The college application process is a lot for many high school students to handle, well at least I know it was for me! I applied to 20 colleges, and 15 of those schools were “reach” schools and I had zero hope that I would get accepted into them. I applied to most of the Ivy League schools and top universities in the country. I applied with some of the lowest test scores in their application pools: SAT 1140, ACT 23, GPA 4.4 and 3.6. I knew my chances were slim to none of getting in, but I applied anyway because I know that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!

I was not going to go down without at least trying!

I applied to most of my colleges through the common app. I started the application process as soon as school started on August 24th. I swarmed my teachers asking them for letters of recommendations.

I did it methodologically - I asked my English, science and CTE (Career and Technical Education) teachers. I asked my lovely English teacher, so I could have a flowery essay that showed me in the best of life. I asked my science teacher because she knew how passionate I was about my dreams and aspirations. I asked my law enforcement teacher because he had seen my dedication.

Then it was time for me to write my supplemental essays. Since I applied to 20 universities, I wrote a lot! I ended up writing over 12 pages of college supplemental essays. I had nine of my teachers to overlook and edit my pages to help me fix grammatical and expressive mistakes. It took me from the beginning of August until the end of December to perfect my essays.

I had my letters of recommendations, supplements, transcripts, and all other necessary information sent to my colleges. The anticipation killed me until the end of March when notifications came out. The months went by and finally, notification week came and then I got my results back...

Sitting in front of my computer, anxiously reloading decision pages then slowly the rejections came in. Harvard, rejected. Yale, rejected. And so on... I was very disappointed but I quickly bounced back because those schools have ridiculously low acceptance rate and I knew I tried my best in the applications.

Then afterward I checked my email and seen, “Tre’Vontaye, we’ve waived your enrollment deposit!” from Emory University. I had no idea that I was accepted and then I immediately jumped up and yelled joyful praises! I was so shocked. I was accepted into the #19 university in the country! I tried to punch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, but after many attempts, I realized that it actually happened! I reviewed my college essays over and over again!

Question 1: What is your favorite fiction or non-fiction work (film, book, TV show, album, poem, or play)? Why?

“My favorite TV show is "Once Upon A Time" because, it gives a modern spin to classic fairy tales. The show provides an hour ( more if I'm binge watching) to escape the harsh reality of the cruel world we live in, providing me with many laughs, cries, and valuable lessons that I can apply in the real world.”

Question 2: What motivates you to learn?

“My desire to constantly improve myself flames my passion to continue to learn both in and out of the classroom. I believe that there is always room for improvement and you can always be a better you. I believe that continuing to pursue education is a method to improve yourself. Learning is exciting because in the world there are so many mind blowing topics and natural mysteries. To learn is to reduce ignorance. If we are more knowledgeable on subjects, then we as humans tend to be more accepting and loving towards the things that were once foreign to us. Reducing ignorance and maximizing love and acceptance sounds like a perfect way of improving one's self. Self improvement is the idea that flows through my mind constantly and makes me genuinely excited to learn.”

I still don’t know why the admissions officers chose me to represent their school, but I am forever grateful! A group of people is giving me a chance to attend a world-class university. I’m so grateful that I actually sent the admissions officers a letter.

I was accepted to 5 out of the 20 universities that I applied to! When I first looked at the numbers, I was disappointed but then I realized that it was okay! Everything happens for a reason, so I was going to make the most out of my situation!

So if you’re like me and think that your test scores and GPA aren’t good enough, don’t let your doubt get the best of you!

Apply to your reach schools because anything can happen! And even if you do get rejected, don’t take it personally because you are amazing! The college admissions process is getting more and more competitive every single year. More and more people are applying to college and majority of applicants are well qualified. If you don’t get into your top choice that’s okay!

Make the most out of your situation!

I am so grateful to say that I’ll be attending Emory University in the fall of 2018 on a full ride scholarship! I honestly do not feel like I deserve to be here because I honestly did not put 100% of my effort into high school. I slacked off and played around. However, I am not going to throw away this opportunity presented to me! I’m going to represent the Emory community and take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way!

Now I am an Emory Eagle. It’s time to flap my wings, take off for the sky, and never look back! Here’s to an amazing college experience! SWOOP SWOOP!