College Admissions Essay

Seniors have a tendency of taking their last year of high school for granted. They do not realize that the relaxed classes and fun filled weekends with their best friends will all soon come to a devastating end. They have applied for college, bought miniature refrigerators, and sent in their housing applications, but none of them have really thought about college in the way that they should. When asked about college most high school seniors image the huge parties, attractive people, and freedom; however, college is much more than that and, in a way, much less. College and high school are completely different when it comes to a student’s actual lifestyle, but they have many of the same traits that most high school seniors do not see coming.

Although I was viewed as the minority, I continually found ways to fit in. I ran for student council, was nominated for National Honors Society, kept my grades high for Advanced Placement and honors classes, and took the most difficult courses my small-town high school offered.

Although many institutions host programs and initiatives that foster student interaction through academic and social support activities, much more can be done to enhance students’ awareness and acceptance of anti-classism attitudes and behavior. For institutions that serve large numbers of first-generation students, such as HBCUs, this imperative is especially urgent. An example of an innovative effort to better support first-generation and other underserved populations and to expose the campus to the class concept is Dartmouth’s as implementation of a program call Class Divide (Class Action, n. d.) to teach about class through the arts.

I remember, when I was a sophomore, I was thinking a lot about my future and how I wanted it all to go as planned. As always, I set myself many goals and tried to accomplish them by the end of the year. One of those goals was to get into the Honor Society of my school. That goal I could never accomplish.

Entering the high school, I felt more secure than I had felt when I started middle school. Because I already knew so many people from elementary and middle school, having friends in classes at high school was not an issue; however, the academic and extra-curricular expectations were much higher than they had been in middle school. At the high school, many of my peers enrolled in all honors classes. I, on the other hand, took mostly honors classes, but I also selected two academic classes so

The underclassman-me felt ready to abandon hope when I had to present myself to the class. It consisted of a few freshmen and sophomores, half a dozen juniors, and twice as many seniors who in hindsight, probably didn’t even notice the stunned look on my face while I introduced myself to the class. But it was Ms. Hanson that caught on and knew exactly what to do with me. She swiftly forced me out of my dwindling comfort-bubble and strategically placed me on Homecoming planning committee with none of my freshmen friends. It was devastating, terrifying. And I knew I had to buck up and

Much like race, socioeconomic status is vulnerable to encouraging better treatment to a very specific type of student: kids in the upper middle class. Culture of poverty is the term that has been making its way through the hallways and administrative forces. This idea focuses on how to teach poor kids, as if the students themselves are less qualified or capable of learning (Gorski 30). The existence of this culture was coined by people are not affected by it; despite no refutable evidence that it exists, the culture of poverty is overly-present in urban classrooms. It acts as a way to justify the controllable elements of the unsatisfactory education poor students receive. Moreover, class is not commonly observed as problematic in schools, resulting in the very mocking attitude towards poverty that undermines and generalizes the seriousness of poverty (Adair and Dahlberg 18). The existence of “white trash parties” on college campuses not only promote dangerous stereotypes about poor students, but blatantly encourages the separation of class. The nation is weakened by these antiquated prejudices; this is profiling, and its occurrence in schools is an injustice to all students.

At my prestigious private school, for the three years of my attendance I heard students complain of how much they disliked it, including myself. It wasn’t that we didn’t appreciate the amazing education we were receiving. For private school kids, we were actually pretty good about recognizing how lucky we were. No, instead of hating school for the homework or difficult classes, we each complained about our peers and their exclusivity, the malicious gossip, or how we wished that everyone could forget their notions of who we were and let us break the mold we unconsciously formed for ourselves in middle school. In such a small school, the self-conscious, immature version of yourself from childhood followed you around long after you even vaguely resembled it. People still felt the sting of the sarcasm I had used to defend myself years before. Though I had long since become a kind, sincere person, I was remembered for the instances when I had been the

If someone asked me where I am going to be in ten years, this would be my answer. I will have a great, high-paying job, and beautiful wife and family, and a nice sports car parked in front of my lovely house. When I look into the future, I see myself being successful and happy. Even though I always pictured myself this way, I never worried too much about how I would get there. I feel the Suffolk University can lay the groundwork for making these dreams into reality.

From my perspective there was a significant transition between middle school and high school. In middle school I was in a social clique were I could describe it as the Mexican clique. Although this may sound very adolescent egocentric, the Mexican clique was very well known among ourselves and among other cliques. Among this social clique there were various levels

Growing up, I resided in an upper middle-class neighborhood. My family and I were comfortable and did not have many financial and economic hardships. Unlike my students, I had the freedom to play outside my home, indulge in many gifts, at birthday and Christmas, take family vacations, and most of all, have two parents in my household. Both of my parents are college educated, my grandparents as well. My parental grandmother retired as an elementary school teacher in Glen Burnie, Maryland. When I started grade school, specifically late middle and high school, I found myself trying hard to “fit in.” I began talking like, dressing like, and acting like a child who wasn’t taught proper etiquette. I used slang in conversations with students I admired and _______. [finish thoughts]

"Tomorrow is the first day of what I will become." I wrote this in my diary the night before my first day of college. I was anxious as I imagined the stereotypical college room: intellectual students, in-depth discussions about neat stuff, and of course, a casual professor sporting the tweed jacket with leather elbows. I was also ill as I foresaw myself drowning in a murky pool of reading assignments and finals, hearing a deep, depressing voice ask "What can you do with your life?" Since then, I've settled comfortably into the college "scene" and have treated myself to the myth that I'll hear my calling someday, and that my future will introduce itself to me with a hardy handshake. I can't completely rid my

Through my setbacks with the Plano West band, I realized how wrong my acceptance of the high school system of hierarchies was. I was only deluding myself if I continue to hold this belief. With this new perspective, I hope to be part of a more fluid environment in my school. Although I might feel some pride in standing out in my current and future extracurricular activities, I anticipate not feeling the same superiority or condescension towards others as I did during my first few years of high

Graduating high school is typically a day to celebrate achievements, but some students sit through graduation thinking of their failure to achieve the highest title in high school academics—the class valedictorian. As these students sit and listen to the valedictorian’s speech, which is meant to uplift, reminisce, and motivate, they are conversely reminded, with each and every word, of their own shortcomings and inadequacies and imperfections. Supporters of the class ranking system say it is important for college admissions and honors academic excellence. However, this archaic system places too much emphasis on a single person and robs many high-achieving students across the country of the happiness they deserve on graduation day. Unfortunately, negative feelings at the ceremony merely scratch the surface of the wound the current ranking system creates in young people. Despite the few positive aspects, school districts should abolish class rank because it is devastating for learning, harmful for mental health, and outdated for college admission.

I was wondering how my SUNY Ulster credits would transfer into my freshman year at Manhattanville.