Choosing a college is one of life’s big decisions, and the process of getting in is an exciting — but often stressful — rite of passage. To find out what that passage is really like, U.S. News visited T. R. Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida, in late April to ask a group of seniors what went into their calculus for deciding on a college.
RHS is a neighborhood school whose International Baccalaureate diploma program attracts about one-third of the student body. Nearly a third are connected to the military, with family members stationed at nearby MacDill Air Force Base.
The school population is diverse: 47 percent of students are white; Hispanics comprise more than 21 percent; and African-American students account for 15 percent. Nearly half qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Eighty-five percent of students go on to college. Here’s how eight seniors found the right fit — and what it took for them to make the cut.
An intended computer science major, Rescala bagged acceptances from five of the seven schools she applied to, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, the University of California–Los Angeles, the University of Southern California and her safety, the University of Florida.
She was wait-listed by Stanford University and rejected by the University of California–Berkeley.
She considered but passed on MIT; “It felt too narrow,” she says. “I wanted something bigger and more diverse.”
She chose the University of Southern California after she “fell in love” with its California location and was offered a free ride. While she likes math and science, she also is passionate about art.
“I’m very well-rounded,” she says, and that’s what she highlighted in her applications. But the thing she believes helped most was including a description of her service project, which involved getting girls and minority elementary school kids excited about STEM subjects.
GPA: 4.0
SAT/ACT scores: 740 math, 740 critical reading, 720 writing/35
Extracurriculars: President of the Political Debate Club, co-president of Girls Who Code club, community service, taekwondo, flag football.
Essay: “How taekwondo has developed me into who I am today.”
Notable: While she liked Georgia Tech, she wanted a school with more courses in the arts and humanities.
Helpful: Colleges’ websites, U.S. News and being in touch with students at schools of interest.
Enjoyable: “Getting to know myself better” was the best part of the process. “The essays are very valuable to me. This is who I am at 18.”
Not to worry: “The college process is not as scary as people tell you it is,” she says. “The process is very self-explanatory.”
Advice: All four years of high school matter. Start freshman year on a good note and work hard; don’t settle for B’s or C’s. And stick with a club for all four years so you can lead it by your senior year.
This story is excerpted from the U.S. News “Best Colleges 2017” guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.
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How I Got to College: Ana Rescala originally appeared on usnews.com
