Jackie Ridgley, The All-Around

Having been admitted to Columbia University early decision, Jackie Ridgley ’14 decided to attend the school’s admitted students weekend. There she had the opportunity to meet other admitted students as well as spend time on campus.

Ridgley particularly enjoyed participating in a bus tour of New York and meeting with one of the student advisers.

Ridgley warns future applicants not to procrastinate on their applications.

“It’s a crazy process,” Ridgley said. “Start it early. Everyone tells you to start it early, but actually start it early.”

Matt Leichenger, The Artist

Although his feelings about moving to New York have fluctuated, Matt Leichenger ’14 is once again excited about attending New York University this fall.

After the excitement of being accepted early decision wore off, Leichenger felt neutral about his college decision. Even in Los Angeles, Leichenger often feels he wants to escape city life, so he slightly worried about moving to another major city.

“The school itself, Gallatin, that whole program I’m still excited about because I know that’s what is good for me,” Leichenger said.

Leichenger is ultimately very pleased with the way his college process turned out.

He advises students applying to college in upcoming years to find safety schools they are excited about. He said that had he been rejected by NYU he would have mostly been interested in schools that would have been a reach for him. Leichenger believes he would have been slightly more comfortable waiting to hear back from NYU, if he had been more excited about his safeties.

“Follow what you actually want to do,” Leichenger said. “A lot of the time the best school for a person isn’t going to be an Ivy League school.”

Anser Abbas, The Brain

Anser Abbas ’14 will be attending the University of California, San Diego next fall. He will most likely be majoring in chemistry.

“They have a good bio and bio-chemistry department, which I find intriguing,” Abbas said.

Abbas was also briefly considering Reed College, but felt the school lacked diversity of thought.

UCSD was not Abbas’s first choice. He recommends that students who do not get into their top choice school find ways to distract themselves from the disappointment.

“I think it’s probably good to maintain a healthy suspicion of what you want,” Abbas said. “Going to my first choice would have been nice but it wouldn’t have made me automatically marvelous or handsome.”

Efe Agege, The Athlete

Efe Agege ’14 is very excited to be joining the class of 2018 as well as the track team at Bucknell University. Agege was recruited by the track coaches at Bucknell, and she applied regular decision. Only after submitting her application did she commit to the school.

“When I met the team they were all really nice, so I’m looking forward to four years of basically having fun in the sport that I want to pursue and enjoying the people too,” Agege said.

Reflecting on her college process, Agege cannot think of anything she would have done differently. Agege recommends talking with coaches as early as June of junior year.