Seniors fare well despite record lows

    “Every day after school, if I had to stay after for practice, I would call my house and ask if there was a [decision] letter for me. If either of my parents told me there was a letter for me, I told them to put it on my night stand,” said Sierra Peralta, a senior who just survived the race to get into college.

    Like many students, Peralta wanted to open her own decision letter whenever it came, to make sure that no one else would ruin the surprise.
Nationwide, this year, the surprise would be a disappointing one for many. Colleges all across the country reported historic lows in terms of the percent of students who were admitted. Harvard University topped all university records by only admitting 7.1 percent of students who applied, however others turned out just as competitive numbers. Yale University offered admission to only 8.3 percent of students applying and Princeton offered admission to only 9.25 percent of students who applied.

    Still, many AHS seniors agreed that students in the graduating class of 2008 did pretty well. “I think our class is more competitive than any class I have seen [at AHS],” said Amy Fleming, who was admitted to Grove City College over spring break. “If you consider where other people applied to schools, it seems like people had much more confidence in applying to bigger, better schools, at least from my point of view.”

    AHS seniors this year were admitted to five out of the eight Ivy League schools, including two of the “Big Three,” as well as to other prestigious universities, including John’s Hopkins University and Miami University in Ohio.

    Success was coupled with an especially intense process of admission. Seniors reported being very on edge throughout the year. Fleming, who was deferred by Grove City College in December (mentioned in the sixth edition of The A-Blast), described the week in almost tragic terms.

    “They sent off [early] decision letters on the Friday before break, and it got in on Monday, and I had just had a really bad swim meet,” said Fleming. “Everyone thought I was going to get in, so I was excited when I got home, but then I got deferred. I think my eyes were still red the next day. Grove City had basically told me I was going to get in, so it was a low blow to say the least.”

    Peralta related that she has been engaged in the college process for over two years. “For me the college process really started last year,” she said. “What I worked for for two years was really to secure my future at the right college. It was very stressful.”

    Peralta got in to her first choice college, Miami University, but says she “can’t afford it.” She initially applied for a “half-ride” scholarship to any college of her choice. She wrote a book on toxicology and biology which took her three months to complete, as she sneaked away on breaks while working at Abercrombie and Fitch to polish her prose. In the end, she did not get it.

    Despite the disappointment, Peralta explains that she would not have changed her work habits, even in applying for the scholarship. “I would not do it differently if I had to go back. There isn’t any harm in working harder than you need to. It is always helpful to be safe.”

    For Jackie Argueta, the first person in her family to go to college, the process in the end paid off as an acceptance letter from Boston University came in the mail, with money to boot. “It was so stressful,” she said about the college process. “I’m the first person in my family to go to college, so we really didn’t know anything about applying. I was always wondering what I could do to better my chances at getting in.”

    When the letter came, Argueta was shocked. “I didn’t want to open it,” she said, “so I had my brother open it. He made this weird face and said, ‘Jackie, don’t cry.’ So I grabbed the letter and ran upstairs to my room, and I opened the letter and I had got in! I called everybody that I knew.”

    Fleming described a different situation, having been jaded by an early deferment. Opening her small acceptance letter from Grove City College, she thought she was unsealing the envelope of yet another failure. The first thing she read was, “How to pay your acceptance deposit.”