Kirsten - Chapman / UC Davis - Class of 2012

I thought I had done everything right. I had great academics and extracurricular activities. That meant lots of admissions, I assumed. But that's not how it turned out.

A great application means lots of admissions, doesn't it?

I was very proud of my grade point average and extracurricular activities. As Miss Teen Santa Clarita Valley, I participated in over 200 hours of community service. I also had college credit under my belt and what I considered to be strong application essays. I was confident that I would be accepted to at least half of the schools to which I applied.

I wanted to have lots of choices, so I applied to 13 schools. I looked for schools with good journalism programs, or my first love, fashion design. I also wanted to stay in Southern California, a decision I made after I sent applications to a few East Coast colleges. UCLA was my dream school, but I doubted I would get in. I was sure I would get into Pepperdine, my next choice.

Not necessarily

I was devastated when I received my waitlist letter from Pepperdine. And worse, I was accepted to merely three out of the thirteen schools I applied to. Only one of the schools was in California: Chapman University. It was not high on my list. I was automatically accepted to UC Riverside and UC Merced, although I never applied to them. I visited both campuses but decided that Chapman was the better choice.

One of the frustrations of the college application process is that by the time you find out that you did not get into your top choices, it is too late to apply anywhere else.

My ups and downs

The Internet was a great tool. Websites such as CollegeData made it easy to search through the thousands of U.S. colleges to find those that might make a good fit. I was able to look for colleges that had students like me in terms of grades, scores, and activities and see where they got in and where they didn't. This is how I figured out that Chapman would be a good fit.

I got very discouraged while I was applying. It was really stressful. I was nervous about messing something up or missing a deadline. I wound up writing eight essays in two days. It's a hazy blur now! My mom was a big help. She talked me through every step.

What I learned

I should have applied to more "match" schools—schools that admitted students with academic qualifications similar to mine. I assumed colleges would consider my 3.88 weighted GPA and then found out that many colleges look only at an unweighted GPA.

Stepping onto a campus is the best way to tell what really works for you. You may think you love a certain college by looking at it online, but then find out you don't when you visit. Had I known that East Coast schools were not for me, I would have focused more on finding colleges in Southern California.

Rather than pay for test prep, I did my prep on my own, particularly the math. I brought my math score up 110 points by taking lots of practice tests.

The money factor

Money was not a huge factor in my decision. Because my parents are self-employed, we have a very low EFC. I received full financial aid packages from both Chapman and the UC schools I was considering.