It is a journey...one of self-discovery, trying to figure out who you are, what you care about, and what your purpose is. Two seniors from our class of 2022 share their journey—the excitement, the frustrations, the waiting game, and the roller coaster of emotions that come with applying to college.

Phoebe He (University of Chicago, 2026)
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics and statistics at the University of Chicago, I started my college journey early. Right after my junior year ended, I created a big Google sheet with all the universities I’d potentially want to apply to. Then I signed up for Zoom information sessions, watched YouTube videos, scoured college websites, and even read Reddit threads about each university to pare down my list. People often want to apply to well-known, elite colleges, and I will admit that I was guilty of it as well. Yet, after lots of research on the universities on my list, I realized that it’s far more important to like the college rather than the college name.

Senior year rolled around, and I was fully immersed in college applications. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the application process wasn’t as stressful as I had imagined. That being said, there were certainly times when I struggled. Notably, I had a hard time writing my personal statement essay and ended up writing not one, not two, but five different essays to find the perfect one!

However, the real stress came after I had applied to all my colleges. For me, the “waiting game” was what gave me the most anxiety. Throughout winter break, I worried about whether college X, Y, or Z would accept me. As decision dates rolled around, my anxiety became worse. I remember waking up at 5 a.m. the day that my Early Decision 1 response came out (my top-choice college at that time) only to log into my college portal and see that I was rejected. As if it wasn’t disheartening enough, it hurt, even more,
to hear that so many of my classmates were accepted into their number-one choices while I wasn’t. It also meant I had to continue playing the “waiting game,” hoping that another school would accept me.

And one did! I still recall the joy I felt when I saw the “Congratulations!” and confetti shower across my laptop screen as I opened up the second decision I received. I was officially accepted to a college! Even though the school was a “safety,” meaning I knew that I was likely to be accepted, that first acceptance is definitely one of the best feelings I experienced throughout my college application journey.

Then, weeks and months passed, my Early Decision 2 decision was released...and I was accepted! I remember how absolutely shocked I was to see that I was accepted into UChicago, a school I never thought would accept me. I was speechless—literally (I have a video of my reaction and I was silent for almost a minute). Being accepted into UChicago made all the struggles I had experienced—all through high school—worth it. Looking back, I wish I could tell my younger self that everything is going to be alright, that I’m so proud of her for persevering through tough times, and that we will be accepted into our dream college.

Dominique Schleider (Stanford University, 2026)

"From a young age, I learned there was no such thing as biting off more than one could chew; if you sat there long enough, it all turned to digestible mush"

So began my personal essay where I juxtaposed being full at the dining table with my hunger for personal growth. I’ve satisfied this hunger through exploration, piling my plate high with activities that put me in the zone all the while pushing me far out of another: my comfort zone.

I started by facing my fear of others’ judgment with choir, gaining confidence to do everything from running for club leadership positions to trying something unfamiliar—musical theater—even as a senior. My packed, color-coded calendar is what I describe, with the utmost affection, as the digestible, delectable “mush” with which I stuff my cheeks.

Throughout high school, I was hyper-focused on what I did, but it wasn’t until I began my college applications that I had to grapple with why. Why do I like singing or dancing or modeling? Why do I do service? Why am I choosing these colleges? The most daunting question, however, was the how: how on earth do I communicate an answer to this why that I don’t fully know myself? The three things that best helped me with this were:

1. Writing about the trait, value, or activity I wanted to highlight for every prompt, so I could ground my individual supplements and make sure each added something new and necessary to my whole application.

2. Keeping a list of random facts and quirks— most of which I used, like how I joined a French immersion camp with no prior experience and how my favorite word is “ointment.”

3. Collecting similar information for every school (clubs I’d join, classes I’d take, characteristics I liked, etc). However, I wish I had started college research before the frenzy of junior year Advanced Placement exams, giving me the summer to write essays.

Struggling with how I would manage my time and applications revealed the importance of who I surrounded myself with. I never felt the support of my family more than during our late-night prayers and sounding-board sessions, where they’d listen (or at least pretend to) as I’d ramble. With my college counselor (shout out Mr. Wilson), the most valuable part was having someone in my corner. I would frequently come up with questions, ideas, and later, updates.

As decisions rolled in, I faced both the good and the bad. I remember celebrating acceptances with friends over spring break. I also remember being grateful for the infectious energy of my peers during Jazz Night, which put a smile on my face despite hearing of rejections and waitlists that same morning.

Finally, I remember waking up and deciding to read the first line of my last decision update in bed. Then reading it again. And again. Overjoyed and unable to get through the rest of it, I ran downstairs to tell my family the news. God answered our prayers. The next place I will be exploring is Northern California,
at Stanford University!