To those of you applying early decision:
I would like to start off by reassuring you, even if you don’t believe it yourself, that you are more than just your transcript, more than just your grades. I felt this so strongly in high school: that so much of my identity was based off of the quality of the work that I did. My transcript and me were one and the same. And while I still take pride in my work, I would advise you against rooting the entirety of your self-worth in something as external as grades, or even college acceptances. Because, at the end of the day, when life challenges you and those external factors aren’t there anymore, you won’t have anything left to fall back on. I still struggle with this, because so much of my life is academia and the work I produce that it’s difficult not to think of that work as a part of me. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s not the only part that matters.
I know early decision messes with you. It seems like the end-all-be-all, like getting into college is everything your thirteen years of education has been for. I remember crying hysterically to my mom the night before early decisions were released, because I didn’t know if I wanted to get and know I’d be going to a school I loved, or not get in, and still have all my beautiful possible futures wide open. I chose to apply early to Wellesley because it fit my personality to a T, it was a place where I could think, and it was a place where I could pursue high-caliber science while still recognizing the importance of overall self-growth and self-care. And now, two years later, I’m thriving and stimulated and excited to be here at Wellesley. I love it here. Things are going to turn out okay.
You are going to have an awful lot of time, early decision applicants, to think about what you’ve done, and it’s so hard to imagine what college will be like from afar. It’s very easy to find yourself stalking the Wellesley tumblr tag, only to find an off-putting rant by a stressed student, or a criticism of the administration, or a controversy about a sculpture of a man in tighty-whiteys (yes, this happened to me) and go into immediate freak-out-mode: “What if I didn’t make the right decision? What if I’m not going to belong here?” Please don’t listen to this voice. Your ideas of what you think college is now and the college you will experience will eventually merge into one reality, but this is not the reality you form freaking out in front of the computer screen at home.
Please log off of the vortex of vicious self-comparison to strangers that is College Confidential. Focus instead, my dear early applicants, on appreciating how much you’ve grown to get to where you are at this point in your life. Enjoy the company of the friends you are lucky enough to still be surrounded with on a day-to-day basis. I know many of you are eager to get out of high school, but try to enjoy the senior-year high. Enjoy your picnics, your prom, your friends that you can just drive across town to see, to the best of your ability. The things from home that matter have a way of returning to you, but at the same time, you should enjoy the experience that is senior year, because there are some moments you simply aren’t going to be able to capture again.
Listen to me: If you are accepted, we are so excited to have you. We are so excited to have all of the person that is you, even the bits that can’t be put onto paper. If this is not the case, it is not a reflection on the core of everything you are. You are still accomplished and worthy, and you are still going to do wonderful things. It may not feel like this at the time, but I firmly believe that we end up where we’re meant to be.
I wish each and every one of you nothing but the best.
Ever lovely yours,
-Eleanor