Essentials for the College-bound: Decisions, Finances, and Urban Dictionary by Brady

Essentials for the College-bound: Decisions, Finances, and Urban Dictionary by Brady - July 2017 Scholarship Essay

I figure it would be something along the lines of a junior/senior/freshman seminar lecture---if I gave an educational TED talk, I mean, I think it’d turn out a lot like that. It’d be more comfort- or wisdom- or inspiration-oriented than other, subject-specific TED talks. You know, like TED talks about the rules of grammar or the extinction of honeybees or the English Civil War. It would be the overarching nature of my speech that would serve as its greatest strength. This is something almost every kid in the developed world should know.
Now, I can only guess I’ve been chosen to give this presentation because I relate so well with a specific audience in very dire needs of comfort, wisdom, and inspiration: the terrified 17- and 18- and etc.-year-olds about to head off to college. I’d do my best to give these people what they need. I’d do my best to advise just what it is they’ll use to get through this, and how to do so. This TED talk would cover all necessary ground for each step of The College Process, and would be organized thusly: Pre-Admission; Post-Admission, Pre-College; and College, Final Thoughts.
The key balance that needs to be struck in the pre-admissions phase is desire vs. practicality, grandeur vs. possibility. There are hundreds of incredible colleges in the United States, but you can’t go to any of these if you can’t actually afford them. Scholarships are wonderful, and FAFSA is your friend, but it may just turn out that you can’t afford to go to your school of choice. Have backup plans. Have many, many backup plans. Apply everywhere you could ever see yourself practically going to. Wait until they begin to admit you, see what they’re offering, and examine all choices with your dreams in one hand and your wallet in the other. You need to go someplace you can afford, sure, but these next four years will be really, really tough if you wind up going to a university you hate. Make a compromise between your hopes and your reality, then choose the option best for you.
Alright, breathe. One step down. Are we all still okay? Good. We can do this. You’ve gotten into quite a few pretty little colleges and have made the best decision. That’s incredible. Now, here comes the next part---make all the arrangements for this to be paid for. If you weren’t given a full ride, then here’s what we’ll need to do: finalize the finances. This, if you’ve exhausted all your other options, means securing student loans. Don’t panic: it’s something most of us have to do. It’s awful. The American education system is really, really screwy about affordability. I know. I know it’s hard, but it’ll be okay, okay? Finish this, and we can move onto all the nicer stuff. You have a new roommate now! Get to know him or her. Figure out who needs to bring what and see if you can stand each other. Make sure you finish off everything: that means all of the forms and registration fees and so forth, and that’s sort of tedious, but it also means you’ll be getting your schedule. Exciting!
The world of college is big and gnarly, and I mean the latter adjective in pretty much every Webster- and Urban Dictionary-approved sense. Your college life is going to be twisted and knobbly; it may very well be horrible in places; but above all, it will also be beyond any extreme you’ve known thus far---it will be beyond radical and beyond perfection. It will be zenith and nadir. That’s the most important thing to keep in mind here: what goes up must come down, but you can never see what’s at the crest of the next hill unless you climb it.