Even from those of you who have followed my blog all along, I’ve kept much of my personal life a mystery. Partially, I was worried about privacy. However, I also simply didn’t think anyone would be interested in hearing about my daily life. But since I seem to be wrong (I love hearing about others’ lives too), here’s a little more about what I’ve been up to these past few years. I won’t start at the very beginning, even though Julie Andrews says it’s a very good place to start. Instead, I’ll start with my senior year of high school.
During my senior year of high school, I unfortunately did not go about college hunting in the best way. If it wasn’t Ivy League, I didn’t even want to look at a school. I very much wish I could go back and tell my high-school self how crazy her thinking was.
I fell in love with UPenn as soon as I set foot on campus. The only problem: Nobody told them that Katie was destined for their school. When the college letter arrived, it was suspiciously thin.
My dream school waitlisted me?!
Looking back, I know the waitlist letter, which ultimately turned into a rejection, didn’t have anything to do with my worth; it simply meant the admission department decided I wasn’t the right fit at the time. To me, though, it felt like I wasn’t good enough. Even now, I still feel a little ashamed admitting my rejection.
After shedding many tears over the matter (and literally throwing the waitlist letter in the fire. Burn!!!!), I settled on Bryn Mawr College. It was quiet and peaceful but also close to an urban setting. It was a good school, far from home, and it even participated in a consortium with UPenn, meaning I could take classes at my dream university.
Bryn Mawr was a terrific school, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting great girls and taking advantage of the school’s close proximity to Philadelphia. I even prefer Philly to NYC, because it’s smaller and more manageable whilst still being jam-packed with fun. But the school just wasn’t right for me. You know how sometimes you can feel—in your heart—that something’s just not right? For me, Bryn Mawr was too small. It was difficult to get into all the classes I desired, since most only offered one section. I found myself signed up for classes simply because they fit my schedule: NOT cool when you’re paying for each course. After my first year away, I transferred to SMU in Dallas.
Update: click for My College Story – Part 2.
Question of the Day:
How did you choose what college to attend, if you attended one? (Or, how do you plan to choose?)
I chose my college because my then (serious) boyfriend went there. I really hate admitting that sometimes, and while we dated for two years of college I definitely made the choice for him. Having said that, I got an excellent degree from a Big 10 school and as it turns out, it later helped me that it was a prestigious engineering school as i now work in a very technical field…though I didn’t take any engineering classes it works to my advantage.
Man, I miss college.
oddly enough, i got waitlisted at penn too (but didn’t get in).
i ended up leaving my hometown in OK to go to school in boston. it was a scary change at the time – i had never even flown on a plane or been away from home for more than a week before leaving for college, lol.
Dumb old UPenn! 😉
Wow, Boston is super-different from OK! But it’s a fun place, especially for college-aged kids… my sister went to college there too.
Great post! I got into Haverford (a school close to Bryn Mawr) and I knew from the moment I stepped on campus that there were too many girls. I didn’t get into one of my top choices, a small LAC in Massachusetts (waitlisted) but I’m going to my other top choice, another small New England LAC. College admission is just plain stupid. I got into some schools that are “harder” to get into than schools where I was waitlisted. It’s luck of the draw, but I still admit that I’m bitter (like you are about UPenn) about the mass. LAC.
I took a class at Haverford!
And you’re definitely right about the “luck of the draw” thing! Or, even more importantly than that, it has a ton to do with where you live and what school (*cough cough* private school!) you attend! In my case, six kids got into UPenn from a private school in Dallas… no room for us public school girls :(.
I hop you LOVE the school you chose… you’ll probably have way more fun than at some school that doesn’t know what they’re missing in turning you down! 😉
I go to Penn State (my mom works there so it’s way cheaper for me to go there than pretty much anywhere) but my dream school was Wellesley. I got rejected from them but I was also the first to apply there ever (I believe, as far as my guidance counselors memories went that was true), although two years later a girl I knew with similar scores/statistics got in. It hurt, but I know now that it would not have been the school for me. I had a family tragedy happen my sophomore year and I was so glad to be closer to home during that time. Also I wasted a few semesters getting terrible grades (which is not so awful when tuition is $2500/semester but quite another when it’s $20,000/semester). I know that I ended up where I belonged and have had a great experience at PSU. I love the big school lifestyle and I love that we have smaller branch campuses to take classes at as well. And, as a third generation Penn Stater, I am proud to carry on that legacy in my family as well.
I didn’t really think about college too terribly much in high school. I got good grades and participated in many extracurricular activities because I wanted to, not because I was trying to impress anyone. So, at the end of my junior year, I was shocked when I started getting applications to colleges in the mail. When I received Yale and Harvard’s, I tossed them in the trash. While it was amazing they contacted me in the first place, I had no chance. I was from Alabama and my parents hadn’t even dreamed of college. I knew that I would get enough scholarship money to go to a local state university for free, and be in their honors college, so I wasn’t too terribly worried.
Fast forward to the fall of senior year. College application time. I started researching potential colleges and ended up absolutely and irreconcilably falling in love with Yale. My parents couldn’t afford to take me up and do the campus tours across the Ivies that many students do, but I decided to give it a shot and apply early. Early decisions came in: Deferred until regular action. While a bit upset, I knew that they would reevaluate my application. I sent a letter with updates and a statement of intent. The day for final decisions arrived: Waitlisted. I had been waiting eight months for a decision that continued to string me along. However, about a month after students finally chose their schools, I got the call saying that I had been accepted. I just finished my freshman year, and I am just as in love with my school as the day I first stepped on campus.
Katie – just late-night stalking your blog, as I often love to do! Came across this post and really loved it. I never know how much information to divulge about my personal life on my blog, but I looove reading about yours when you do share (like your running post as well!) and I wish more bloggers would do the same. It makes the whole experience so much more personal. So thank you very much for that 🙂 keep on being awesome!
Xo,
Jordan
Thanks, Jordan!
Hey CCK!
You remind me SO much of myself, haha. I discovered your blog back when I first started college and loved it! I still do, but I remember making every recipe you posted and relating so much to your love for chocolate, but desire to stay healthy.
I also used to be an avid runner, but recently due to work and school I haven’t been able to lace up as often as I’d like. I find that I don’t even miss what I used to stress over skipping a single day of! Anyways, keep blogging. You’re an inspiration!
Laura
Katie! I’m not your mom, and I’m proud of u! Sweetheart, I only had a 4th. Grade education, and I love to bake, and I look at a lot of all u do! Keep up the good work my dear, and keep backing…… Always
You may have heard this already, but apparently UPenn only has a 10% acceptance rate. So, a tough one to get into!
Hi Katie,
I’m really enjoying your blog and just made your low carb chocolate cake. I have not yet tried it as it is still hot! In any case, I was just wondering how you learned to cook. I’m curious because I am in a very different profession, I’m a clinical psychologist, but I love cooking and baking and had started a blog a few years ago on Tumblr in attempt to introduce healthy recipes that parents could introduce to their children at a young age as I was noticing how many parents in my practice complained about their children being very picky eaters. So, just curious, did you have formal training or are you self taught? Do you come up with original recipes? I am a self-taught cook/baker and just wondering what you would advise on being able to get started myself. Thanks so much. Best, Maria