4 may 2004
the >lo6dpage
the stentorian I ncssm
Sarcasm and Suggestions: College application
thoughts and advice from a graduating senior
Rebecca Buckwalter
R ead 'em and weep can
be literal around this
time of year, as seniors
receive letters, packages, and
packets from their institutions
of choiee. Some NCSSM stu
dents experience some of the
more negative ramifications of
competition and tradition. Not
only can you suffer rejection
or the dreaded waitlist place
ment, but also, at NCSSM, stu
dents often affix letters of
acceptance, and, occasionally,
a letter of rejection -upside
down- or waitlist -sideways-
in the hallway next to their
door. To most, letter posting
seems a harmless tradition and
one that communicates the
giddiness and excitement that
follows a successful college
application, but to those who
have received the thinner let
ters, the waitlist and rejection
letters, it is a painful reminder
of their own disappointment.
Instead of lending value and
worth to the significance of
selecting a college - you can
only go to one, remember - it
makes the application process
a competition against room
mates, hall-mates, and peers.
and sometimes sours it for oth
ers. The only thing worse than
being rejected from a school -
and often, the more presti
gious, the more fickle the
school- is the daily reminder
that your neighbor was more
fortunate.
It is diffi
cult to
move on
from rejec
tion when
each trip
down the
hall brings
you past the
letter that
you wish
you had
received,
with some
one else's name on it.
Now that I've delivered my
coup d'etat against the tradi
tion of letter posting, a few
thoughts on college applica
tions. If you would not go to a
school, do not apply there.
Apply to schools that you like
- two safeties, two matches,
two reaches - and that are
appropriate to your goals and
will allow you room to grow
and develop! Remember that
teachers will weary of filling
out forms (and their work may
show it), and your own per
formance on the individual
applications will wane. Do not
fill out ten or fifteen mediocre
applications; put your heart
into five or six!
"If you're not accepted,
you don't need a reminder
that someone else had bet
ter luck."
On the Student
Improvement Group this year,
a major concern and topic of
discussion was the fact that
students often neglect to find a
college that matches their own
interests in favor of one with
high name recognition or pop
ularity. If a school is known
for its humanities and you'd
like to be a chemist or an engi
neer, don't apply. Yes, MIT is
prestigious, but what about its
campus, done in "45 shades of
industrial gray"? Cornell is
excellent, but can you handle
the isolation and weather in
Ithaca?
Two final college applica
tion tips: don't get lazy, and
don't be afraid to go all out. If
you're serious about
your applications,
make the effort to
compile a good
resume -include
dates and details
from ninth grade
on— and include it
when you can.
Don't ever surren
der an optional
essay or recommen
dation. Take every
chance to express
yourself and give
admissions officers
more reasons to say,
"Halleluiah, a keeper! Give
this one whatever she/he needs
to come!"
Next year, when you have
your five or six acceptances
and hefty financial aid, enjoy
your success with friends and
family and by all means, share
the good news - but don't
paper the hallways. People
will know where you've been
accepted (especially if they
live on your hall). Remember
that sometimes it just comes
down to luck. Was the admis
sions officer having car trou
ble? No coffee that morning?
Was yours on the bottom of the
stack?
If you're not accepted, you
don't need a reminder that
someone else had better luck.
College is about the next four
years of your life, not letting
everyone know about how
"delighted and pleased" Deans
XYZ are to have accepted you.
NCSSM (and plenty of other
high-schools) should make the
effort to remember as well as
remind us that college isn't
about a brand name, it's about
education - a point we seem to
have dropped when we picked
up the habit of posting letters
and measuring success by
columns of numbers marked
"Applied," "Accepted," and
"Waitlisted."
Remember that twenty-two
acceptance letters plastered to
your doorframe are useless if
the twenty-third letter is a
rejection from the place of
your dreams.
An Afternoon of Science and Math Talents
Lucie Guo
T he day felt extraordi
narily stifling; it was
mid-afternoon of the
ninth. The campus seemed
quiet at first glance with many
students frantically studying
for the upcoming APs, but
inside the ETC was one of the
most spectacular displays of
the year of NCSSM students'
artistic talents. The afternoon
began with the end-of-the year
Choral and Orchestral concert
and finished off with the
Celebration of Dance show.
The orchestra performed
pieces such as Variations on a
Theme of Haydn by Brahms,
0)
stentoria n
the north Carolina school of science & mathematics
1219 broad street, durham, nc 27705
http://www. ncssm.edu/stentorian
Editors-in-Chief: Kristoph Kleiner and Ting Liu
Advisor: John Woodmansee
News & Features Editors; Lucie Guo and Derek Paylor
Layout Editors: Melissa Myotte and Agata Pelka
Op-Ed Editor: Aneesh Kulkami and Jonathan Smith
Photography Editor: Caroline Saul
Website Editor: Aneesh Kulkami
Sports Editor: Javier Deluca Westrate
Staff Writers; Kristoph Kleiner, Ying Liu, Jeff Tang, Aneesh
Kulkami, Mary Blaine, Agata Pleka, Derek Paylor, Lucie Guo
and Rebecca Buckwalter
Photographers: Terri Eller, Caroline Saul and Laura Brown
the first movement of
Schubert's Unfinished
Symphony, and a violin con
certo by Mozart.
The chorale sang pieces
such as Flower of Beauty and
Te Quiero - two beautiful a
cappella love songs. Another
piece was Flander's Field, a
song full of melancholic disso
nance that brings back the
human toll of World War I and
the unfulfilled dreams of its
victims. There were also oth
ers such as Sifuni Mungu,
which was accompanied by
percussion. Song of the Sea,
which was accompanied by a
woodwind quartet, Erev Shel
Shoshanim - a poignant por
trait of the Israeli desert - and
a lively jazz piece called Old
Georgia Brown accompanied
by the Jazz ensemble.
Mr. Scott Laird, the direc
tor, told everyone that within
the course' of the year, the
chorale has developed a strong
sense of community. This, he
believes, comes from the vari
ous strengths of its members
as well as the differences
amongst them. It is also a
result of the group's ability to
accept such differences instead
of having to point fingers.
There is much talent amongst
the group; the choral program
of NCSSM this year has been
extremely successful.
Immediately following the
musical events was the
Celebration of Dance show put
on by the NCSSM Dance
Ensemble. Along with other
dance groups in NCSSM such
as Hip Hop Seminar and
Dance Team, Dance Ensemble
put together a few brief dances
ranging from lyrical to hip-hop
to Fosse.
"It was fabulous!" said
Nichole Caviness, a spectator
of Sunday's show. "The only
thing I would have wanted to
change was to make the show
longer!" As it turned out, the
performance turned out to be
only about 30 minutes long.
Even though the performance
was brief, as many people
agreed, the quality of the show
was exceptional.
"I was very happy with the
show. It was exciting to see
something we've worked hard
on for so long come together
like that," said Lauren
Jackson, a dedicated member
of the Dance Ensemble.
Christine Taxis, the adult
sponsor of the group, agreed
that this year's work has been
incredibly rewarding. "The
dancers this year brought such
diverse talents to Dance
Ensemble; different experi
ences, different fortes, differ
ent inspiration. The best aspect
of sponsoring Dance ensemble
was watching that unique tal
ent amass into great dancing."
The group believed that the
performance was a big suc
cess. In addition to hearing
the applause from the audi
ence, Taxis believed, what was
truly invaluable was "seeing
each and every performer
dance from their heart."
"The drive and determina
tion of NCSSM students never
cease to amaze me," Taxis
continued, "the group's suc
cess is the result of strong
leadership as well. One
dancer in particular, Morgan
Rush, really stepped up to the
plate, helped to choreograph,
organize, and motivate."
The future is bright for the
music and the dance of
NCSSM. All are invited next
year to indulge in the artistic
opportimities at Science and
Math by enrolling in Chorale,
orchestra, or any other music
course! Participating in musi
cal and artistic extracurricular
activities is a great way to let
one's talent shine. When
Lauren Jackson was asked if
she were plaiming on continu
ing to perform with Dance
Ensemble next year, she
exclaimed with "definitely!"
The Dance Ensemble's next
performance will be during Air
Band in May.