College Advice from Real Students

If you’re seriously considering a college and you don't know your admissions counselor by name, I think that's a red flag. They’re not reaching out to you enough.

I think the most important thing is to be proactive about getting answers to your questions. That is how you're going to succeed. You don't have to know all the questions to ask... but if you ask a question and you don’t hear a concerted effort to answer it? That's something to be concerned about.

Try to find a place in which you have growth opportunities and also in which you're going to feel special, and you're not going to be just a number. Find a place in which you feel you're going to feel like home.

I was looking for three things: to be able to play soccer, to have a place that is friendly and accepts diversity, and the third thing was academics.

[When I came to America,] at the beginning it was hard... but then the people around me made me feel like I was back home.

Your life is not a to-do list, and you have all the time to do what you need to do. 

There's these pressures to make these deadline decisions... everyone's timeline looks different. It can be four years. It can be two years. You can take a gap year. You can go right in. It's not a defined check box. 

Sit on what is going to satisfy your future goals as well as what gives you the most exciting life. 

If you emphasize community, you'll be able to find it. Take chances. Your early 20s are for taking chances.