Friday, July 20, 2012
"Yearbook love heals"
One of the yearbook advisers I follow on Twitter lives and teaches in Aurora, Colorado, and had a yearbook staff member present at the shooting. He's physically fine but is understandably upset over everything he witnessed. In response to all of the thoughts and prayers heading his way specifically from the online yearbook community, the adviser tweeted, "Yearbook love heals." I don't know how much it actually heals after witnessing something like this, but it's a powerful statement nonetheless and really emphasizes how much something, even if it isn't yearbook, can have a healing ability beyond the norm.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
"The acceptance letter is a reminder to think, not choose."
After reading this article by Jamie McCracken of USA Today College, I began to reflect on my decision to attend the University of Maryland.
My desire to become a Terp was definitely not a hidden aspect of my high school career. Ever since a yearbook field trip during my sophomore year introduced me to the campus and to the now former journalism building, I was hooked. When I first started to look at colleges my freshman year, (wow, I was that young once?) I was convinced I wanted a small college essentially in the middle of nowhere. After all, where else is better suited for an introvert such as myself? My aspiration at the time was to be a Psychology major, so the only factor limiting my college search (since my major was widely available) was my difficulty finding schools that were smaller than my high school; they were few and far between.
But something about the panic that resulted from being horribly lost with two others on that massive campus actually made me want it. Okay, obviously I didn't (and still don't) want to endure four years of panic, but the sense of daily adventure. Knowing that something will be unique to each and every day as a Terp ultimately made me compare every college and university I visited thereafter to Maryland. Nothing matched up to everything I liked about Maryland, simply because no other school can say that they are the University of Maryland.
Fast forwarding to January 31, 2012, I opened the online UMD application portal approximately 345845345464364 times, anticipating the second that admission decisions were to be posted. I told myself that I wouldn't be upset if I got deferred to spring or if, Heaven forbid, I was downright denied. At that point I had four straight acceptances under my belt, but I knew that streak could be easily broken.
I only remember actually seeing three words the first time I glanced at the decision: "Congratulations" and "Fall 2012." Those words told me my dream came true.
I ultimately submitted my deposit two weeks after, fully confident that I was going to UMD because it was my dream school. I got into the Journalism major, which is one of their "Limited Enrollment Programs," so in my eyes, I was set.
Until financial aid time came around and UMD didn't believe my FAFSA. Obviously my mom and I wouldn't lie on something like that, but UMD was convinced we had. I knew I qualified for the Federal Pell Grant as well as certain state grants, but Maryland thought otherwise.
So for several weeks, I was faced with the question that McCracken's article focused on--was UMD really worth the financial burden? It was a public in-state school, but with no financial aid whatsoever, tuition and room/board would be more than several of the out-of-state private colleges I was offered large presidential and academic scholarships from. One in particular, the University of Evansville, was someplace I would have never considered (or probably never would of heard of) if it wasn't for my yearbook adviser and all of her college stories that would make their appearance during late-night work sessions. Aside from the cost of transportation several times a year to and from Indiana, tuition and room/board for UE was way cheaper than UMD.
But UE wasn't what I wanted. It was what my freshman self wanted--a college just slightly larger than my high school. It didn't even have a Journalism major--just Communications, which I still don't know if that would be beneficial to my current aspiration to become a journalist. Aside from Mrs. Willson, I would have no real connection to the school or the area, so it would be a true leap of faith if I committed to somewhere that didn't fit my specifications just because it was more affordable at the time.
After the post office made a large profit from the money I had to spend to mail endless documents to UMD and after my counselor had to refer my state grant issues to the county and eventually to the state board of education to handle, the possibility of having to settle for UE faded as the glow of my future at UMD began to brighten. After all of the phone calls and emails to financial aid offices and after I cried myself to sleep dozens of times thinking that I wouldn't get to realize my Terp dream, I can now say that I am a part of the University of Maryland Class of 2016. After attending orientation at the end of June, I know that this is where I am meant to be.
This blog will ultimately document trials and triumphs and provide a glimpse into the life as the introvert, the Disney lover, the journalist, the former yearbook eic, and the Terrapin that I am. Thanks for reading! :)
My desire to become a Terp was definitely not a hidden aspect of my high school career. Ever since a yearbook field trip during my sophomore year introduced me to the campus and to the now former journalism building, I was hooked. When I first started to look at colleges my freshman year, (wow, I was that young once?) I was convinced I wanted a small college essentially in the middle of nowhere. After all, where else is better suited for an introvert such as myself? My aspiration at the time was to be a Psychology major, so the only factor limiting my college search (since my major was widely available) was my difficulty finding schools that were smaller than my high school; they were few and far between.
But something about the panic that resulted from being horribly lost with two others on that massive campus actually made me want it. Okay, obviously I didn't (and still don't) want to endure four years of panic, but the sense of daily adventure. Knowing that something will be unique to each and every day as a Terp ultimately made me compare every college and university I visited thereafter to Maryland. Nothing matched up to everything I liked about Maryland, simply because no other school can say that they are the University of Maryland.
Fast forwarding to January 31, 2012, I opened the online UMD application portal approximately 345845345464364 times, anticipating the second that admission decisions were to be posted. I told myself that I wouldn't be upset if I got deferred to spring or if, Heaven forbid, I was downright denied. At that point I had four straight acceptances under my belt, but I knew that streak could be easily broken.
I only remember actually seeing three words the first time I glanced at the decision: "Congratulations" and "Fall 2012." Those words told me my dream came true.
I ultimately submitted my deposit two weeks after, fully confident that I was going to UMD because it was my dream school. I got into the Journalism major, which is one of their "Limited Enrollment Programs," so in my eyes, I was set.
Until financial aid time came around and UMD didn't believe my FAFSA. Obviously my mom and I wouldn't lie on something like that, but UMD was convinced we had. I knew I qualified for the Federal Pell Grant as well as certain state grants, but Maryland thought otherwise.
So for several weeks, I was faced with the question that McCracken's article focused on--was UMD really worth the financial burden? It was a public in-state school, but with no financial aid whatsoever, tuition and room/board would be more than several of the out-of-state private colleges I was offered large presidential and academic scholarships from. One in particular, the University of Evansville, was someplace I would have never considered (or probably never would of heard of) if it wasn't for my yearbook adviser and all of her college stories that would make their appearance during late-night work sessions. Aside from the cost of transportation several times a year to and from Indiana, tuition and room/board for UE was way cheaper than UMD.
But UE wasn't what I wanted. It was what my freshman self wanted--a college just slightly larger than my high school. It didn't even have a Journalism major--just Communications, which I still don't know if that would be beneficial to my current aspiration to become a journalist. Aside from Mrs. Willson, I would have no real connection to the school or the area, so it would be a true leap of faith if I committed to somewhere that didn't fit my specifications just because it was more affordable at the time.
After the post office made a large profit from the money I had to spend to mail endless documents to UMD and after my counselor had to refer my state grant issues to the county and eventually to the state board of education to handle, the possibility of having to settle for UE faded as the glow of my future at UMD began to brighten. After all of the phone calls and emails to financial aid offices and after I cried myself to sleep dozens of times thinking that I wouldn't get to realize my Terp dream, I can now say that I am a part of the University of Maryland Class of 2016. After attending orientation at the end of June, I know that this is where I am meant to be.
This blog will ultimately document trials and triumphs and provide a glimpse into the life as the introvert, the Disney lover, the journalist, the former yearbook eic, and the Terrapin that I am. Thanks for reading! :)
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