1. How did you anticipate the college application process going?

"I knew that it would be a long process and that I would have to wait most of the year for decisions. However, I did think that ultimately I would get the answers that I wanted."

2. How many schools did you apply to?

"I ended up applying to about a dozen schools. More than half of them were definitely safety schools that I was confident about getting into, but about 4-5 of them were really competitive schools that I was in the range for, but nothing is ever guaranteed, so they were still a gamble."

3. Was your senior year relaxed or stressful?

"It was pretty stressful; I was in mostly AP classes, along with extracurriculars and college applications. By the second semester, I knew that I was in the running for valedictorian, so there was added pressure, mostly from myself, to maintain that status."

4. What was your reaction when you did not get into your dream school?

"I was devasted, and I felt like my all my work in high school was a joke. I felt like everyone else was getting into schools that they were excited and happy about, and I felt like I put in all this effort just to come up short to everyone else who did not try as hard as I did. Looking back, I definitely had a bit of a superiority complex and super high standards, so it was just really frustrating watching everyone else be content."

5. If you could do it again, what would you do differently?

"I would definitely tell myself to chill out, like it's not that deep! Doing well in high school definitely pays off as far as scholarships and in other ways, but I could have been less uptight about school and I would still be where I am today. I went to a really competitive high school, and I knew other people with the same mindset as me, so we kind of fed into each other. Hindsights 20/20, but I would definitely not shed as many tears over classes and rankings that ultimately do not really affect me now. I would also tell people to apply early if you are a solid applicant because applying later was definitely my biggest downfall."

6. What did you do your freshmen year of college?

"I honestly spent most of the spring and summer after senior year moping over not getting into where I really wanted to go, but I knew that I had to choose somewhere. I ended up going to a school about a half hour from home that gave really good scholarships, but I knew that it was not what I had in mind for my college experience. To be honest, I really did not give that school a chance, and I knew from the get-go that I wanted to transfer. This made my freshman year kind of meh, mostly because I did not make much of an effort to make it home, since I knew I would not be there the next year."

7. Where are you now and what is your biggest take-away from the whole experience?

"I ended up just really focusing on getting the best grades I could at the college that I started off at, and then I applied to transfer to a couple of the schools that I had originally wanted to go to. Over Christmas break of freshmen year, I found out that I was accepted into the University of Michigan as a sophomore, so that really helped me to feel better about the rest of the year.

I ended up living at home and commuting to school for the second semester. I saved a lot of money but I felt kind of left out of the whole college experience, even though living at home was my choice. I am definitely in a better state of mind now than I was a year ago, and the whole experience gave me perspective on application processes and more insight into what I will do differently for future applications or positions that I apply to.

I still feel a little bitter and that I was scammed because I saw other people, my own brother included, get into UofM even though I had better grades, test scores and a similar if not better application. Honestly, some of these schools, it is the luck of the draw or connections (that I did not have), so I will probably always be a bit salty about it all; life's not fair though.

Overall, my disappointment is not the worst thing that could ever happen to me, and plenty of people go through much more difficult life experiences, but it was just a sour ending to four years of staying motivated and being the best academically that I could be. My biggest lesson from the rejection is to not lose confidence in yourself because you are still the same you, and if it is meant to be, it will come together. Otherwise, just keeping pushing for more opportunities and eventually you will end up where you are meant and want to be."