blustudies - Tumblr blog

blustudies · 6 years

Text

Advice for Incoming College Freshman

When I first started college a year ago, I had a very little idea of the year to come. I knew it would be nothing like the movies and if anything I was hoping to make some new friends. In nearly a months thousands upon thousands of others like me will be taking their first step into college feeling the same as I did. So I am here to give my five pieces of advice that will be good to know during your first week of school.

Let’s begin:

1. Don’t panic on move in day.

I was rare among my friends where instead of going to a college close to home, I went somewhere two hours away from my house. It had always been a dream of mine to get out there and try and become someone new. But when move in day came I was a mess. I cried when I said goodbye to my cat, when we left my street, and when the signs came up that we were getting closer to the college. But I learned that it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel emotion when you leave a home you’ve been at most of your life. But unlike me, I had many friends who did not cry on move in day. It’s okay if you do or your don’t, neither makes you better than the other.

Nothing is going to go smoothly on move in day. Someone will get lost or something may break. You may unpack your things in the wrong room. You may realize you left something vitally important at home that you can’t go a day without. It’s okay. Forgetting something is normal. I know my mother was mailing little things I had forgotten at home the day after I left. Just because you don’t have those things now doesn’t mean the world is going to end. Your college dream will not be crushed.

Basically my advice is: take deep breaths throughout the day. Someone is going to drive you crazy or make you upset. Don’t let that get to you. This is the beginning to something awesome.

2. Don’t be afraid to eat alone.

At the college I attend, I knew no one there. A few kids from my high school went but I didn’t know them well enough to become friends with them. I was put into a suite which meant that I lived with seven other girls(not as terrifying as you would think.) So when dinner time came around I found myself lost. My roommate had gone off with some girls she had met and I knew no one else in my suite. So I went by myself to the dining hall and ate alone. Of course I was texting and snapchating my friends so I wasn’t completely alone. But as I looked around the hall, I realized there were a lot of other kids there too, eating alone and looking nervous.

Eating alone turned out to be a good thing because as I left, a girl in my building stopped me on the way out. She remembered me from the hall meeting and worked for Housing. She said “I saw you eating alone and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me and a few of my friends to go see a movie on the lawn.” I was surprised she asked me but I gladly excepted. I didn’t really talk to that girl again but it was a nice start to a great semester.

Advice: Do what’s comfortable for you. I decided to eat alone because I wanted to face my fears. I knew people who stayed in their rooms all night because that was comfortable for them. Whatever works for you do it.

3. There is a 50% chance you will become friends with your roommate

This is always a complicated because there are so many people who have so many different situations. My roommate and I were good friends during the first semester but by the time the second semester ended we barely spoke. A lot of our problems were miscommunication and both of us were too stubborn to try and fix things after a long semester of fighting.

This may not be your situation. I know many people who have kept in touch with their old roommates and are still good friends. I also know people who can barely speak their name without wanting to throw up. Don’t let this get you down. Everyone is different in their way of communicating and discovering who they are.

Advice: Keep communication open. If you aren’t comfortable with what your roommate is doing, say something. Bring a mutual friend that can help if that makes you more comfortable. But also vice versa. If your roommate comes to you with a problem she/he has, listen and try to compromise. Communication is key.

4. Leave your room

It is very tempting to hide in your room all weekend and watch videos on Netflix or Youtube. But hiding in your room is something your shouldn’t do. Try to look up events that are happening on campus. If you’re an Introvert like me, the thought of socializing makes you tense. But try and build the courage to go to at least one event. This will make you so much more comfortable with the people around you and get you use to the flow of the college.

Many clubs try their advertising during the first week of school. Get yourself out there and try to find something that suits your eye. Most colleges have a huge variety when it comes to the clubs and organizations they have. Maybe you’ll find the one that suits you best.

Advice: Leave your room. You won’t regret it.

5. The first year is the hardest

My first year of college was a lot of ups and downs. I like to focus on the ups but also remembering how I got to the downs. No one’s first year is going to be perfect. There are so many tests, projects, and speeches that seem so far in the future but come so fast. If you can, try to make at least one friend in every class. That way you have someone that can give you advice or even help you along the way.

I was lucky enough that my close friend at college now had the exact same schedule as me during our first semester. We have become so close since and I don’t regret the day we started talking.

Finally I would like to say that college isn’t for everyone. It’s okay if after your first semester you say “This isn’t right for me.” or even after your first year. The first year is a trial period to figure out who you are and who you want to become. I hope this helps anyone out there who may be stressing over college right now.

Till we meet again :)

866 notes · View notes

blustudies · 6 years

Note

are there any like scholarships for trans or nb kids. college be hella expensive :(

Haruka says:

oh boy, do I have scholarships for you. I’m going to include ones for queer people as well, since they tend to get grouped together lol

I’m a high school junior so I’m scouting early, so here we go~

Pride Foundation - this one is a list of scholarships, and it includes career specific ones as well as broader LGBTQ+ ones. there’s only one application which streamlines the process quite a bit.

FinAid - this one is again just a list of scholarships, but there’s a specific list of regional ones as well as college-specific ones, which could maybe help narrow down decisions.

HRC - this is a list of scholarships by state, which I know can be frustrating if you don’t live in a state with a lot of q/t resources. But it’s worth a try!

CollegeScholarships - not as great of a list as the others, but you could maybe still find something!

Point Foundation - so I actually know one of the people who received this scholarship and I know Emery does too. This is a great scholarship and gives you a lot of money - however, it’s pretty competitive. I also think the deadline for 2015 apps might be over, but it’s always a shot for 2016! it’s also a higher ed app as well, so you don’t have to be a high school senior to apply (I think the above ones are mainly for seniors.)

1K notes · View notes

blustudies · 6 years

Note

Hello, do you have any tips on how to write a personal essay for college/scholarships? Im so stumped on it :-\

Hello sweets :)

I do have some resources and tips for you!

Personal essay tips-

8 Tips for Dazzling an Editor With Your Personal Essay

College Application Tips: Perfecting the College Personal …

Tips for Writing a Personal Essay – Poynter

Tips for Writing a Personal Narrative Essay

How to Write a Personal Essay - Utne Reader

Tips for scholarship essays-

Guide to Writing a Scholarship Essay

4 Ways to Make Your Scholarship Essay Stand Out - US News

Top 10 Tips For Writing Effective Scholarship Essays …

Scholarship Essay Samples - Essay Writing Center

Scholarship Essay Writing Tips - Essay Writing Center

How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay - SuperCollege

FinAid | Scholarships | Winning | Essays

Templates and examples-

College 101: Examples of Awesome Personal Statements

Writing a Personal essay : outline, format, structure, topics …

Writing a personal statement - UCAS

Personal essay writing help, ideas, topics, examples

Essays that Worked · Connecticut College

Helpful Ideas-

Discover Scholarship Essay Topics, Prompts, & Questions

Scholarship essay writing help, ideas, topics, examples

Do’s and Don'ts for Writing Personal Statements - National …

College & Scholarship Essay Ideas - SAT Prep Group

Personal Essay Topics and Prompts List

Personal Essay Topics - Good Essay Topics

Hope this helps! :) Please let me know if you ever need some more help, advice, support or would just like to talk. I’m always here and only an ask away. Take care and don’t forget to smile!! :)

2K notes · View notes

blustudies · 6 years

Text

How to Write for Scholarships

Writing for scholarships (including statements and essays) can be kind of a pain. There are countless scholarships and each has their own requirements and essay grading criteria. But if you put the work in and take the time to really rock it, there could be tons of money in it for you. Here are some tips that’ll help you nail writing for scholarships.

Write About Things You’re Involved With Clubs, athletics, and volunteer work—any organized activity you do outside your schoolwork is fair game. It shows that you’re well-rounded and dedicated to not just your studies, but a bunch of other cool stuff.

Write About Obstacles You’ve Overcome Write about where you come from and how got to where you are now. “Perseverance in the face of adversity” is a phrase people like, so show how you’ve displayed perseverance in your life.

Talk About What You’ll Do with Your Education Give them a reason to give you money. Show the scholarship-granter that the money they invest in you will be well spent.

Keep It Short and Dense Like brownie. It’s delicious and satisfying and it doesn’t take too long to eat. Do the same with your writing. Just don’t eat it.

Write Multiple Drafts Your best essay will likely not be your first one. So rewrite a couple of times. You’ll find errors to fix and better ways to word things.

Get a Second Opinion Get your friends, teachers, parents, older siblings, pets, etc. to read your writing and provide their opinion. They might have an insight or two that you hadn’t thought of.

Toot Your Own Horn Brag! This is your time to sell yourself to the scholarship-granter. Prove to them that you’re a good investment and you’ll put their money to good use.

#Preparing for College

2K notes · View notes

blustudies · 6 years

Text

Senior year advice and how to make senior year effective

So it’s your senior year in high school and you’re probably super excited for the year to come. You finally get to go to college and become your own person, pursue your dream, or maybe just get away from the bullshit. So here’s some of my best advice to make senior year a good one:

SENIORITIS WILL HAPPEN

There is literally no way you can avoid this. It’s like a deadly parasite that just consumes you. It’s very effective, especially if you’re surrounded by people who have already entered the “fuck school I just want it to be over” phase.

The way senioritis works is, the busier you are, the less it will hit you. I was a pretty active student year round. I had tennis , our drama one acts in the fall, FFA, plus work. In the spring semester I had our school play, track, and I joined our FFA vet science judging team (which helped kept me focus ) .

Winter is honestly the only time you should indulge lazyness. Get it out of your system and devote the rest of your school year to being productive

DON’T FILL YOUR SCHEDULE WITH TEACHER ASSISTANT AND OFFICE AID ELECTIVES

The one thing colleges love to see (besides student involvement and volunteer hours) is that you have a REAL schedule lined up for you your senior year. Get classes that apply to what you want to do in college, or find classes that you think you might be interested in. You never know if that could be the deciding point on what you want to do with your life.

Honestly, it’s going to suck when all your friends have relaxing classes most of the day and you have stacks of homework to do your senior year (trust me i’ve been there) but in the long run, colleges will thank you, and senioritis I can guarantee won’t hit you as bad when you’re taking classes that challenge and interest you.

AP CLASSES

This is honestly all preference and knowing your limits, but if you have never taken a AP class your high school career you should probably take one. High school classes are NOTHING like college. AP prepared me more for college and studying then any mandatory classes i’ve ever taken

KNOW. YOUR. LIMITS. I only took one AP class my senior year because I knew I would be working and doing a lot of school involvement. Some people liked to make their schedule mostly AP classes because in may when they take their AP exam they just chilled for the remaining of the school. Personally I think that’s a dumb idea, because then you’re just wasting your time for a couple of weeks and it’ll make you want to ditch class, etc.

APPLYING TO COLLEGE

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD APPLY EVERYWHERE

You never know what schools you’re actually going to get accepted to. You may think you have stanford in the bag and only apply to that school. But if you get rejected and have no where to turn but a local community college, your life will suck.

Don’t worry about being undecided, a lot of people are in the same shoes as you are, and college will understand

BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF. When you do those little “why should we accept you essays” you need to write yourself as the shiny little gold nugget that you are. Have confidence in yourself

When applying to out of state: you better know your shit. No one is going to help you as much because your councilors only know about local and state colleges. Especially when you decide to go to out of state college, KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING. Always check your emails and follow the college steps like it’s your lifeline or you’ll miss something.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Just apply to all of them. Trust me on this because I can guarantee you half of your graduating class would have not applied to a single one of them

Don’t be lazy

“SENIOR YEAR IS THE BEST YEAR OF YOUR LIFE”

This is complete bullshit but it also depends on each person

Senior year is honestly like every other year but you’re expected to be more of an adult. No one is going to make you apply to colleges and no one is going to make you do anything.

Senior year isn’t like it is in the movies, you won’t be partying all the time and not every second of it is going to be perfect. You might lose some friends and some things you love will change. It’s a very emotional and exciting time, make the most of it.

Spend as much time with your high school friends because you’ll probably never see them again. That girl that you’ve been soccer buddies with all 4 year is probably never going to text you again, so make the most of your friends.

Attend all the high school events. It’s the last time you’ll ever be able to do it, so make some memories.

SOME ADVICE TO FRESHMEN

Don’t be scared

you’re going to lose some friends and make new ones

but for the love of god get involved. it’s not “cool” to be a slacker. Honestly you’ll have a better experience and things will go by a lot faster.

Do your damn homework, it actually counts in high school

be nice to your teachers

make the most of your high school experience. It goes by faster then you think.

3K notes · View notes

blustudies · 6 years

Text

Applying to College from the not-so smart

If you’re anything like me, you’re a “smart” kid, but not as smart as a lot of other studyblrs or even not all A’s kids. If you aren’t or even if you are, then applying for college can be a bitch and I know that time of year is coming up for a lot of you high school seniors and so I thought I would give my advice on the whole application process: things I did, or things I didn’t do but wish I had, and all in between. So, let’s begin!

Just to preface, this is just my experience and it may or may not work for everyone!

Standardized Tests

Okay! So in my experience I personally got an 1150 the first time I took the SAT. I didn’t really study for the test and I definitely didn’t try my hardest to get. good score. The second time I took the test I got an 1160, so not that much of a jump and I actually studied.

1. Actually study. I know its literally the worst but studying once or twice a week won’t kill you. Some good sites to help study are Khan Academy, that’s what our school used to help us study.

2. Study what you aren’t good at. It’s really easy to study what you’re good at, and thats because you know it all! It’s better to study what you aren’t good at, in my case it was math but for you it could be anything!

3. Don’t over-study, or burn yourself out. Standardized tests are literally the worst and they stress out a lot of upper level and advanced kids or really anyone, so some people will burn themselves out studying all the time when its really not necessary! You will remember much more if you take it a little at a time.

4. Take the writing portion! My #1 mistake was to not take the SAT writing portion! Yes, most of the time you have to pay for it, but its worth it I swear! I wasn’t able to apply to my dream school because I realized the day before the application was due that I needed the SAT writing portion. It was literally the worst day and i cried.

5. Don’t forget! You can retake the test! My only advice would be to re take as soon as possible so if you don’t like your score you can retake earlier before the college app process.

6. Don’t forget to send your scores to your schools or scholarships! You can do it on the College Board site and I think you get 3 or 5 send in’s free so use them wisely!

7. And finally, realize that the scores matter but it won’t make or break your college’s decision. Not to knock on my own bff, her score was way higher than mine, in the 1300′s i think. But she applied and got accepted to UCLA when the average SAT score is in the 1450′s. She got in through her experience and essays as well!

Pre Application

For those of you who know what you want to major in, skip to step , but for those who have no clue or haven’t exactly decided, read on!

1. If you’re going in undecided, my advice would be to at least think about (maybe 3-5 options) of what you might like to do for a job after college. Give yourself questions like

“What do I enjoy doing?” Even if it means judgement or anything from anyone.

“What can I see myself doing?” When you picture your life, what do you see?

“What do others see me doing?” It’s a good idea in my opinion to ask what others can see you pursuing. They see a different side of you you might not see so it’s interesting to ask. You could even talk to a school counselor or a favorite teacher or mentor.

“What is something Ive never explored before?” Personally, I’m majoring journalism, even though we didnt have a blog or newspaper or writing club for my school so I never had experience. I just know I liked writing and it seemed fun. So, think about what you’ve never had the opportunity to explore.

2. Take your 1-5 options and explore school options! I liked to look up ‘top schools for _____’ and it gave me an idea of which schools had the best programs. When you are undecided and you have multiple school, try to find those that have some of your major options. Say, 2 schools that have both Journalism and Business. This will help narrow your school list.

2.5. Some things to take into consideration when thinking about colleges:

How much is it to go to school here?

Is it in-state or out of state?

What does the city it’s in feel like?

What club and organization options do they have?

What does their school spirit look like?

What housing options do they have?

The list could go on.

Also, if you happen to be interested in a major that they have a lot of places, try to use the questions above to narrow down your options!

3. Use the match, safety, and reach system! Now I know people who had 10 schools they applied to and i know people who had 1. I had complications with my applications so I applied to 2, but a good system most people use is this one

Safety Schools: This is a school you are over confident, you know you’re gonna get in. This could mean the college in your home town that everyone goes to, this could be a community college, its all up to you! For me this was UCCS, in my hometown. You can have 1 of these its up to you!

Match Schools: You fit their criteria to a T, not to much over, not to much under. You are most likely to get into this school if you put in some effort. For me this was the school im at now, CU Boulder. Usually you might have 2-3 of these.

Reach Schools: You are a little or a lot under their criteria. You could get in if you tried your hardest and you write awesome essays and tried on your tests. These schools you might feel less confident to get in to, but it can’t hurt to try! If I had my essay in, My reach schools would be U of M and NYU.

4. Okay so you picked the schools, now it might be time to look at other things about them. You might have done this earlier, but demographics are very important. Look at their teacher to student ratio, their ethnic diversity, their gender diversity, religious preferences and how much it costs to go there! Sadly, college is just getting more expensive every year so looking at the cost and seeing if it’s realistic is super important in this process.

5. If money and time is available for it, visit the school! It can make a huge difference when you hear about tit versus being physically there. However, if you have no way to, they have virtual tours and you could ask or look up videos about what the school is like! Even finding out if the campus is open or closed can be important!

Financial Aid

The process in the US for financial aid to get into any school is FAFSA. You fill this out before applying so you’re more likely to get aid to pay for college.

1. Apply as soon as the application opens! I think it opens in October but I am not positive.

2. You should have a parent sign on your FAFSA. I started with my mom, but realized I would get more aid with my stepmom, so i refiled under her.

3. If you file as independent, there is a whole process to go through that should be on the fafsa.gov page!

4. Apply for scholarships! Im deadass. I know its absolutely stupid and it seems like a waste of time but DO IT.

5. There isn't “a scholarship for everything” whoever told you that isn’t true. There is a lot of scholarships that are super hard to look for, but you have to dig for them. A lot of scholarships I didnt even find i qualified for.

6. Use Scholarship websites. Some include Scholarships.com, niche.com, but theres tons. Also check at your potential schools to see if they may have any scholarships through them you could apply to!

7.Slightly contradictory to #5, but apply for scholarships you may not even qualify for. Most of the time, they only get like 5 people to apply so you may automatically get it.

8. Essays for Scholarships will also apply to a later section in this post! Follow those guidelines!

9. Never stop applying! I’m applying still 1 month into the school year for next semester.

Sorry all, I’m no expert on Financial Aid and Scholarships, just because it was hard for me to get and understand scholarships and whatnot.

Application Process

Okay, awesome! You have chosen the schools you want to apply for! This part is about the actual applying part.

1. Figure out where the schools have their application. Nowadays most schools use CommonApplcation or Coalition. These sites use the same or mostly the same for all the schools you may want to apply to, its all on one application!

2. Check it out! Once you figure out where the application is, before you even start it take a gander at it. How many essay questions are there, how many recommendations do you need, what other forms are they asking for? This information is an easy way to say “Yeah I started applying” without actually starting!

3. Figure out when the application is due! Not all of them are on the same day, write this down! Put it in your planner, phone, whatever! You don’t wanna forget to turn in your app!

4. If you have to get transcripts transferred to schools, ask for that ASAP! There will likely be a list and the higher you are on that list, the earlier yours will get sent. Most of the time you can ask for this in the counselors office.

Recommendations

1. If you have any teacher or counselor recommendations that need to be turned in, ask ASAP! Like I literally mean as soon as you decide you’re going to apply there, it’s never fun for the student or the teacher/counselor to write it last minute!

2. Maybe pick a different teacher or counselor for each school or for a couple of schools! Its nice to get some diversity in there, yes its easy to just use the same letter but your teachers or counselors will really like it if you ask them!

3. Don’t be afraid to bug them about it. My biggest struggle was thinking that my teacher forgot about it. Maybe they will! It’s not wrong of you to check up on them!

4. When they finish and turn it in: thank them. I know senior yer is hard on the wallet, but writing them a thank you note will make them feel appreciated that they took the time to write this for you.

Essays

I know, probably the worst part about the application process. It’s okay though! We got dis.

1. Don’t write them all at once. writing them takes time and thought so doing your worst is not a good idea.

2. Look over the questions you got! None of my questions for my applications overlapped but yours might! Take the time to read through the prompt. I made a separate word doc and copied the prompt. Before writing I outlined what I wanted to say using bullet points. This helps you outline the essay before you write it.

3. Actually answer the prompt. I know that sounds silly, but with most people when they start writing they forget what they are actually supposed to be writing about. And that’s okay!

4. Try to make it as personal and true to you as possible. So many people try to act unlike themselves just to impress the college. However, they’re accepting you into the school for you not how smart you sound. Of course, make sure to make it professional. I would suggest using life experiences to write your essays. Use your greatest attributes and things you may consider weaknesses to your advantage!

5. Get someone to read over your work! They can find any mistakes or they can give you an outside perspective! I would suggest an english teacher but even a friend or family works

6. If you want no one to read it, try reading it out loud! This will help find spelling and grammar mistakes.

7. Some essays aren’t supposed to be essays. Some are called short answers, don’t feel pressured to write a 5 paragraph essay when you could write a nice paragraph instead. Make this easier for yourself!

Turning in the Application

1. Check and make sure you have all your ducks in a row. Do you have your essays in? Recommendations? Other files? Test Scores?

2. The earlier you turn it in, the more likely the college will contact you if you have anything missing.

3. Make sure to check the status of your application even after you turn it in. You want to make sure the school got the application!

4. Keep in mind when the decision date for those schools is released! Some may not say, but most will! Know that for the most part if they are a highly accredited university, acceptances probably won’t be released until months after the application is due.

All in all, the process is a long one and some things to keep in mind, is to work on these at least once a week, on your free time. Don’t wait until the last minute and ask for help or suggestions when you need it. Your teachers are there to prepare you for this so don’t hesitate to ask!

Also, where you go to school doesn’t say who you are as a person or your worth or value. Everyone has their own path and you may or may not go with people you know and thats a whole other post!

Senior year is hectic, so don’t slack on your grades! They matter as well!

And finally, do what you want in your life, you have to live with it. Don’t let others influence where you want to go, go where is best for you.

Leave a question in my ask box if I did address anything you might wanna know! I don’t bite!

503 notes · View notes