Background Info. on Pitzer College: Part of the 5 Claremont COlleges located in Claremont, CA. A small private residential liberal college with a student count of 1,200. Classes are quite small with a ratio of 13:1. Top Notch school with a rigid academic program as well as a good athletic department. A highly competitve school and has a 84% of all Medicine bound students getting into a Medical School after graduation.
Here's my story......
After all the cancellation and rescheduling of my "get to know the applicant" interview, I flew out Wednesday morning of last week. I had 5 hours til my interview and I didn't waste any minute of it. I had soo many questions like what kind of questions will the admission counselor ask me? how personal will his questions be? will I be able to refuse to answer? or will that be noted beside my name as "suspicious character" I intentionally scheduled my interview with a specific Admission Counselor that I had met before, and a sense of familiarity comforted and calmed my nerves. I continued to prep what key points I would share in the interview in the Denison Library at Scripps College ( which was like literally across the street and down a long path...it was a nice 5 min walk).
Thinking and jotting down my social biography, writting and scribbling what made sense in my life using the 5 aspects of problem posing, building up my vocabulary by looking up words that have the same meaning but one sounds fancier than the other , all the while constantly reminding myself of why I am here. I get a phone call that almost had me fall backwards off my chair. It was the Pitzer Admissions Office, they called to inform me that I had been re-scheduled with another counselor because the other one was ill. At that moment, I felt like crawling under a rock. This was the third time they had cancelled and rescheduled my interview and then an hour before my interview, they call to tell me I will be talking to a different counselor. Was I being taken seriously?
I went anyways, I figured I had come way too far to turn back now. Alas, it was over, my interview went okay. I had a decent conversation with the counselor who pretty much said what I already knew, "This one and only scholarship for __________ students is very competitive. The competition is stiff so hopefully you are chosen" (in my head..I was **snoring** what else is new? just give me a chance!)
After my interview I hung out with Sefa 'Aina and Karen who works at the AARC (Asian American Resource Center) at Pomona College. They helped me process what happened to me that day. The mental strain and the un-professional like of the situation. I left Claremont feeling complacent about education being do-able, and maybe not at Pitzer.
Back home I had time to unwind and reflect on my Pitzer trip. As I walked around campus, I didn't feel like I fit in as a student. Knowing that I lived a totally different reality than those students who attend Pitzer, I honestly, couldn't picture myself going there. I thought a lot about my working class background, which didn't include SAT/ACT Prepatory classes, tutors and my parents, who migrated here had no prior experience with the American Colleges. I wasn't well equipped but I wanted to be a part of it soo bad. But what sacrifices mentally and emotionally will I have to give up? Thats where I'm at ^_^
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