During September and October of my senior year, page after page of college applications began to overcrowd my mailbox. I had no idea they'd be so detailed. Luckily, my earliest deadline was December 31. Sitting at my desk one afternoon with 12 applications in front of me, I thought to myself, "This isn't a problem; I can fill out 12 applications in 2 months."
Those two months flew by in a flash, thanks to weekends jam-packed with SATs, ACTs, midterm exams, Thanksgiving break, extracurriculars and, of course, my regular homework. All of the sudden, Christmas arrived, and all but one application remained stacked neatly on the corner of my desk. Still, I told myself, "This isn't a problem; I still have 2 weeks."
On December 29 with 2 days left, I finally realized that I had to put my life on hold for a little while and fill out the applications. Little did I know that I was about to embark on the longest, most arduous two days of my entire life. I would rather receive one million shots (and trust me, I HATE shots) than re-live those 48 hours.
The Beginning: A Confidence Builder
At first glance, the applications looked deceptively simple. After all, I've known how to fill out my name and address since I was in kindergarten. I started the first application and half an hour later, I turned to page 2. This was going to be a little more time-consuming than I had intended.
With my black ballpoint pen in hand, I proceeded to spend the next 48 hours at my desk (2 of which were spent sleeping on an application). I was amazed to find that every application was different. One school wanted my extracurriculars broken first into school activities and community activities, and then put in order of most significance. Another wanted them divided by sports, clubs and community service, and then put in order of which I participated in the longest. Why I couldn't just photocopy my resume 12 times still puzzles me.
