Dylan Larson-Konar Dylan has been involved in Varsity Soccer, Choir, Madrigal, Band, Musical, and NHS. He plans to double major in Vocal Performance and Liberal Arts and Sciences at either Northwestern University or Princeton University. When did you start your applications? I started in September, but I didn’t go hard-core until November. I was unusual, though, because I applied to 17 schools, which was a very bad move. I wrote so many essays. It’s disgusting. What was the most challenging part? Getting rejected is a tough concept. As kids, we’ve never been completely shut out from an institution before, and it’s definitely a bit difficult to get over at first. How would you describe this whole process? The entire process is a marathon. You have to be excited enough to get the motivation to apply to certain schools, but you can’t get too excited in case you get rejected. What advice do you have for underclassmen and juniors? The way you feel about a college is more important than how you look at it. Don’t look too deep into any one school’s decisions. Sometimes it feels random where you get accepted. It could be based upon the smallest quirk. Peter Yin Peter has been involved in Tennis, Band, Mock Trial, and is a part of various science research projects. He is deciding between University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, and Northwestern University, and plans to major in either Biology or Political Science. What was the easiest part, and what was the most challenging? The easiest part was listing classes, grades, and test scores. The hardest part was taking four years of classes, achieving grades and studying for tests…. and writing essays. How would you describe this whole process? Challenging and humbling. What advice do you have for underclassmen and juniors? Go out and try new things. Take a risk! Then find those activities or subjects that you love and stick with them. Don’t do something just because you are forced into it. Put your time and energy into things that make you feel comfortable and confident. That’s what high school’s all about. Whitney Manhart Whitney has been involved in Mayor’s Youth Council, 100th Green Butterfly, SHEPH, Senior Senate, Golf, Uganda Project, Senior Mentors, and is a lab assistant. She is leaning towards attending Vassar College or University of Southern California and plans to major in Biology. How did you come to this decision? Vassar has a strong biology program and an amazingly beautiful campus. I visited over Spring Break and fell in love with the atmosphere. Are you happy that it’s all over? It isn’t necessarily a feeling of happiness, but there is an amazing calm that arrives with acceptance letters, which is so much better than the awful stress of waiting for so long. What was the easiest part, and what was the most challenging? The easiest part was deciding which colleges to apply to because I had been thinking about this for a few months before I started. The most challenging aspect is trying not to stress out and be intimidated by the sheer enormity of applications. What advice do you have for underclassmen and juniors? My advise for junior and sophomores is to be thinking about this early. Also, RELAX. Just try and focus on making your applications reflect who you are. The school does not define what you will learn or how the next four years will be. Those are decisions you make, so just pick schools that will make you happy. Megan Cohea Megan has been involved in Diving, Gymnastics, Track, DECA, and Yearbook. She plans to attend Iowa State University next fall and will be on the Women’s Diving team. How did you come to this decision? I’ve been diving with the Iowa State diving coach, Jeff, for a couple years now and really like his coaching style. I wanted to make sure that wherever I attended, I would be able to reach my potential as a diver. When did you start your applications? I didn’t really start applying to colleges until I got it narrowed down to just a few. I started them at the end of October, but only ended up completing the one to Iowa State because I had already signed for diving. How would you describe this whole process? Stressful. It’s hard to think ahead to what atmosphere will be best for you for the next four years of your life and where you’ll fit in. Sometimes you just have to take a jump and hope for the best. Usually there’s more than one college that you’ll be happy with. What advice do you have for underclassmen and juniors? I would tell everyone to start thinking about what colleges you might want to attend somewhat early, especially if you’re looking to be recruited for sports. Honestly, I don’t think Sophomores should worry about it too much, besides thinking up where they might want to go and maybe starting letters to coaches for recruiting. It’s a hectic process, but I would tell most people to keep enjoying high school. You only get to experience it once.