College: What happened.

So.  I usually don’t do this type of thing, but, since I wrote about getting deferred from Georgetown previously, I thought I would write about what happened.
  Just to review what I had talked about in my previous post: I had gotten deferred but took it completely as a denial.  I knew there was no hope for me to get into Georgetown.  I was just praying that I wouldn’t somehow renew my hopes to get in and then be crushed again.  I really, really did not want that to happen.  (Look back a few pages to the old post if you’re confused/curious.)  
So after I didn’t get accepted, I had plenty of applications to work on.  That hope of getting in that had somehow sparked inside of me had made it really difficult to work on applications for all of my other schools.  I had less than a month to get all of my other applications in.  I had about 8 more that I needed to do and with an already crazy schedule, I knew I was going to be rushing.  I did about two of my apps during December before Christmas Break but that meant I had 6 applications to do during my winter break.  I had 6 days to do them since I was going out of town and I needed to turn them in before that.  So it was stressful to say the least.  
I secretly really liked working on most of the essay questions and quick takes.  I really, really wanted to write a heart-felt application that was exactly me.  That’s what I set out to do.  My favorite applications were definitely Princeton and Tufts.  Princeton had a quick take section with what is your favorite keepsake, song, book, etc. and an essay that had multiple prompt choices.  I chose: “Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way.” I chose to write about how I had become a strong Christian through listening to Rob Bell every night before I slept.  I wrote several drafts; I really wanted this essay to stand out.  I honestly knew that my academics were definitely not strong enough for Princeton, but I knew that the essay could carry a lot of weight in the application if it stood out.  I really feel like I put my best foot forward with my essay.  It was pretty plain and simple.  There were no extended metaphors or incredibly unique writing styles.  It was just me.  I ended up sending that essay to Brown and Pepperdine (even though it mostly fit Princeton’s essay prompt).  
As I look back now, I realize that getting deferred from Georgetown forced me to really write about who I was.  It was honestly a really meaningful experience from me, and I honestly think that I became a stronger Christian…through college apps.  It’s crazy to think about that.  That if I had gotten in early to Georgetown that I would never have gone through the experience of the rest of my college applications.  It wasn’t just that Princeton app that stood out.  Explaining why I wanted to go to a school, writing about “what makes me tic”, creating a video…I really found it to be insightful to who I was and who I wanted to be.  I can’t really explain, but I can honestly say that while college apps are a pain to do sometimes, they can really mean a lot.  
So as I applied to colleges I still knew that I would not be getting into Georgetown.  I didn’t even think about that.  I’m so glad that that hopeful feeling I had gotten before never came back.  The letter that deferred me told me to send in my senior grades and to send any new accomplishments or any awards that I had received.  Well, I had no awards and no accomplishments and my GPA went down substantially…and since Georgetown only admits about 4% of deferred applicants, it was a fact.  I would not be getting into Georgetown.  So as I applied to colleges I found myself basically choosing three schools that I cared most about.  While Brown and Columbia were my dream schools from the rest of my list, I knew that I would not be getting in (just based on grades and essays and it’s just super difficult in the first place).   For some reason I thought I had a shot at Princeton because of my essay.  I really thought it would stand out and it may have, I’m not too sure.  But basically I had Princeton, Tufts, and NYU as the schools that I would most likely go to.  Princeton, I knew was a reach.  Tufts was a difficult target, and NYU was a target-safety.  I loved Princeton because I was in love with it’s application.  Tufts because it was my second favorite application and I really liked the people that go to Tufts.  And NYU because I liked NYU and I loved the urban feel of New York City.  
So I worked my butt off to get the rest of my applications in and then came several months of waiting.  Finally I had heard from my first college, I had gotten into UCLA.  To be completely honest, I was happy, but not joyous.  I don’t know why.  I should have been overjoyed but I just didn’t feel like I was going to go there because I was pretty set on Tufts, Princeton, or NYU.  Regardless, when UCLA came out, it was finally college-decision season at high school.
I heard from a few more schools before NYU finally emailed its decisions out.  I was on a Friday on the bus to a volleyball game when I found out that I had gotten waitlisted.  I could not believe it.  I was not cocky or anything but I truly felt that NYU was more of a safety-target for me and the fact that I hadn’t gotten in to NYU basically made me think that Princeton and Tufts were way out of reach. That weekend was pretty depressing-not going to lie.  I didn’t know what was going to happen with one week left of college decisions, I knew I’d have all my decisions within a couple of days and, at that moment, my choices weren’t what I had imagined or hoped for. I had heard from approximately half of my schools and actually gotten into all of them…minus NYU.  
No college decisions were going to be sent over the weekend so I spent the whole weekend wondering if any schools were going to post their decisions on Monday or if they would all come on April 30 (which is when the ivy league let their decisions out—I was waiting on four of them).  I knew that I was going to get rejected from Georgetown.  When I applied early action, my mind knew that I wasn’t going to get in but somehow my heart felt there was a chance, but I wasn’t really anxious about it at all this time, since my heart and mind both knew I was going to get denied this time.  People in the mid-atlantic got their decision that Friday.  Seniors in the midwest and east-coast had gotten their letters Saturday.  I figured that west-coasters would be getting decisions on Monday.  
I actually had a volleyball game that Monday, too, so I didn’t go home to get the mail and check for my Georgetown letter I went straight to my game.  I drove around with my Dad after the game with no desire to rush home and check for my decision.  I had heard that two girls, Katherine and Kelly, had gotten in and there was already a girl going for Softball from my school.  Three was already a lot of seniors to admit from my school since Georgetown typically doesn’t admit very many, if any at all.  
When I finally decided to open the mail at about 7:30 at night, I saw my Georgetown envelope.  It was a small envelope.  As I got the mail opener out to open the letter I pretended to read aloud to my parents, “Dear Patrick,  This year we had a record number of applicants apply.  Unfortunately we could not decide to admit you…”… but I broke off after that.  I actually  could not speak.  Inside the envelope there was something describing Georgetown housing and financial aid.  I finally managed to gasp, “what? WHAT?”  Confused, my parents tried to figure out what was going on.  I unfolded the papers inside the envelope to find a letter.  Somewhere on the first line was the word, “Congratulations”.  I literally was stunned.  Shocked.  I didn’t believe it.  I reread the first line.  A million emotions were going through me.  Good emotions.  I was overjoyed.  But I still, could not believe it.  My Mom screamed.  My Dad read the letter.  It was an incredible moment.  I was shaking. Shaking.  I was so, so, so, happy.  I told a few friends.  I told my school counselor.  I did not do anything the whole night besides sit at home in disbelief and bliss.
It’s been about a month and I still can’t believe I got in.  It doesn’t really feel real.  I’m incredibly excited and happy, but I don’t think it will feel completely real or completely hit me until I’m actually there.  I visited a few weekends ago and I’m still in absolute love with the school—the people, the vision, the professors, the lifestyle.  I heard a bunch of seniors making speeches about their experience with Georgetown, and I truly felt so inspired.
I really feel like there was some divine intervention in this.  I feel like God really wanted me to work on those other applications.  He knew it would be good for me.  I really feel like my stats were too low for Georgetown, and I probably would not have gotten in normally, but I really feel like God knew how much I wanted to go and also wanted me to go there.  I’m so happy and so thankful.  
I’ve realized that while we may have our hearts crushed that were set on something, that perhaps it was for an even greater thing that we didn’t get what we wanted.  Maybe there really is a bigger picture that we don’t know about.  I just think that maybe good things don’t happen so that great things can happen.  So if anyone out there is feeling disappointed… have hope.  There may be better things in store.
 

Thank you so much to everyone who read that rant back in December.  That really meant a lot.  If you read this then wow.  I’m literally honored.