This little bit of information was actually a scary thought for me. I will know how to do my own laundry and how to iron by the time school starts, but do I want to change? The key to happiness, in my opinion, is being happy with who you are and knowing you are. In the past four years, I have learned plenty about myself and who I am and I am unsure about this whole changing thing. But thinking about it, maybe there still are some changes that need to be made!

So while change may scare people, I think being open to it can help make that change for the better. There is no use in resisting it! I am interested and excited to see where I am after my first year of college and find out whether or not I do change because of what college has to offer!

One of these requirements is my final transcript. At the end of the year, when grades are finalized, many if not all colleges and universities require their new students to send in their final transcript. This is mainly to make sure the student didn’t slip their final semester of high school and may also determine scholarship eligibility. Since some scholarships are merit based, schools require that you maintain your grades even through your final semester.

Another requirement is enrollment. Tulsa sent a packet in the mail recently discussing enrollment requirements for my anticipated major with the pre-med track. In order to get the classes I want, I need to plan on enrolling in the classes as soon as possible. My first semester, I will probably plan on trying to get a lot of general requirements out of the way so that I can focus on my required classes for my major(s)/minor(s) and the pre-med track. So to ensure your spot in desired classes, be sure to be in contact with schools in the close future so you can be enrolled soon.

While your decision may be made, remember this does not mean it’s the end. Be looking for a checklist or email your school with questions regarding what needs to happen now that you are planning on attending that school.

The reason that I decided to make my decision earlier was to get my finances in order. After figuring out everything I had received financially from Tulsa and other various scholarships, such as a $3,000 scholarship through scouts, I then started finding student loans. Of course, this was not too difficult considering I went to Google and typed in “student loans” and got a huge number of sites offering student loans. After looking at a few options, I finally found a loan and finished my application last night for the loan.

Looking back over my entire college experience, I realize how weird yet interesting this journey has been. My English teacher from last year always told us “College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.” I can now fully appreciate this saying after going through this experience and realizing that if you want to go to a school bad enough, or you were meant to be at that school, things will work out in the end. And while they may not work out exactly how you thought they would, they will work out.

Today I was on a panel of seniors that met with the current junior IB class to discuss our college application experience. Listening to the other students I realized how different everyone’s situations can end up being and how you must make the decisions in a process like this for yourself and no one else.

The University of Tulsa is a private university with an undergrad population of about 3,000 students.

My best friend and I went to Tulsa Sunday February 15- Monday February 16 to attend what they call Tulsa Time. Tulsa Time was two days filled with a variety of sessions, class experience opportunities and almost anything else you can think of. We toured the sororities, sat in on an Anatomy and Physiology class, and learned about the Pre-Med program. What made this visit so much different from the other visits was that we got to spend the night on campus with an actual TU student!

We got matched with our host before dinner and went to the dorms. We then had dinner with the parents and hosts and after that the parents left, leaving us with just our hosts! During this time we were allowed to do whatever we wanted with our hosts on campus. We met another student who was hosting a few students and had some great discussions not only about Tulsa, but just college in general. We even asked about things you will need in a dorm, but might overlook. Things such as scissors and a bathrobe. So being with a student over night really gave you a good feel of what the campus was like and what the dorms are like and other things you wouldn’t normally experience when just touring and interviewing.

So if you ever get the chance, I would advise doing an overnight college visit! It can really give you a good idea of whether or not the college is right for you!

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how this semester has gone. I’ve had my share of rough patches, but what student doesn’t?! Although I did slack and my GPA will suffer some from this slacking, it will be motivation to push myself even harder my second semester. I also received so far an acceptance letter from the University of Tulsa and a rejection letter from the University of Chicago, beginning another trip down decision lane. Of course, I still have eight schools to hear from so a decision is no where near in my future.

So as first semester comes to an end and the second semester looms close in the future, I look forward to my last semster in high school, but also the things that lay ahead after high school.