just like a buildup and I mean, it's kind of funny because when I was in 7th grade and like college, actually, it was like I was understanding what it was. This was the school where I was like, oh, I'm gonna go there, I'm gonna go there. And it was mostly just because my cousin went there and like I am close with her and I look up to her. And so I always kind of just said that, and I, I, it was just kind of, I don't know, it built up there. I liked the colors. It wasn't really like a real reason. And so that's why I kind of pushed the school to the school side at first, because I was like, I don't know if this is like actually what I want. It's just what I've always said that I want. I was like, I don't want to decide it just based off of that. But then when I was like actually there, the first few times I was like, I really like this, but I feel like I might just be saying that. Like, I don't know, like I wasn't sure. And then I finally decided that the location was great. They have a really good business school, which is what I want to study. They have a lot of opportunities. Um, I want to rush, be in sorority, and like they have brand new housing there on campus, which I really, really liked that those houses were on campus and like part of the school. And so there was just a lot of stuff there that I really liked.

I'm so excited for you. So have you signed the contract? You're going? So what is the final school you decided on?

It's TCU, Texas Christian University. So I'm super excited.

I'm so excited. That is such a great fit for you.

I can't even tell you.

I absolutely— that was on my daughter's top. Of her list as well, and we toured it and I fell in love with it.

Yeah, it's a great fit there.

So let's talk a little bit about the application process, and if you had to tell the younger you, the freshman you, the sophomore you, what advice would you give yourself?

Hmm, um, I would probably say to like spend more time editing your essays. And I feel like I would write them and then I would come— I came back to most of them like 2 or 3 times, but I, I wish I would have come back to it even more and like had more people look at them. And I also think like taking the time to like sit down and talk to other people because when I was making my list of stuff that I had done, I left out like 3 things that I forgot I had even done. And then when I talked to my mom, she was like, "Oh, remember you did this?" And I was like, "Oh, I totally forgot." So like talking to like your parents or people to help you because it's kind of a lot when it's like come up with all the things you've done, all the volunteer, all the awards you've gotten. I feel like I kind of forget over time, and so I— yeah, like asking people to help you.

That's so great, so great. So as you look back on high school, what is one of your top fondest memories?

Hmm, I think this year, um, our Battle of the Bay football game, which is our, like, big rivalry football game with CDN, and my job in ASB this year was Spirit Commissioner, so I was in charge of the student section, and my partner and I put in every day after school. We were there from, like, we both got out at 1:30 one day and 11 the other day, and we were there until 6 every night that whole entire week, like, getting stuff ready, coming up with ideas, like really just trying to make it super cool for everyone. And then the actual day of the game, we got to school at 6 AM and stayed until 12 at night. Like we were there the whole day. And it was really cool. Like our whole entire stadium was filled. We made t-shirts for everyone. It was cool to see everyone like wearing the t-shirts that we designed. And we didn't win the game, but we had more— most people, we lose by a lot because they're really, really good. They won like all of CIF and so usually the whole entire student section is gone by halftime, but like the majority of the people stayed until the very end and that hasn't happened in so long and so it was really like, it was first of all just so fun, like we were playing music, just having so much fun down in the field, but it was really rewarding also to see like everyone staying till the end having a really good time. We worked like so hard for it. So that was cool.

What's the one thing you look most forward to about college?

Um, I think just like being on my own and like making decisions for myself and like meeting new friends. And yeah, I think just the whole new aspect of it. Yeah.

I'm so proud of you.

Thank you.

If you could share with me one or two things that really helped you by working with College Ready, what would that be?

I think that the, the whole like College Ready portal, because it's really nice to have everything in one spot. And like reminders of to do this, to do that. And like having the, what's it called, the Senior Template was really helpful, just like going back and forth and having everything in one place. That was really nice. And I also like, I'm the first of my family, not my parents, but like of their kids to go to college. And so we really had no idea like what I needed to do, like fill out the FAFSA, like do all this stuff. And so like just knowing that that's where we need to start, like these are the things that we need to do, was really helpful. And yeah, I think those are like—

Fantastic. Well, I am super, super proud of you, and I know you are going to do such amazing things.

Thank