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TheYFactor
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Name: Bono Vox
Country: United States
State: New York
Metro: Albany
Gender: Male
Interests: Music, Macs, Mirth, Joseph Heller, C.S.Lewis, Thomas Friedman, Thomas Sowell Right-wing Politics (Both rational and rabid)
Expertise: Nothing of great use
Occupation: Student
Industry: Other
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
3/1/2006
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| Does anyone want to see R.E.M./Modest Mouse at the Tweeter Center (south of Boston) on June 13? I think it's the day after the last day of classes.
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| 7 for 10, or something like that:
ACCEPTED:
SUNY Albany-Honors College
SUNY Stony Brook- Honors College
Siena- Some Honors thing
Manhattan
Union- Scholars Program invite
Fordham- Full tuition but no honors program(??)
GWU- Honors Program, but a missing FinAid letter (??)
REJECTED
Georgetown
Williams
Cornell (Something about a transfer option??)
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| I got rejected from Georgetown. Their loss. Frankly, I found the whole experience rather liberating, seeing as I had increasingly little interest in actually going there. In addition to that, I'm not sure I want to go to any school that will reject me. If you'll excuse the minor, self-serving rant here, any school that rejects someone who effectively aced the SAT, has a combined score of 15 on three AP exams, has take straight AP and honors courses to a 93.4 unweighted GPA, founded a Science Olympiad team that managed within 4 years to compete legitimately with at least some 25 year old organizations, played and been active in multiple school musical organizations, been active in the church community, and is a National Merit Finalist, is being idiotic in rejecting them. Rejecting a number of the top students can be nothing more than a publicity stunt to make the schools seem even more selective than they actually are. Deep breath, rant over. And there's snow on the ground, which SUCKS. Such is life. Despite GTown, I've still got positive responses from 7 schools, 6 of which have offered me merit money, though George Washington might in the next couple of days. And I'm really hoping that Williams and Cornell don't both follow Georgetown's path. Eh bien, nothing I can do now but wait and recognize that I'm still in a very nice spot in terms of admissions. And go back to looking at Econ programs for the six schools that haven't been eliminated: UAlbany, Fordham, Union, GWU, Cornell, and Williams. Nighty night.
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| It's kind of funny reading these past blog entries seeing where I was applying to college versus now, and beyond that, inarguably more importantly, the fact that college now seems all but trivial. I know this, and I'm assuming a lot of other people do, but frankly and ironically, it's been comfort. Trying not to dwell in the past (though certainly rembering it,) I noticed that no one else besides Katie has posted college essays. Most of mine aren't at all of that quality, but here's one that I think comes close. *Hopes that Williams, Cornell, and Union agree.*
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Is it trite? Maybe. Is it an obvious choice? Probably. It is, however, accurate to say that appearing on Jeopardy! was highly important and influential in my life and development.
Imagine, if you will, that you are surrounded by glaring studio lights, hundreds of people in the studio audience, and untold millions watching from their couches at home. While all of this is going on, tens of thousands of dollars rest on how well you know 61 seemingly random facts as Alex Trebek feeds them to you. On top of everything else, you’re 12. Needless to say, the pressure is incredible, and since that time, nothing has seemed quite so bad. I say this not to brag, but to demonstrate the fact that my abilities to handle stress benefited greatly from my experience. Apart from the fact that the college admissions process has stressed me far less than many of my contemporaries, the skills to deal with pressure that resulted from Jeopardy! helped me excel academically. Not only have I taken the most challenging course load available at my school, with a total of eight AP courses by the end of this year, but I have performed well, earning scores of 5 on the three AP Exams I have taken thus far and nearly a dozen Honor Roll quarters over three years.
Before appearing on Jeopardy!, I was the new kid in school, having transferred from another school district. Though I had a few friends in the beginning, my sudden stardom gave me a name and opportunities to meet more friends. With this change came an increase in self confidence that resulted as much from being on a nationally televised game show as becoming a well-known face in my school. With the increase in self confidence in turn came a greater willingness to participate more in extracurricular activities, including Science Olympiad, an activity in which I helped lead my school’s team to the National Competition. After middle school, my family moved from suburban Washington, DC to suburban Albany, NY, once again placing me in a position where I had to make all new friends. Once again, Jeopardy! gave me fame, as some classmates heard about what had happened and the school newspaper ran a front page article about me. After this, more self-confidence aided me as I was able to start a Science Olympiad team with the AP Physics teacher and other staff and students who helped create a friendly environment. With my rediscovered self assurance, I was able to cull an interest in the Olympiad which has tripled its size over three years and made it competitive against teams that have been competing for twenty or more years.
In order to excel at Jeopardy!, one must command knowledge of a broad range of topics, as questions on nearly anything can be asked. Being in this situation, I was also able to meet fellow contestants from around the country, all with different experiences and interests. This aspect of the experience helped increase my interest in a myriad of topics. I went from being focused solely on science and preparing to attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to pursuing an education in international relations, affairs, and politics. At the same time, I have become more involved with music than ever before, playing trumpet at school in the Marching Band, the audition-only Wind and Jazz Ensembles, and the invitation-only pit band for the spring musical while serving as Treasurer for the Tri-M Music Honor Society.
So, appearing on Jeopardy! was an excellent, if rare, opportunity for me to learn to deal with pressure, increase my self-confidence, and increase and broaden my intellectual interests. In many respects, what I’ve learned from the experience has shaped who I am and what I do in my life since that time, and it’s made me a better person.
I also won my game.
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I've missed everyone the last couple of weeks, but DAMN it's cold here. Bye.
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| My Big List 'o' Stuff-
-Help Annie with her essays
-Write the combined Fordham/Georgetown essay (Discussion of a topic of international/social concern)
-Write the Georgetown mini-essay about Science Olympiad
-Write the essay that tells Georgetown who I am ("Deroche, you're such a Nautica kid.")
-Put together all the GTown and Fordham EA stuff
-Get that out by about the 25th
-Convince myself that it's not heresy to apply EA to SUNY Albany. I'm NOT going to a school who's definition of "Honors" is a 1250 on the SAT.
-Appease my mother and apply to the $4,000 school
-As well as Stony Brook, whose standards are a little higher, then make myself feel better by applying to Cornell, Union, Williams, George Washington, and maybe Yale
-Write about four essays to appease all of those schools
-Get various recommendation letters out
-Pray for a SUPERB financial aid package from Georgetown
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