Search Stage, part 2 in a series on my college choice; part one is here.

Strong factors: Ability and parental encouragement and education

When I read through all the literature and discussed them with my classmates, I was a bit baffled at how I managed the search and choice process on my own. Did the strong factors for search (above) play a big role in my search process? No.

Like I said, my parents didn�t attend a four-year school, so they had very little idea about the process. They didn�t know that I had to take the PSAT in tenth grade and then again in eleventh, or enroll in AP courses to get an extra edge, or that I should visit schools before I applied.

The single biggest factor for me was my peers. My high school was better than average, pretty diverse and competitive. As I mentioned before, I was tracked into AP and Honors courses. Almost all of my peers in those classes were Asian. I frequently heard students talk about the pressure they got from their parents. We all knew that we had to do well in high school in order to get into a good college, our lives depended on it. So, even though this wasn�t the culture at my house, I picked it up from my peers. From them, I knew what I had to do to make my self more competitive. I knew what a good SAT score was and that a GPA below a 4.0 (weighted) was not good enough.

After I took the PSAT in the fall of my junior year and then the SAT in the spring of 1997, I started receiving lots of information about colleges around the country. I also got a Petersen�s Guide. I became enamored with big name schools, especially the ones that were out of the state.

I saw college as my way out. By the summer, I had a vague idea of schools I wanted to apply to: �big name schools,� as my cousin, Bibi put it. Status was important to me back then, but things changed.

Me siento: fine
Escuchando: the washing machine & dryer

M�s reciente:
Searches - 09.16.05
the big move - 07.29.05
mother and daughter: a comparative analysis - 07.28.05
jardineros y dom�sticas - 07.27.05
tough question - 07.25.05

antes // despu�s