My way to college -Rachel

College was always the next plan after high school, there was no doubt about it. My parents and I would talk about it over dinner...and even in 8th grade I was starting to become familiar with terms such as "SAT" and "Collegeboard" and "AP classes" mainly because I knew I had to. My mom was always talking about college, even to the point it became overwhelming and rather stressful. I remember her taking me to take my first SAT practice test. I was in the 8th grade. I started getting upset because I didn't want to think about it so early on. Though I didn't know for sure, I thought SATs had to be taken when you were a junior in high school! On top of that, freshman year started and it was a scramble to get into all the advanced and honors courses (since there were no AP courses available for high school freshmen) I don't remember too much of freshman year other than that it was an awkward transition from middle school to high school and I was still trying to figure my way around. But one thing I did do freshman year was try out for the journalism staff at our school.

The staff members came to my English classroom and made an announcement that they were taking interviews for next year's staff. I had always been interested in writing articles and being involved with media so I thought I would give it a try. It was the scariest thing I ever went for in high school -- all the older upperclassmen were sitting around a table, judging me for my every move. But I gave it my best shot because well, what could I lose? About a week passed before I heard I had made it! Then for the next three years journalism became my favorite part about high school. It sounds nerdy, I know. But for me I was doing exactly what I wanted to do and I got the chance to do it at school. I loved being able to work with a team and though the lessons I learned were at times difficult to learn, I learned the most out of my three years in that staff than I did in any of my other high school academic courses. I learned about manners, professional etiquette, the true meaning of deadlines (and the consequences for not meeting them) and I learned about what it means to be on a team. By senior year I became Co-Editor-in-Chief. Honestly, I didn't become Co-Editor because that's what I wanted to do when I first joined. I just wanted to write at first. But somehow, as I kept doing what I loved I found my way there.

Your way will not always be the same as mine. But I bring this up to you because I strongly believe that as important as academics are in your path to college--the thing that will make you shine to college admissions officers is if you pursue your passion while you're at it too. For you it might be a tryout for the journalism staff, it might be running laps for the soccer team or it may be auditioning for the school musical. My point is...pursue it, and pursue it as early as you can so you can develop it. When I talk to other Berkeley students and compare my high school GPA with them, mine is not as impressive as theirs. But when I think about what got me into UC Berkeley, I realize it's because they saw that I was someone who knew how to pursue my passion and stay committed to it.