One Step at a Time

I have to be at the high school in less than twelve hours. I am nervous.

I am not questioning that this is a phenomenal opportunity for me to develop as a young adult and explore experience of living on a college campus first hand. It is. I am questioning whether anything I have done up until now has prepared me for what I am about to go through.

The stringent Ivy League Connection selection process consisted of an essay and an interview. The essay came easily enough. I had already taken a World War II course as well as AP European, AP World, and AP United States history, so writing an essay on President Truman was a mere review exercise. After the essay was the interview. I was nervous. Ultimately, I settled down and was able to give satisfactory answers to questions designed to gauge my ability to succeed in the Ivy League Connection program. I was thrilled. I knew I was ready for this experience.

Now I don’t.

Up until now I have written one essay and answered 10 questions about history and issues that affect my community.

I have not practiced living on the opposite side of the country, away from my family and friends for three weeks. I have never balanced writing a 25-page essay with touring the endless attractions and landmarks of the commercial capital of the world.

To this point, my participation in the program has been deemed, unsatisfactory. I don’t respond to emails promptly. I don’t send in the right forms when I am supposed to. I don’t draft acceptable invitations inviting clients to dinner. What if I am not responsible enough for this trip?

All I can do is take this one chance and make the most of it, one step at a time:

1. Take a deep breath.

2. Publish this blog.

3. Start Packing.

4. Get some rest because I’m definitely going to need it.

5. Get to El Cerrito High School by 7:30 A.M.

6. Say bye to my parents, who have supported me throughout this whole experience.

“Wish me luck!”

Beyond Excitement

I am beyond excited for our upcoming journey to New York City.

As of right now, all that I know about New York City comes from what I have seen on television and read on the Internet. From the most recent Glee episode, to the NYC Go! website, I have, in my head, an idea of what to expect when we reach the most populous city in the US. But I could be (and probably am) completely wrong. I will not know for sure how tall the Statue of Liberty looks from the ground, or the natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley, or the hustle and bustle of New York City in general, until I see it for myself.

I have created a preliminary list of the activities, events and performances I want to see in NYC but there will be so much to do when we get there, I’m not sure there will be enough time to do everything. Some of the highlights include watching a Broadway show (not sure which one), attending a recording of the Today show, taking a tour of the NBC studios and visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Of course, I am also excited for the Harry Potter premiere and if possible, I would love to tour the New York Times building. The Columbia University Summer Program website lists a campus wide scavenger hunt as a campus activity – something I am definitely looking forward to. I am also excited to see what activities our Residential Advisors have planned for us.

As I pack, I will be sure to leave some empty room in my carry on to accommodate the souvenirs I plan to buy. I am ecstatic!

The Final Countdown

Guggenheim Museum

Credit to sfmorrisnyc.wordpress.com

Finally, the time has come to leave the comforts of the Bay Area and fly east to New York City!

As I prepare to leave, the reality that I will be away from home for three weeks is beginning to sink in. While I will miss home and all of it's comforts, the only thoughts that seem to pass through my mind are those which relate to touring the Big Apple, going to class at Columbia, and visiting colleges such as Bard, Vassar, and UPENN. In New York I want to visit the Guggenheim Museum, Ground Zero, have a 360 degree view of New York from the observatory atop the Empire State Building, and visit Harry Potter: The Exhibit at Times Square. Like Milani, I also want to witness the hot dog eating contest at Coney Island. I am excited to experience the different pace of the Big Apple, taking the subway, live in a dorm at Columbia.

While I'm sure that New York City will be very different from Hercules, I am looking forward to interacting with top students from the corners of the world, unique perspectives, and learning about the different backgrounds that my peers come from. In class with Irene, I cannot wait to be part of the discussions and learn about how the Constitution is interpreted.

I can't wait to land at JFK International and begin an amazing three weeks!

Almost There...

There are three more days until I leave for my trip. I can’t believe it! It feels like yesterday that I was being interviewed and was chosen to go to Columbia!

It hadn’t really hit me that I was leaving my comfort zone until last Thursday, when I said goodbye to my co-workers that were also going on vacation. It sank into my head that it was almost time to leave when they asked “when are you returning?” and I replied “in about a month…” Almost a month without my family, friends, my bed, my grandmother’s cooking, my dog, and most importantly, the comfort that I have in my own home. As I started to pack I realized that this is what it’s going to be like next year when I really go off to college, packing and saying my goodbyes to people I wouldn’t be seeing in a while. It also sparked excitement in me that everything I will be experiencing is new. New places, new people, new perspectives. It will be something new to look forward to.

As I packed, I realized that it’s not so easy to pack for a trip like this. You need a broad range of clothes, like fancy formal clothes for dinners, clothes appropriate for tours, appropriate for class, and some to go sight-seeing in. I thought I knew what I needed to pack. Yes, I was wrong. I had to email my chaperone probably at least four times to ask for her advice on what to pack. The airport isn’t helping at all with all of the restrictions on luggage weight it has made.

I’ve made a list of places I want to visit while in New York City. It has a lot to offer a young person with the willingness to adventure into the world. The museums are endless there, but I would like to visit in particular the Smithsonian and El Museo Del Barrio. I’d also like to visit Ground Zero, Central Park, and the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island. Last year’s record was 54 hot dogs! I wonder if they can break it this year. Of course, this isn’t my whole list of things to see. Things might pop up on the plane ride there!

As the day creeps closer and closer, I become more and more nervous. I’m excited to see one of the greatest cities in the world and some of the greatest universities in the country.

Show Me The Money!

You have the brightest child in the neighborhood and everyone knows it.  Any university in the country would be lucky to have your child.  Without exception, though, all of the top flight schools cost a fortune to attend.  We’re not talking about new car kind of money.  We’re talking about the kind of money to buy a decent house—the kind where you have to keep paying for it forever and ever.  The kind f money it takes a regular working family decades to prepare for.

What are you going to do?  You make decent money—at least enough to keep the rest of your family living comfortably—but it’s not really enough to keep them living comfortably and leave enough to pay for that college education.  The cost of living here in the Bay Area eats up most of your paycheck—when you get a paycheck—and leaves little to sock away to pay for a decent education for your children.

You and your child could take out loans to pay for that top flight education but what kind of life would that be for your child to graduate owing almost as much as the National Debt?

Your child could get a job but what kind of money could an 18 year old make before acquiring the skills that the college education will help provide?

What’s a parent to do?  How are you supposed to take care of your family and provide them with a quality education—the kind of education that will open the right doors once your child has that sheepskin firmly in her grasp?

What are you supposed to do?  You’re supposed to turn to The Ivy League Connection’s very own Sue Kim—a professional educational consultant specializing in admissions and financial aid counseling since 1991.

Sue has helped many dozens of ILC students and others from the WCCUSD find the perfect fit of a college and then find a means to pay for that education.  She knows what she’s doing and she’s good at it.

On Thursday June 16^th Sue hosted 39 ILC and WCCUSD students and parents in a financial aid workshop where she helped point the way for the parents to find ways for other people to pay for the education of their children.

Between grants, scholarships, gifts and other options that may be available to the students and parents in our area, more and more of our students have opportunities to attend better schools than they might otherwise have been considering.

Sue explained that although California has an outstanding 10 campus University of California and a 23 campus state university system, both systems have little money to offer students in the way of financial assistance.  The cost to attend these schools is prohibitively expensive and the costs are steadily rising.

On the other hand, there are numerous private colleges spread throughout the country that have large endowments designed to help the very kinds of students we seem to have an abundance of: smart but needy.

Tonight’s session was only a primer but it laid the foundation so parents and students can start their preparations.  Once their students enter their senior year of high school, the college application process becomes a full time job requiring a tremendous amount of dedication and attention to detail.  There are openings at these schools and there is money to be had but if our students and their parents don’t do the necessary homework and prepare themselves, those opportunities may go elsewhere.  We want everyone around the world to have the option of getting a top education but if there are limited funds and limited openings, then we’d rather that our people be taken care of first.  Call it selfish if you will—and you’d be right—but such is life.

The First American University

Our chaperone Mrs. Lilhanand asked us each to pick a topic to research before we make our trip to New York. Since I was in charge of inviting guests from the University of Pennsylvania to join us for dinner, I thought it would be appropriate to research about The University of Pennsylvania.

The University of Pennsylvania is located in University City, Philadelphia. The school itself is situated in one of the United States' most historical cities.

It houses 25,007 students, about 10,000 undergraduates, 10,000 graduate/professional, and the rest part-time students. UPENN accepts 14% of the applicants that apply.

UPENN is often known for being the first liberal arts college of the country. The university was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1740. It was originally founded to educate clergy, but Benjamin Franklin wanted it to be a college to educate the future professionals of the country. Originally called the College of Philadelphia, it was affected by everything the young America had to go through. It was seized by the state of Pennsylvania because it was thought to educate the Loyalists (British supporters) during the revolution. After the revolution had ended it was given its name: The University of Pennsylvania. The influence of the revolution gave UPENN the loyalty and spirit it has today: to educate the new generations to benefit the United States. The university has had the honor to be associated with nine signers of the Declaration of Independence and 11 signers of the Constitution either by donations or alumni. UPENN has had many achievements in its history, like being the first medical school in American and being home to the first digital computer.

There are several schools within the university itself. They consist of The College (School of Arts and Sciences), Wharton College (School of Business), School of Engineering and Applied Science, and School of Nursing. The other eight schools are for graduate students. It also has over 40 housing complexes that each have their own interests so that students can be house with people that like to do the same things and major in the same area.

As the years went by, UPENN prospered and changed. In the 1800s, the university transformed itself into a research institute because of pressure from other countries. The US had to be the best in the world and needed its universities to be able to come out with new ideas and inventions. It continued to experience changes in attendance because of the G.I. Bill that allowed World War II veterans the opportunity to attend college once they came home. The University today is ranked number 5 in undergraduate education. It continues to lead the Ivys in research and in U.S. News it has kept its number 1 ranking in business schools.

Personally, if I had not been offered the opportunity to go to the East Coast and have to know about the colleges there, I would have never considered adding UPENN to my list of colleges to apply to. After attending educational seminars given by the admissions officers and reading about the amazing engineering program UPENN offers, I am happy to say that I will hopefully add it to my list. I look forward to visiting this amazing university in less than 2 weeks!