Over the course of my extensive and exhaustive college search during the past two weeks, there was one thing that stood out at every school.
They cost money.
And they don't like giving it back.
Unless, of course, an applicant has a strange or unique talent, like playing the ukelele or underwater basket-weaving. I personally would make the argument that surviving high school is a talent in itself, but I don't make the rules (yet).
And other scholarships are reserved for certain religions, races, financial levels,etc. If only those scholarships applied to MY religion, race, or financial level. But there really aren't many scholarships out there for Caucasian middle-class folks. Of course there are some, but since there are so many kids who fit that description, those scholarships are reserved for Caucasion middle-class kids who also happen to have won the world foosball championship.
Unfortunately, my talents are quite mundane. I take piano lessons (who hasn't?), I'm in choir (along with 80+ other people), I'm in too many clubs (which actually was discouraged by every. single. college admissions person), my grades tend to come out on the higher rather than the lower (but I don't have a perfect SAT score) etc... My most unique 'talent' would be my rather large family. I have been told by numerous people to write essays about my family. But wait, isn't the college accepting me, not my family? What an ego-booster.
But, as my dad says, might as well apply to 8 or 10 schools and see if any of them like me enough to give me something other than junk mail. I hope one does because otherwise my ass has been worked off for absolutely no reason.
I would go cultivate a new talent right now (you know, fill up the tires in my mom's old unicycle and join the circus), but I have to study for a physics test. Story of my sad, sad life.
DISCLAIMER: I do not resent scholarship winners. I appreciate your cheese-grating talent or mad dog training skills and am insanely jealous.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Harvard? Yale? Overrated. Visit Real Colleges!
So, for spring break, instead of swimming or watching movies or reading or relaxing, I went on college visits! Whoopee.
Yep, that's how I felt the day before leaving. I was feeling a little bit like my social life, dominated for the past five? six? months by the musical Curtains, had died. Depressing, right?
North Carolina and then San Antonio were my destinations. I was to be accompanied by my courageous father and blood-shedding little brother (oh the horrors of heavy suitcases and light fixtures!).
But anyways, we started by driving all the way down to Houston to save airplane fare (always economical!) and barely made our flight.
However, once we stepped outside the Raleigh airport and into our clean rental car (don't you love that smell!?) after a confusing mix-up involving Prius's and a guy named Butler (a name which would haunt our whole journey!), we, or at least I, felt like North Carolina was THE perfect state, clean looking, smelling, and with the most magnificent weather!
To continue with our journey, we drove a few hours over to Charlotte (we could have just flown into the Charlotte airport and saved those few hours-maybe finding real food instead of burgers, a recurring theme- but once again, economy over comfort!)
Maybe I'll actually start with my chosen topic now. COLLEGES!
First was Davidson. Home for nerds? yes. Tiny? yes. Gorgeous? yes. Great theatre? yes. Division I athletics? yes, though I really couldn't care less. But you might. Dream school? I think, therefore the answer is YES!
Although this school may be small for some folks (1800 students) and may not offer amazing science and math programs (the science building was pretty kickass anyways), it has very strong English, political science, and theatre programs. It is one of the most selective and highly ranked liberal arts colleges in the Southeast (rating up there with Washington and Lee - the Fiske guide gives it four and a half stars for academics). My favorite part was the eating club system (aka Greek life for the non-elitist) and free laundry service (legit!). However, all of this is figured into the tuition, which is pretty steep. There are quite a few merit and athletic scholarships given out, though. The dorms were so-so, not awful, but not exactly spacious. The cafeteria food looked edible, but we actually ate at a cute little old-style cafe in the actual town of Davidson (no drive-thrus allowed there) which had amazing wraps and sweet potatoe fries. Eat there. I almost forgot the honor code which actually is supposed to work! Cheating and theft are almost non-occurrences. Pretty sweet for those morally aligned among us. Visit and see for yourself if you want an intellectually stimulating and comfortable college life!
Next was Wake Forest. I can't judge this fairly, since our visit was scarred by an admissions lady with the ummm...uhhh... habit (pet peeve). 20 times per minute. I counted. We also had a pretty crummy tour guide. So, although the campus was gorgeous and the eating hall looked the best out of all the schools we visited...I was not impressed. However, my dear father has insisted that I do more research and probably apply. Just in case. (My just in case list expands with every college I visit. No yes-man needed in this family.) But visit. It is pretty enough to warrant that. And the t.p.ed (tped? tepeed?)trees were pretty funny to see (a tradition arisen out of pride. The students t.p.ed their own trees before Duke students could. How admirable)
The following day, we visited UNC-Chapel Hill, continuously ranked as one of the top public universities in the nation, with the third largest library system after the Library of Congress and Harvard. Yes, I was influenced by the rather impressive library. The campus was gorgeous and a few new music buildings had just been constructed. Our tour guide was very good and even pointed out one of the seven foot basketball players, just in case we didn't notice him. The downside here was that over 80% of the incoming students are required to be North Carolina residents and the tuition rises drastically for out-of-staters. If I received a big enough scholarship, though, I would definitely be able to survive for four years here. There is also a rather awesome program with Duke, where 18 students from each school switch campuses for a semester. We did drive around Duke, which was like entering a castle ground (my dad disapproves of Duke though, so we didn't actually take a tour). Application will be in the mail for sure.
Finalement, we arrived back in Texas and drove to San Antonio to visit Trinity University. I loved it as well. Luverly weather complemented the beautiful campus, mostly a very uniform and stately red brick. The dorms were the standout feature (they were rated best college dorms by CosmoGirl!). I mean, suites with private bathrooms and walk-in closets, not to mention balconies? Ahh... For this high-maintenance chick, it was perfect. However, the academics, though improving, are not exactly Harvard standard. And the English program is not one of the strongest. In fact, it sounded like engineering and pre-med were very popular. However, the music program is relatively strong and there's a creative writing minor! The tour guides were great, the info session was wonderful. If you are looking for a Texas school with strong enough academics in a culturally rich city (remember the Alamo!) located in an oasis full of trees and friendly people...come here! Application will be sent.
Soooo this was my spring break. Hopefully it is helpful to whoever is crazy enough to read it. At least it helped me organize my thoughts a bit. If you are really serious about finding the perfect college, be sure to visit these schools. Or at least spend a week in North Carolina. Mountains to the west, Beach to the east (Disregard the fact that all of Nicholas Crap Sparks books are based there. It doesn't affect the quality!)
Yep, that's how I felt the day before leaving. I was feeling a little bit like my social life, dominated for the past five? six? months by the musical Curtains, had died. Depressing, right?
North Carolina and then San Antonio were my destinations. I was to be accompanied by my courageous father and blood-shedding little brother (oh the horrors of heavy suitcases and light fixtures!).
But anyways, we started by driving all the way down to Houston to save airplane fare (always economical!) and barely made our flight.
However, once we stepped outside the Raleigh airport and into our clean rental car (don't you love that smell!?) after a confusing mix-up involving Prius's and a guy named Butler (a name which would haunt our whole journey!), we, or at least I, felt like North Carolina was THE perfect state, clean looking, smelling, and with the most magnificent weather!
To continue with our journey, we drove a few hours over to Charlotte (we could have just flown into the Charlotte airport and saved those few hours-maybe finding real food instead of burgers, a recurring theme- but once again, economy over comfort!)
Maybe I'll actually start with my chosen topic now. COLLEGES!
First was Davidson. Home for nerds? yes. Tiny? yes. Gorgeous? yes. Great theatre? yes. Division I athletics? yes, though I really couldn't care less. But you might. Dream school? I think, therefore the answer is YES!
Although this school may be small for some folks (1800 students) and may not offer amazing science and math programs (the science building was pretty kickass anyways), it has very strong English, political science, and theatre programs. It is one of the most selective and highly ranked liberal arts colleges in the Southeast (rating up there with Washington and Lee - the Fiske guide gives it four and a half stars for academics). My favorite part was the eating club system (aka Greek life for the non-elitist) and free laundry service (legit!). However, all of this is figured into the tuition, which is pretty steep. There are quite a few merit and athletic scholarships given out, though. The dorms were so-so, not awful, but not exactly spacious. The cafeteria food looked edible, but we actually ate at a cute little old-style cafe in the actual town of Davidson (no drive-thrus allowed there) which had amazing wraps and sweet potatoe fries. Eat there. I almost forgot the honor code which actually is supposed to work! Cheating and theft are almost non-occurrences. Pretty sweet for those morally aligned among us. Visit and see for yourself if you want an intellectually stimulating and comfortable college life!
Next was Wake Forest. I can't judge this fairly, since our visit was scarred by an admissions lady with the ummm...uhhh... habit (pet peeve). 20 times per minute. I counted. We also had a pretty crummy tour guide. So, although the campus was gorgeous and the eating hall looked the best out of all the schools we visited...I was not impressed. However, my dear father has insisted that I do more research and probably apply. Just in case. (My just in case list expands with every college I visit. No yes-man needed in this family.) But visit. It is pretty enough to warrant that. And the t.p.ed (tped? tepeed?)trees were pretty funny to see (a tradition arisen out of pride. The students t.p.ed their own trees before Duke students could. How admirable)
The following day, we visited UNC-Chapel Hill, continuously ranked as one of the top public universities in the nation, with the third largest library system after the Library of Congress and Harvard. Yes, I was influenced by the rather impressive library. The campus was gorgeous and a few new music buildings had just been constructed. Our tour guide was very good and even pointed out one of the seven foot basketball players, just in case we didn't notice him. The downside here was that over 80% of the incoming students are required to be North Carolina residents and the tuition rises drastically for out-of-staters. If I received a big enough scholarship, though, I would definitely be able to survive for four years here. There is also a rather awesome program with Duke, where 18 students from each school switch campuses for a semester. We did drive around Duke, which was like entering a castle ground (my dad disapproves of Duke though, so we didn't actually take a tour). Application will be in the mail for sure.
Finalement, we arrived back in Texas and drove to San Antonio to visit Trinity University. I loved it as well. Luverly weather complemented the beautiful campus, mostly a very uniform and stately red brick. The dorms were the standout feature (they were rated best college dorms by CosmoGirl!). I mean, suites with private bathrooms and walk-in closets, not to mention balconies? Ahh... For this high-maintenance chick, it was perfect. However, the academics, though improving, are not exactly Harvard standard. And the English program is not one of the strongest. In fact, it sounded like engineering and pre-med were very popular. However, the music program is relatively strong and there's a creative writing minor! The tour guides were great, the info session was wonderful. If you are looking for a Texas school with strong enough academics in a culturally rich city (remember the Alamo!) located in an oasis full of trees and friendly people...come here! Application will be sent.
Soooo this was my spring break. Hopefully it is helpful to whoever is crazy enough to read it. At least it helped me organize my thoughts a bit. If you are really serious about finding the perfect college, be sure to visit these schools. Or at least spend a week in North Carolina. Mountains to the west, Beach to the east (Disregard the fact that all of Nicholas Crap Sparks books are based there. It doesn't affect the quality!)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Je suis qui je suis
I haven't actually gotten around to explaining why I started this amazing blog...
It all started with Julie and Julia. That incredible movie probably caused an inundation of blogs, most of them second- or third- rate (much like mine), from people who think they have something important to say or those who think they don't have anything important to say but want to test it out just in case, or those who actually DO have something important to say. I like to think I am a mix of all of the above, and so my posts may range from totally random and seemingly anti-normal English grammar to incredibly insightful and deep.
But anyways, I have always loved to write - anything from research papers to poetry to short stories. However, I tend to leave things half-finished, or even just write a sentence and give up. I did start a subscription to Writer's Digest a few months ago and once I get around to actually reading the three issues which have come, I'm sure my writing will show progress. In fact, I believe I will post my favorite bit of work:
Make Lasagna Instead
What are we but strings of spaghetti?
Birthed through the pain of scalding water and salt
Emerging fresh and renewed from the Baptismal pot
Just to be corrupted by the scarlet marinara of life
Twirled about the tongs of a power seemingly higher (or lower?) than our own
Our lives shortened each day, cut by the knife of age
Intertwined with others suffering the same
Obstructed by the meatballs of fear and loneliness
The white dusting of Parmesan gradually pinkening and melting into nothing more than an added texture
Eventually gathered into an indiscriminate ball
And thrust into the black hole of digestion
While the rest of the noodles struggle to escape
Only to reach the disposal
I also read constantly, though my reading list has been lately limited to reading school required texts. However, I did just finish a book by my new idol, Jordan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and I am starting All the King's Men, which captivated me by the first page (a digression about being hypnotized by the black line on the highway and falling to one's doom as a result). I also recently discovered that in spite of my best efforts, I adore Jane Austen. And despite the supposed unresistable sentimentality of Nicholas Sparks, I was unable to finish either of his books that I started. (and sorry, female readers, but Channing Tatum is not attractive at all-he looks like a thug). But I believe I will use another opportunity to tout my reading list.
So, to summarize, I started this blog for my own enjoyment, for the hoped for enjoyment of my readers, and for my own sanity parce-que this is probably the most relaxing hobby I have as of now.
Enjoy! Or Don't! It's Your Choice!
P.S. Excuse my ramblings.
It all started with Julie and Julia. That incredible movie probably caused an inundation of blogs, most of them second- or third- rate (much like mine), from people who think they have something important to say or those who think they don't have anything important to say but want to test it out just in case, or those who actually DO have something important to say. I like to think I am a mix of all of the above, and so my posts may range from totally random and seemingly anti-normal English grammar to incredibly insightful and deep.
But anyways, I have always loved to write - anything from research papers to poetry to short stories. However, I tend to leave things half-finished, or even just write a sentence and give up. I did start a subscription to Writer's Digest a few months ago and once I get around to actually reading the three issues which have come, I'm sure my writing will show progress. In fact, I believe I will post my favorite bit of work:
Make Lasagna Instead
What are we but strings of spaghetti?
Birthed through the pain of scalding water and salt
Emerging fresh and renewed from the Baptismal pot
Just to be corrupted by the scarlet marinara of life
Twirled about the tongs of a power seemingly higher (or lower?) than our own
Our lives shortened each day, cut by the knife of age
Intertwined with others suffering the same
Obstructed by the meatballs of fear and loneliness
The white dusting of Parmesan gradually pinkening and melting into nothing more than an added texture
Eventually gathered into an indiscriminate ball
And thrust into the black hole of digestion
While the rest of the noodles struggle to escape
Only to reach the disposal
I also read constantly, though my reading list has been lately limited to reading school required texts. However, I did just finish a book by my new idol, Jordan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and I am starting All the King's Men, which captivated me by the first page (a digression about being hypnotized by the black line on the highway and falling to one's doom as a result). I also recently discovered that in spite of my best efforts, I adore Jane Austen. And despite the supposed unresistable sentimentality of Nicholas Sparks, I was unable to finish either of his books that I started.
So, to summarize, I started this blog for my own enjoyment, for the hoped for enjoyment of my readers, and for my own sanity parce-que this is probably the most relaxing hobby I have as of now.
Enjoy! Or Don't! It's Your Choice!
P.S. Excuse my ramblings.
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Downfall of Intelligentsia, or, The Crucible and the Oscars
My English class is currently reading The Crucible, an excruciatingly depressing play by Arthur Miller (redundant, I know). Today, an awful Monday, we were forced to write a one paragraph essay on an important theme in the play. Now, instead of resorting to writing on the corruption of the theocracy like the majority of my class, I decided to use my creative juices and write about the stupidity of giving power to stupid people (phrased a bit differently). Considering that I have not slept for more than five hours a night for the past week and a half, I believe I wrote a relatively decent essay. Hopefully this will be a relatively decent post.
But what prompted this creative spurt after such a draining weekend and past week?
Could it have been the absolute ridiculous decisions made last night by the Academy Awards judges or whoever else chooses the winners? Or maybe the even more ridiculous choices at the Grammy's a few weeks ago?
My question is: Who chooses these choosers? and who would cast some of these actors/actresses in movies or sign deals with these untalented or commonplace musicians?
My answer is: We do.
Sandra Bullock is very funny. Ha Ha. I loved The Proposal, but mostly because I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and because Ryan Reynolds was in it. No chemistry at all. It was more awkward than Claudette Colbert's love scenes. I did not see the Blind Side, which is what she won the Oscar for, but I have seen enough terribly cheesy sentimental sport movies to know that this was probably Remember the Titans Part 2 with Nicholas Sparks as guest-writer.
Meryl Streep, on the other hand, for her absolutely genius role as Julia Child in Julie and Julia, deserved the Oscar but once again was passed over.
I would complain about the Best Picture award...but I actually have not seen either Avatar or The Hurt Locker yet (shame on me, I know), so I can't. Je suis desolee.
However, Star Trek seemed to drop off the face of the Earth for the Oscars. Zachary Quinto as Best Supporting Actor, anyone?
Now for the Grammy's. Most awful awful AWFUL choices ever. And I mean ever. Kings of Leon...best record...FAIL. I mean seriously, clear your throats, boys. But considered to the other nominations, it was one of the better choices.
Album of the Year: Fearless by blond Taylor Swift. Wait, who decided she was original? And quite honestly, her songs do not apply to my teenage-girl life in the least. Maybe I'm just bitter?
I must say that Joe Jonas's parody of Beyonce's Single Ladies was hilarious, but if parodies are being made of a nominee for best song, doesn't that mean that maybe it WASN'T the best song. Hmmm...
I could continue on this rant, but I'm sure you're getting bored, so I'll finish off with those albums which actually were a result of raw talent and originality but which were completely ignored.
-Melody Gardot's new album, all written by her except for a soulful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I think it might have been nominated for best engineering or something...
-Michael Buble's Crazy Love was forgotten...but his Madison Square Garden recording won best traditional pop album?
-Harry Connick Jr.: probably the most talented and least appreciated musician/actor whose last album, Our Songs, was surely worth some sort of award?
(Yeah, I'm a bit prejudiced against anything that is not jazz/blues/fusion/indie...)
But, in order to relate all of this to my topic, the world is falling into a state of deafness to anything but the constant clawing of the media. In order to stay on-air, the judges must choose winners who will either warrant a David and Goliath feeling (too bad, Avatar) or are so wildly popular that everyone will recognize the winners (Beyonce, Taylor Swift, etc.).
Why are we so easily influenced by bad decision makers? Why can't we appreciate those who actually work hard to succeed, who write their own music, who resurrect forgotten styles, who start a whole new era of science fiction?
We choose these judges, these winners, these conformists. Music, and film are the three most free realms, but they are slowly being limited to only those who can attract attention.
In order to solve this dilemma, I recommend everyone to get a Pandora radio station or BROWSE the video store or Netflix. Maybe you will discover something more exciting than songs about single ladies and crazy parties.
And also, STOP BEING STUPID!
But what prompted this creative spurt after such a draining weekend and past week?
Could it have been the absolute ridiculous decisions made last night by the Academy Awards judges or whoever else chooses the winners? Or maybe the even more ridiculous choices at the Grammy's a few weeks ago?
My question is: Who chooses these choosers? and who would cast some of these actors/actresses in movies or sign deals with these untalented or commonplace musicians?
My answer is: We do.
Sandra Bullock is very funny. Ha Ha. I loved The Proposal, but mostly because I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and because Ryan Reynolds was in it. No chemistry at all. It was more awkward than Claudette Colbert's love scenes. I did not see the Blind Side, which is what she won the Oscar for, but I have seen enough terribly cheesy sentimental sport movies to know that this was probably Remember the Titans Part 2 with Nicholas Sparks as guest-writer.
Meryl Streep, on the other hand, for her absolutely genius role as Julia Child in Julie and Julia, deserved the Oscar but once again was passed over.
I would complain about the Best Picture award...but I actually have not seen either Avatar or The Hurt Locker yet (shame on me, I know), so I can't. Je suis desolee.
However, Star Trek seemed to drop off the face of the Earth for the Oscars. Zachary Quinto as Best Supporting Actor, anyone?
Now for the Grammy's. Most awful awful AWFUL choices ever. And I mean ever. Kings of Leon...best record...FAIL. I mean seriously, clear your throats, boys. But considered to the other nominations, it was one of the better choices.
Album of the Year: Fearless by blond Taylor Swift. Wait, who decided she was original? And quite honestly, her songs do not apply to my teenage-girl life in the least. Maybe I'm just bitter?
I must say that Joe Jonas's parody of Beyonce's Single Ladies was hilarious, but if parodies are being made of a nominee for best song, doesn't that mean that maybe it WASN'T the best song. Hmmm...
I could continue on this rant, but I'm sure you're getting bored, so I'll finish off with those albums which actually were a result of raw talent and originality but which were completely ignored.
-Melody Gardot's new album, all written by her except for a soulful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I think it might have been nominated for best engineering or something...
-Michael Buble's Crazy Love was forgotten...but his Madison Square Garden recording won best traditional pop album?
-Harry Connick Jr.: probably the most talented and least appreciated musician/actor whose last album, Our Songs, was surely worth some sort of award?
(Yeah, I'm a bit prejudiced against anything that is not jazz/blues/fusion/indie...)
But, in order to relate all of this to my topic, the world is falling into a state of deafness to anything but the constant clawing of the media. In order to stay on-air, the judges must choose winners who will either warrant a David and Goliath feeling (too bad, Avatar) or are so wildly popular that everyone will recognize the winners (Beyonce, Taylor Swift, etc.).
Why are we so easily influenced by bad decision makers? Why can't we appreciate those who actually work hard to succeed, who write their own music, who resurrect forgotten styles, who start a whole new era of science fiction?
We choose these judges, these winners, these conformists. Music, and film are the three most free realms, but they are slowly being limited to only those who can attract attention.
In order to solve this dilemma, I recommend everyone to get a Pandora radio station or BROWSE the video store or Netflix. Maybe you will discover something more exciting than songs about single ladies and crazy parties.
And also, STOP BEING STUPID!
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