I thought that the college visits I did this summer would be my only ones, but lo and behold here we were in New York and opportunity struck! The two schools I applied to (and got accepted!) were Marymount Manhattan College in the Upper East Side and The New School down in Greenwich Village. And while I went to go do that, Sophia went to go check out Admitted Students Day at Barnard! With decisions so close, I'm really down to the wire so I was hoping that visiting these schools in person would give me a better idea of what direction I would like to proceed after graduation. So now I guess it's time to weigh the options...

1. Location - With one of the schools in the Upper East Side, the other in Greenwich Village, both locations were amazing. Then when you factor in the fact that its also New York, it just keeps getting better and better. The appeal of the big city is strong -- but if I had to pick between the two locations, Greenwich Village would win, hands down. 
2. Size - No need to worry about that with either school. Both are small, liberal arts institutions and the student body, including graduate school, is less than ten thousand. And in the case of the New School, the specific college within The New School I was accepted into, has a student body of about 1,350.  
3. Curriculum - The more I write about these schools, the more I realize just how similar they are. And that if it comes down to choosing between these two, how difficult that decision will be. They both have an open curriculum -- however The New School is much more lax in this are. Where Marymount has a small required core curriculum, the New School has none. That means I could have complete free reign over my education without taking any courses that I don't want to. As appealing as that sounds, that could potentially also be a very bad thing for me haha. 
4. Student Life - Vibrant, bubbly, quirky, I mean it is New York. I was on a guided tour of Marymount so I didn't get to discover much of what the students were like, but for The New School I called up an old friend of mine who goes there for Theatre. He walked me around, showed me all of the buildings and the dorms, and we even bumped into a couple of his friends on the street (I still love that about New York) and they were very welcoming. My only fear, with whatever school I end up at, is that I'll commit to four years there but  I won't fit in with the students. 
5. Accommodations - Sadly, I didn't get to see the dorms at either school. But from what I've read online Marymount has apartment like dorms which is very appealing because it is suite-style living and the people in eau apartment also share a small living room and kitchen. That I like very much! I think New School has conventional dorms (your singles, doubles, and quads) 
6. Writing Program - Being liberal arts schools, both are very writing intensive. I could major in English with a minor in Creative Writing, or I could even major in Creative Writing if I'm feeling risqué! 
7. Finances - And then theres the catch. I received a scholarship from both schools, yet it doesn't even begin to cover tuition. Marymount is expensive, but don't even get me started on New School. I appealed to both for more financial aid so now we just have to wait and see what happens...

It's funny how with two weeks left before I have to make my decision, this should be getting easier, I should be taking schools off my list, but in reality it's only getting harder. Gah! 

Finally back home! I’m relieved to say that the traveling has ceased for the time being - that is until I leave for GSP in about a week (when did it become so soon?!) Either way, I’m happy to say that my first of 17 experiences has been crossed off my to-do list!

College Visits

The term had been unknown to my parents until I started begging them to go a couple months back. While all my friends were going left and right, north and south, coming back with honorary “Harvard” or “Penn” shirts and showing off all of their photos of this-and-that campus, I was still in that rut trying to explain to the parents why someone would even want to go visit a school they haven’t even applied to yet and don’t even know for sure that they will.

To get a feel for the school.

To see the dorms.

To meet the people and the professors.

Scout out the location.

To see if you will feel comfortable spending 4 years of your life there. 

Finally, after hours upon hours of planning and pleading, we were off to go see 4 of the colleges off of my list. And boy, am I glad we did because it was a experience unlike any other! Plus, now my parents, at least Dad, understands the value of going to see a school in person.

The trip was exhausting, uncomfortably long, occasionally boring, but totally, and completely worth it. See, ever since middle school, my dream was to attend an Ivy. It had started out with Harvard Law. I knew  I wanted to be a lawyer. I could feel it in my bones (mind you, this was in middle school, and my version of a lawyer did not include the LSAT’s in any fashion). Then, the dream changed, and I knew I wanted to go to Yale and study Journalism. This desire was fueled by my ~slight! obsession with Rory from Gilmore Girls. The Yale dream was quickly squashed when I discovered that they didn’t even have a Journalism major, not even as a minor. And with that, I believed my dream of going Ivy was hopelessly lost. That is, until I discovered Brown - the Holy Grail, the Safe Haven, of any and all liberal arts Ivy’s. Thus, sophomore year, the plan was Brown, all the way.

Brown was included in the trip. But, I’m not surprised to say it isn’t my #1 school anymore. I think that that is because I realized (no matter how long it took) that the prestige attached to a name might not be worth the price tag attached on the other end. External factors such as tuition/standardized tests excluded, Brown isn’t the best fit for me. Not to say that Brown wouldn’t be wonderful, it isn’t, for lack of a better word, perfect. I’d like to think that for anyone and everyone, there is that perfect school in which they won’t have to make any sacrifices (be they educational, financial, etc.) Here come in the next 3 schools we visited.

Bennington. Check it out online. Go visit the Facebook page. Stalk it’s tumblr. It seems like the BEST school out there. Buildings look modern. Princeton Review RAVES about how eco-friendly the campus is and how happy the students are. The campus life seems so lively that just one look and you’ll never want to leave! But, there’s always a but, then you get to the actually school and….well, it’s not like it had been portrayed online. At all. Before, I had believed Bennington to be my #2 school, but after the tour, it quickly fell down to a lower slot. That would be reason #1 why students should go on college visits. Not everything on the internet is true!

Sarah Lawrence. My expectations for this school were not as high and thus, I belie my experience wasn’t unreasonably skewed or biased. I thought the school was nice, the campus not as great as it was on the brochure pictures, but overall, a wonderful school, and the only one that has a specified program in creative writing! Sometimes, you need to visit a school just to affirm your original beliefs and thoughts about it.

Bates. Now, this school was the curveball - a HUGE one at that! I had only recently found out about this one after talking to a friend, thus it ranked last on my list. Its website wasn’t anything stunning and nothing stood out at me that would seem as if I would belong there. But, taking a leap of faith, I visited the school farthest away from home, and I fell in love! Everything about it was amazing: the location, the classes, the people (gosh, they were friendly!). Everything seemed perfect - and if it wasn’t, it was pretty darned close! Quickly, Bates jumped from last place to first.

I think visiting colleges holds different value to different students. Some use it as an opportunity to explore different opportunities, some just use it as an excuse to cut class for a couple of days. Either way, both will undoubtedly learn quite a bit about a couple schools and hopefully, a little more about themselves and where they’re headed in life. To summarize, visiting schools is not something Bulgarians usually do. I actually think I am the first student form our community to go out and do this. But, I am incredibly grateful I did because I learned some important things and i will forever be grateful to my dad for trudging me around 2,500+ miles across 12 states for a week and to my mom, for letting me leave for so long.

Here’s to next year’s Acceptance Letters!

• Bates
• Bennington 
• Brown
• Sarah Lawrence
• Marymount Manhattan / The New School
• Lewis & Clark College

                  
The last visit! Makes me sort of sad to think we have to go back home tomorrow…but, might as well enjoy today! I’ve always been fascinated by life in New York (I can blame Gossip Girl for that) and now, I might actually have the chance to if I go to Sarah Lawrence.

1. Location - 30 minutes outside of Manhattan/Grand Central Station with either a free school shuttle or the subway. With the city being so close, SLC offers so many resources and internships to its students that it’s almost unbelievable.

2. Size - Definitely a small liberal arts school with only 1,200 undergrads. The student-to-faculty ration is 9:1 with an average class size of 12 students. Though there are large seminars which are around 60 students, those are the intro classes and usually filter out as a student advances up.

 3. Curriculum - Incredibly open curriculum. SLC splits up their classes differently though - Instead of the regular 6 classes one would take, SLC kids take only 3 but each class has an additional seminar class. In that class, they work one-on-one with a faculty member to create a paper/project/etc. that is relevant to the class but also interesting to the student. With this in mind, SLC kids do NOT take finals because their seminar essay IS their final. That part I liked! There is a minimum requirement though which I wasn’t too fond of. 

4. Student Life - SLC is very much not a sports campus and that is perfect for me actually. They have student-run art galleries, coffee shops and tea houses, study spaces, etc. There are also fun film festivals, concerts, performances and students are allowed to suggest things and more often than not, the school agrees and pays for it.

5. Accommodations - This is the part I wasn’t too thrilled with. Walking into a typical dorm, it was run-down. Granted, it was the end of the year, but it was dirty, walls were cracked, the bathroom looked rusty/moldy, furniture was chipped/broken, etc. Now I know that no school will ever live up to my standards of cleanliness but I have to draw the line somewhere. Otherwise, the dorms were larger than I expected them to be.

6. Writing Program - This is what might put SLC up top and outweigh all the negative things about the campus. This was the only school that we visited and that I have been able to find that offers a specified and intensive writing program, major-wise. Not only do they require ALL their students to excel in writing, but they urge us to use that writing in all disciplines, even in say science and math.
SLC is a very writing-heavy campus and I think that that will be perfect for me.

7. Finances - This is the tricky part. Although SLC does give out financial aid, it is not huge amounts while the tuition is a whopping $62,000 (rounded up) If finance is an issue and there is no scholarship, I’m afraid that SLC will not be an option.

In perfect seriousness, although I couldn’t necessarily picture myself in a dorm at SLC (at least the one we saw) I could see myself going to the school and being that close to the city, in that environment. Sarah Lawrence felt like an old village while we were walking through and it was beaiutiful. Plus, we found Hagrid’s hut! Plus, with graduates like Barbara Walters, Vera Wang, and J.J. Abrams, I would be crazy not to apply!

                                  
Ever since middle school, I’ve dreamed of going Ivy. Today, I finally got the chance to visit one first hand. There’s no denying that it wasn’t beautiful and spectacular and any other adjective synonymous for amazing but in retrospect, it might not be the best fit for me. Some highlights:
 
1. Size -Brown is larger than I expected and perhaps larger than I would like in a college. with 6,000 undergrad and 1,700 grad, Brown is quite a bit larger than say Bates. This puts their student-to-teacher ration at 9:1 and their average class size at 19 or less. Then again, it is an Ivy, what was I expecting haha!
 
2. Location - Now this was a spectacular aspect! Free transport through Rhode Island supplied by Brown and then a short walk to the train station that will, for $20 and a couple hours of your time, take you to Boston, New York or anywhere up North. Located on top of College Hill, Brown has the best location with easy access to pretty much everything.
 
3. Accommodation/Dining - We didn’t actually get to see inside any of the dorms so I’m not entirely sure what to say. There are dorms, not houses like Bennington. As for dining, there are several facilities which seem nice (though we didn’t get to see those either.
 
4. Student Life - This seemed incredibly vibrant. Students host club events, the school organizes spring concerts on the green, and there’s even an organ player! Brown has tons of quirky little rituals that seem like they would be fun to be a part of.
 
5. Admission - I attended a brief information session after my tour and got a basic run-down of the happenings at Brown. Among some of the hings discussed was the admissions process. Most of the things I’d heard before: be relaxed at the interview, be yourself in the essays, etc. But what I was a little confused on was their take on standardized testing.While the admissions counselor kept insisting that Brown has no minimum/maximum, score wise, I’ve spent my entire life seeing the Ivy’s as unattainable schools because of their top scores. Even college websites puts Browns ACT scores within the 29-33 range. Yet, the guy kept insisting that scores aren’t that important. This is the part that makaes me hesitant about being able to come to Brown.
 
6. Open Curriculum - At Brown, there are no class requirements for wha tclasses to take. This means that I can focus solely on English and not take any Science/Math/Lab classes which I find amazing! However, each concentration has their own class requirements within the major but those seem easy enough to handle.
 
As a whole, I unfortunately don’t think I know Brown better than I did before coming. The only thing is that I just saw what the campus actually looks like in person. In terms of organization, I think Brown’s lacked. Where other schools give you information packets/letters/papers etc., Brown gave me nothing. Plus, we didn’t even get to see Emma Watson! (Not gonna lie, her attendance was the reason I first looked at Brown.) Being so liberally minded, I think I could fit in at Brown but then I also feel like I wouldn’t fit in as well…But first,I need to raise my test scores before I even consider whether or not I would fit in at Brown!

~Here’s to good vibes for Saturday’s ACT~


However, I could definitely see myself living at Brown and going down to Rhode Island every now and then. Stepping onto campus through those gates just felt like going back in time-back to 1764 when the school was originally founded. Everything just feels so old and full of rich history. Plus, I found a friend from back home on my tour - what a coincidence!

             
Well, it seems as if my first impressions of both Bennington the city and the school were correct. Overall, the score was nothing more than average and paled in comparison to yesterday’s Bates. There are some things that even gorgeous scenery can’t compensate for. Nonetheless, here were some specs!
 
1. Size - Once hearing that Bennington only had 700 students total, I understood why the campus was so small. With only 5-6 main buildings and a handful of dorm houses, that was about it. Bennington does win the cool factor with the fact that the school was a former dairy farm! The rest of the campus though was huge!

2. CAPA/VAPA - Bennington had 2 very interesting aspects: the Center for the Advancement of Public Action and the center for the Visual and Performing Arts. While VAPA wasn’t as exciting, CAPA was brand-spanking new and a really amazing idea. Its focus was to make students more aware of the issues that plague our world today and work together to come up with a fair solution.

3. The Bennington PLAN - I wasn’t too impressed with Bennington’s curriculum, perhaps because it resembled my high school’s too much. This is because students have no restrictions as to what they classes can take because at the end of their senior year, they have to demonstrate with a final project how all their classes helped culminate in their work towards their degree. Pretty much, it would serve as a repetition of my senior mentoring project (aka this blog).

4. Field Work Study - Now THIS was what really impressed me! Each year, students participate in this FWS from the beginning of January to the end of February by expanding their experiences by doing something (internship, apprenticeship, etc) that will help them in their major. For example, our tour guide is in design and went to Alaska and apprenticed under a man who earns a living in woodworking! This alone, just might persuade me to still apply to Bennington.

5. Lodging - No students live in dorms in Bennington. Instead, students share houses with about 30 other students. Besides the 3 new Modern houses which are above average, the other houses, Colonials and 70’s houses, seemed…quite frankly, a little old and run-down. Being the clean freak I am, I’m not entirely sure how that would work.


Either way, I’m really glad we visited Bennington. Just because, after finding out about Bennington online, I thought it was amazing! It was #2 on my list, but now…not so much. Bates really was much better :)

We’re in Vermont!

First Impressions: Bigger than Lewiston, definitely, but somehow not as nice. And, the people don’t seem as friendly as Maine people. Downtown seemed to offer a variety of things to do for entertainment so that’s always nice. Tomorrow I visit Bennington so hopefully that will be good!

Saturday June 1st - SAT in the morning then depart for Maine
Sunday June 2nd - Arrive in Lewiston, ME/Explore
Monday June 3rd - Visit Bates College/Leave for and Arrive in Bennington, VT
Tuesday June 4th - Visit Bennington College/Leave for and Arrive in Providence, RI
Wednesday June 5th - Visit Brown University/Leave for and Arrive in Bronxville, NY
Thursday June 6th - Visit Sarah Lawrence College/Leave for Home
Friday June 7th - Arrive Home
Saturday - ACT in the morning

~Meanwhile: Cross the nine states of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine and travel over 2,500 miles~

                 
Finally, after all that travel, we made it! We arrived a little early so we decided to walk around around before our official tour. The moment we stepped foot on campus, I fell in love. I don’t think I ever want to leave Maine! Besides having the majors/minors that I’m interested in, this school had so many other awesome factors that I think it may have just moved up on my list of schools!

1. Majors/Minors - Being a liberal arts school, Bates has a reputation for being strong in the English department. They have Rhetoric Studies, Literature, English, and Writing. Also, 60% of kids do study abroad and every senior has to complete a thesis and receives the chance to get it published.

2. Size - Only 2,000 students. A 10-to-1 Student to Professor ratio. And on average, 20 or less students in a classroom.

3. Location - BEAUTIFUL! Mountain scenery whichever way you look! ~2 hours from Boston and ~4 from NYC. 45 minutes from hiking/skiing and in the other direction, 45 minutes from the beach. A short walk to awesome and historic Lower Lisbon Street and Downtown Lewiston.

4. Openness - Bates was founded in 1855 by free-will abolitionists and values diversity. There are ZERO fraternities and sororities! The school strives to make all of its students feel like they belong. When selecting roommates, you fill out an extensive questionnaire asking preferences like music/when you sleep/when you study/hobbies and others to ensure that you get a roommate that is the best fit. The teachers are always willing to help and will never turn you down. Our tour guide even mentioned an incident when she was writing a paper and emailed a professor at 2:30 am and the professor emailed back 30 seconds later! Everybody seemed genuinely happy to be on campus and there to make your college experience less stressful. While there is a church, it is nondenominational and used to host events like poetry readings and music recitals.

5. Accommodation - New dorms! Awesome lounge/study areas! Everything about this school pretty much rocked my world.

6. Finances - Bates comes at a hefty price: $51,300 per year. BUT, Bates also gives away $22 million in scholarships every year and the average donation is approximately $39,800! And, scholarships aren’t merit-based but need-based so SAT/ACT scores don’t matter! Score for me because test-taking is not my forte!

7. Dining Services - Now this, this is what truly won me over. The Commons, which is what the dining are is called, is huge and you’re guaranteed to find someone to talk to and spend a good amount of time there. Besides having the All-American foods, they pay great attention to specific allergies and are very accommodating. They have a full service salad bar, vegetarian bar, and a vegan bar. All the food is prepared on campus and a large portion of it is locally grown! Now if that doesn’t make you salivate, one quick look at their menu online will!

8. Clubs - This was another thing I was really impressed by. There are about 110 clubs but new ones are always forming. There are things like the Bates Outing Club which organizes outdoors trip every weekend and things like yoga retreats. Let’s also not forget The Puddle Jump where everyone willing jumps into the pond on campus and then, wet, huddles together and drinks hot chocolate. The Discordians - a club for those who like to let loose with some harmless pranking. (I’m sensing some Merry Pranksters here :)) and the Sunshine Club, who during finals, leaves bowls of candy everywhere, rents out bouncy houses, floods rooms with puppies for ‘puppy therapy’, and serves students with free chai and cookies for study breaks. God, this school is amazing. There are also cool events like free concerts, dances and movies.

I never want to leave this school. Ever. I think I left my heart in Maine.

Finally, after 17 exhausting hours and 1,070 miles, we’re in Maine! Lewiston, to be exact. We were going to stop at a hotel last night but we were so lost in Pennsylvania that all 5 hotels we checked were booked up so we gave up. We kept on until about 3am when we stopped for a restroom break and we about collapsed from exhaustion. So, we just parked right there at the rest area and napped until 5! Once awake, we kept on and now, at 11:30, we finally checked into probably the snazziest hotel I’ve ever been in. When we called mom back home, she said we’re crazy for driving all night - what can I say?! Dads currently taking a well deserved nap while I catch up on some reading. After more than a day without access to a shower, boy does it feel good to be clean! Best roadtrip memory is probably Dad and I blasting Mamma Mia! The Musical Soundtrack at 1am so we didn’t fall asleep :) We’ll probably have lunch and go exploring the town later - all the buildings are Victorian and I’m loving it! Then, tomorrows the big college visit at Bates - I’m equally stoked and petrified!