College Surprise

As I did my college application, I was realizing that I really sucked at everything. I was scared and I didn’t even know what college to go to, and my mom was stressing me out by making me apply to every college I laid my eyes on, coupled with the impending deadline looming over my head, it was safe to say I was freaking out. It was a four-day fall break in school when my family decided to go to Georgia for a quick vacation. When I was little, I used to live there, and I hadn’t gone back since. And I also liked to travel, so it seemed like a great way to let off some stress from college applications. Though lo and behold, when we got there, my mom wanted me to tour Emory in Atlanta. 

At first I was annoyed, because this was supposed to be the time for me to stop thinking about college, but my parents urged me since we were already there. Since it was around COVID times, we drove around the campus without an actual tour guide. Because my old house was near the college, it was jarring to look around. It felt like home, oddly enough. While I didn’t want to admit my mom was right for recommending the college to me, I do admit I did some research on Emory on the way home, which was something I almost never did willingly for a college.

I had done a little more research at that point, and pinpointing Emory as the best choice for ED was the time when my load became a little lighter. My advisor told me it was a little difficult to get into, so if I applied ED I would have a better chance of getting in. By then, I had applied to four other schools Regular Decision, but Emory was the one that got back to me first. If I made it in, I wouldn’t even need to hear back from them, and my stress would be over. December 6th, at 6 PM, my decision came in, and I had made it in. All that stress and anxiousness had faded away. Because I thought my application was lacking, I was really surprised to make it into a school with only a 16% acceptance rate. My mom was super excited and happy for me, and I know that while she drove me crazy, I really had her to thank for getting into my top school. Without her, I would have never heard about Emory, or acknowledged the potential I had to make it into such a school.