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Sorting Out Their Goals, and Options - NYTimes.com

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Sorting Out Their Goals, and Options - NYTimes.com

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Zacharie Ryan-Gilliam AGE 18, senior HOMETOWN Yonkers HIGH SCHOOL Roosevelt High School APPLICATIONS 50 When Zacharie Ryan-Gilliam moved with his family to Yonkers from Maryland two years ago, he transferred to Roosevelt High School from the McDonogh School, a private preparatory school in suburban Baltimore.

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Higher Anxiety About Higher Education - The New York Times

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Higher Anxiety About Higher Education - The New York Times

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"We don't know how we will do that," she wrote. "We will have three children at home still, and we have lost 66 percent of our income, due to a layoff and a new job that pays substantially less."

Little wonder, then, that applicants who may have once dreamed of attending elite, private colleges have been forced to give serious consideration to other options because of their finances.

One of them is Tyler K. Calder, 17, a senior at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. While Tyler has been accepted to New York University, Boston College and Boston University, none has offered her what the University of Connecticut has: a full, four-year scholarship. Which has left Tyler puzzling over what to do.

"It felt as if the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders," she wrote. "Although my decision is far from final, I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to attend a great school free of charge."

Other seniors throughout the region are grappling with their own set of circumstances as they make their final choice for college. Some of their stories appear below.

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VICTORIA SCOTT
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Newark

HIGH SCHOOL Barringer High School

APPLICATIONS 20

Victoria Scott is loyal to her hometown of Newark, and to her state. But for higher education, she wants to consider colleges that will let her experience living somewhere else, like Virginia Union University in Richmond, or Morgan State University in Baltimore.

"It's not that far away," she said. "I want to go away and then come back to New Jersey."

Her mother, Brenda Scott, says not so fast. "It will probably be more in New Jersey, due to the economics," she said.

Victoria was insistent. "No, no, no."

But so was her mother. "At the end of the day, we're the ones who have to pay," Ms. Scott said.

Such is the frequent tug of war between child and parent, and this is being made tougher by hard times and the family's limited resources.

Victoria, the younger of Ms. Scott's two children, has a choice of more than a half-dozen colleges that have accepted her so far, including Rutgers and William Paterson Universities in-state and Virginia Union, Morgan State and the University of New Haven.

She was expecting to hear any day from Smith and Spelman Colleges.

"For the longest time, I have wanted to go there," Victoria said of Spelman, which is in Atlanta.

But with some resignation she said, "It's going to be the school that offers me the most money."

Victoria attends Barringer High School in Newark, which has 2,000 students. Only a quarter of her classmates passed the state's graduation exam on the first try, and even fewer are likely to go on to four-year colleges.

Victoria is the senior class president and is carrying a 3.4 grade point average.

Even though Barringer may not compare with high-achieving high schools, Victoria said she had strong and supportive teachers.

And Victoria has been outspoken in efforts to bring more opportunities to city students. She was a witness in court this winter in the latest chapter of the state's long-running school-financing case, Abbott v. Burke, testifying that her school and other urban schools like it need more money for economically disadvantaged students.

Now, with college ahead of her, Victoria said she is confident that she is ready.

"I've done everything I can," she said. "I feel I'm in the right place."
JOHN MOONEY
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DANNY CASARELLA
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Ossining, N.Y.

HIGH SCHOOL Archbishop Stepinac High School, White Plains

APPLICATIONS 8

Danny Casarella didn't spend much time worrying about getting accepted to college. Paying for it is another matter.

Danny has maintained a 3.9 grade point average at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains.

He played defensive tackle for the football team and is editor of the yearbook. Danny, who lives in Ossining, is also a Life Scout, a Boy Scout rank earned through extra leadership positions, service projects and merit badges.

He applied to eight colleges: Boston College, Northeastern, Fordham, Iona, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo and Maryland.

Danny was rejected by Boston College and wait-listed by Geneseo. Binghamton wait-listed him for admission for the fall of 2009, but guaranteed him admission for the fall of 2010. As of the first week of April, he hadn't yet heard from Maryland. He was accepted at the other four schools.

Now it's decision time, and Danny is weighing the attractiveness of programs and campuses against the money available to help pay his way. Originally, Northeastern was his top choice, but the university has not offered any money. Danny qualified for a federal loan of $5,500, but tuition and other costs at Northeastern are more than $48,000 a year. The state schools are cheaper - tuition runs about $5,500. SUNY Buffalo offered $2,500.

His current first choice is Fordham. He visited the campus recently and was highly impressed.

"I've always had a very Roman Catholic background," Danny said. "Going to church while I am away at school is something I really want to do. At Fordham, I loved the Jesuit feel."

Fordham has offered him $5,600 a year, but tuition and other costs average close to $50,000. Danny has applied for several scholarships, and the outcome will determine his decision.

He has had several frank talks about finances with his parents: Dan, an electrician, and Patricia, a nurse. They explained that most of Danny's college fund was invested in stocks and much was lost in the recent economic downturn.

The Casarellas are refinancing their house to help pay for Danny's college expenses.

"Like all parents, they always tell me to go where I want to go," he said. "But I really don't want to be a burden on my family."
KATE STONE LOMBARDI
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HELENE CHEN
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Jersey City

HIGH SCHOOL High Tech High School, North Bergen

APPLICATIONS 9

Helene Chen of Jersey City boarded a Greyhound bus last weekend with her mother for a four-hour ride to Baltimore, to check out the Maryland Institute College of Art, one of several colleges that have accepted her.

During their short stay, she and her mother toured the campus and listened to a presentation for hundreds of other high school seniors who have been accepted, and their families.

There was time to visit the city's Inner Harbor, and Helene's mother, Rita, later split off to visit the financial aid office.

When they arrived back home around 4 a.m. on Monday, there was another prize waiting: an acceptance package from Rhode Island School of Design was in the mail.

"I have a lot to consider," said Helene later that afternoon, still groggy from her all-night travels.

Helene, who attends High Tech High School in North Bergen, a magnet school in the Hudson County vocational-technical district, is first and foremost an artist.

She has been accepted to arts schools like Parsons and the Pratt Institute, and also to Northeastern, Rutgers and Syracuse, among others. Of the nine schools she applied to, only Carnegie Mellon turned her down.

Helene, whose SATs topped 2000 combined (out of 2400), is a talkative girl, eager to show her works of art and talk about their meaning. One piece in the portfolio she showed to colleges is a self-portrait, showing hands emerging from her face. "I was feeling something wanted to come out, feeling a little pent-up," she said.

William Kennon, an art teacher at the school, said about her, "She's always finding new angles to interpret what's inside her."

Though Helene is looking for the best art program she can find, money will be a factor as she chooses a college. Her mother, a bank examiner, earns about $70,000 a year, and has money saved for Helene's education.

But Ms. Chen recently learned that she has lymphoma, requiring chemotherapy, and Helene wants to avoid adding to her burden.

"I definitely need to go to the cheapest option," she said. "I can't put my mother into debt."

Helene expects to hear soon from more schools about financial aid, and is researching other sources of aid. "I'll be looking at all those random, strange little scholarships they have online," she said. "Google is my friend."
JOHN MOONEY
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GREGORY MAGILL
AGE 18, senior

HOMETOWN Westport, Conn.

HIGH SCHOOL St. Luke's School, New Canaan, Conn.

APPLICATIONS 8

Gregory Magill learned he had been accepted to Wake Forest University while he was attending his grandmother's funeral in New Hampshire. His next-door neighbor in Westport was checking the family's mail for college letters, and called Gregory to relay the good news.

"It was bittersweet," said Gregory, a senior at St. Luke's, a private school in New Canaan, Conn., whose acceptance to Wake Forest was initially deferred after he applied in the fall for early admission.

Gregory eventually applied to eight universities including Lehigh, Syracuse and Indiana. He was accepted at seven, but came back to his first choice, Wake Forest, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Gregory said Wake Forest meets all his criteria: He wants to attend a medium-size college with a strong business department, and one where sports are a big part of campus life.

Gregory, a member of St. Luke's lacrosse team, is an avid sports fan. Last October, he attended a Wake Forest-Clemson football game the day before his admissions interview.

"It was the first big-time football game I ever attended," he said. "I loved it - the energy, the excitement. I bonded with the students and knew I fit in there. I wanted that kind of atmosphere for myself."

As vice president of the Six Man Club, a St. Luke's fan club that promotes school sporting events, Gregory already knows a lot about school spirit. "We organize cheers, make T-shirts and basically get everyone out to the home games."

He is equally passionate about cars. "I love cars. I love looking at them, reading about them and working with them," he wrote in his college essay, which discussed the future of Detroit's Big Three automakers. His interest translated to a summer job at the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Greenwich, Conn., where he said he loved going to work every day.

Gregory, who was born in Norwalk, Conn., and has lived in Westport since he was 7, said he is looking forward to a change of scenery. "I purposely chose colleges that are farther away," he said. "I'm looking for a new experience."

While finances are not an issue for Gregory's family - his father is a banker and his mother is an interior designer - he is pragmatic about his purpose in going to college. "Good school spirit means a strong alumni network," he said. "I want to work hard, have fun, but my goal is to get a good job."

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ZACHARIE RYAN-GILLIAM
AGE 18, senior

HOMETOWN Yonkers

HIGH SCHOOL Roosevelt High School

APPLICATIONS 50

When Zacharie Ryan-Gilliam moved with his family to Yonkers from Maryland two years ago, he transferred to Roosevelt High School from the McDonogh School, a private preparatory school in suburban Baltimore. He quickly caught the attention of Shannon Burton, assistant principal of the senior class, even though he was only a junior.

"We knew we had a star here because he is so well spoken," said Dr. Burton, who also noticed Zacharie's high SAT scores. "I promised him last year that I'd help him get a free ride to college."

Dr. Burton has more than fulfilled his promise. By the end of March, Zacharie had been accepted by 10 colleges and had received more than $400,000 in scholarship offers.

Working closely with Dr. Burton, Zacharie had applied to 50 colleges, including many historically black colleges in the South. They worked every day after school and many nights and weekends last fall to complete the mountain of application forms.

"I actually didn't have a preference," said Zacharie, who has participated in three varsity sports (football, wrestling and track), has an 88 average and is in the top 20 percent of his class. "My guidance counselor advised me on the list. I was looking for schools that would offer me scholarships."

Most colleges have offered him some scholarship money, and two black colleges have offered full rides: Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and Edward Waters College in Florida.

Zacharie wants to teach English someday, but other educational aspects of Lincoln make it appealing.

An agriculture professor at Lincoln recently called Zacharie at home to encourage him to choose Lincoln.

"He wanted to talk to me about my essay," Zacharie said. "I thought I had spoken from the heart in it. I wrote about how agriculture is a good profession for minority students because a lot of minorities are forced to live in inner-city areas and they lose where their roots are from."

Lincoln is his mother's top choice because the college says more than 20 percent of its graduates go on to medical school - a sign of Lincoln's quality, Zacharie said. For Zacharie, the fact that the writer Langston Hughes graduated from Lincoln is more significant.

Zacharie and his mother, Eura Gilliam, who moved to Yonkers to work for Amtrak at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, plan to start making college visits over the next few weeks.

Lincoln is first on his list.

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LAURA ROSENFELD
AGE 18, senior

HOMETOWN East Islip

HIGH SCHOOL East Islip High School

APPLICATIONS 12

Laura Rosenfeld has always been interested in music. At East Islip High School, she is a violinist in the symphony orchestra and was part of the pit orchestra for the recent school play. But while music is her passion, she sees journalism as her future.

"I really want to write for a magazine one day," Laura said.

When she started applying to colleges, Laura, whose grade point average exceeds 96 and who has an SAT score of 1970, opted not to seek early decision, because among her 12 applications, there were five "favorite choices."

"In the beginning, my first choices were N.Y.U., Northwestern, Columbia, UPenn and Brown," Laura said. "But then I narrowed it down to two: Northwestern and Brown. I decided that I wanted to go further away from Long Island and to experience another area."

College visits with her family to most of the schools were part of the process, beginning with the University of Pennsylvania.

"I liked how it was in the middle of a city but had its own campus," she said.

A trip to Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., followed during Christmas break.

"It was freezing and there was snow everywhere, but I loved that it was more suburban and a typical college campus," she said.

When the responses arrived, Laura learned that she had been accepted by 9 of the 12 colleges, rejected by Columbia and Brown and wait-listed at Penn.

The rejection by Brown made her decision easier, she said. The choice became even more exciting because Northwestern has a highly respected school of journalism.

Although some of the colleges that accepted her offered scholarship money - some for half the tuition, others as much as $10,000 - she and her family discussed the options and agreed that Northwestern would be her best destination, even though it did not offer her any scholarships. Some loans offered by Northwestern will help cover the $38,000 annual tuition, she said, although she is still not sure of the details.

"My family wanted me to choose the college that's right for me, and where I really want to go," Laura said.

She said she was the only one of about 400 seniors in her graduating class who had applied to Northwestern.

"I don't know anybody else who's going there," Laura said, but she didn't seem a bit concerned.
LINDA SASLOW
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Several seniors have been chronicling their experiences during the endgame of this year's college admissions process in The Choice, a new blog. Here are excerpts from one student: FAITHLYNN MORRIS
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Bridgeport, Conn.

HIGH SCHOOL Central Magnet

APPLICATIONS 10
April 4, 2009, 6:54 a.m.
I knew I'd been rejected by N.Y.U. before I even got the letter.

Honestly. I'd been bracing myself for the upset in the weeks since two of my friends - both of whom are in the top 1 percent of my senior class, a distinction I simply cannot boast - received their acceptance packages. I knew it was no mistake that I hadn't received any news of my own that day.

I hadn't been fooling myself into thinking that this pipe dream would be any more than just that, so when I opened the thin envelope, I was both unsurprised and undaunted. Don't worry about it, New York University Committee on Undergraduate Admissions; no need to express any regrets. For whatever reason, N.Y.U. wasn't in the cards for me.

Life goes on. And now it's time for me to decide where it is I'll be going on.

I'm thankful that my choices have been narrowed for me, but I'm less appreciative - far less - that I've yet to receive all of my financial packages. I'm hoping these are just systematic snafus and not signs of Faithlynn's Financial Aid Apocalypse. I need to know about aid before I get my heart set on one school.

My mother and I have been struggling for some time and it is important to me, vitally so, that I can ensure a strife-free future for both of us. Paying off loans for decades to come wouldn't quite fit with that plan. But then again, neither would a career as a journalist in these times, what with print journalism almost on its way out.

I'm thinking too much. Funny though, I haven't even scraped the surface of all the things I'm going to have to think about in the coming weeks.

As of the middle of last week, Faithlynn had been accepted to the University of Connecticut, Quinnipiac, St. John's, Massachusetts, Fordham and Emerson. She had been rejected by Boston University and N.Y.U.
FAITHLYNN MORRIS
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JENNIFER POOLE
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Yonkers

HIGH SCHOOL Lincoln High School

APPLICATIONS 17

Jennifer Poole is the valedictorian at Lincoln High School in Yonkers, and she is the most unassuming academic superstar that the principal there, Edwin Quezada, said he had ever seen.

She doesn't flaunt her average of 100.66 percent or her excellent SAT scores in a school where last year only 33 percent of the graduating class went on to four-year colleges, according to the New York State Department of Education.

"I asked her once, 'What do you want to change in this world?' " Mr. Quezada said. "She said: 'I truly want to change what is meant by the word acceptance. I think a lot of people go around saying they are accepting, but they aren't.' "

In the last few weeks, Jennifer has been hearing the word acceptance a lot. She applied to 17 colleges as a premed or biomedical engineering student and has been accepted by every one, most of which promised her scholarship money.

While she was opening her much-anticipated fat envelope from Columbia, she received an e-mail message on her cellphone - it was her acceptance from Harvard.

Hearing from both universities at once made Jennifer lose her typical reserve.

"I was running all over the house," she said. "My parents were home, and they were really excited, and then we called my grandmother."

As a little girl, Jennifer always thought she wanted to go to Columbia. But now, in addition to Harvard, she is also considering the Sophie B. Davis School of Biomedical Education at City College of New York, from which she could graduate with a medical degree in seven years.

"I'm waiting to hear from them on money," said Jennifer, who will visit Harvard for the first time this month. "They all say they try to meet everybody's financial needs as best as possible."

Harvard will have to be generous to entice Jennifer, an only child who likes the idea of staying in New York. Her father, Terry, is a New York City police officer and her mother, Annette, is a freelance designer of wedding accessories.

As she visits her top college choices in the next few weeks, Jennifer has a plan in mind.

"I will be looking to see how I feel about the campus and the people," she said. "I'll try to picture myself there next year."

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JAMES CARROLL
AGE 18, senior

HOMETOWN Darien, Conn.

HIGH SCHOOL Darien High School

APPLICATIONS 11

James Carroll estimates that he and his family have driven more than 1,000 miles to visit dozens of colleges around the Northeast since last spring. Now, with less than a month remaining before he has to decide which school to attend, James is planning one last excursion. This time, however, he said he would be evaluating the colleges he visits with a new perspective - that of an accepted student.

James has received offers from nine schools including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bucknell University, Colgate University and Carnegie Mellon University.

"I'm looking to see what has changed since the initial visit and recalculate the ambience," said James, who describes himself as a "math and science guy." Indeed, on his applications, James, the son of two actuaries, listed computer science, physics and mathematics - in that order - as his possible majors.

"I still have a lot to think about," he said.

James said that on these second visits, he planned to meet with the track coaches. As a middle-distance runner for the Darien High School track team, he said that the quality of a college's track program was not a factor during the initial application process but it might be a criterion used to narrow his choice.

He said that he thinks in numbers and that his facility with them allows him to recall easily his best times for the mile races he has participated in since middle school. In the seventh grade, James said, he ran a mile in 7 minutes 1 second, but now he can run it in 4 minutes 49 seconds.

"Track has taught me the importance of sticking to something," he said, noting his steady improvement as a runner over the years.

James said he loves the outdoors and knew that he did not want to attend college in a big city where students leave the campus on weekends. "I like grass and trees. I want to hang out on campus during the weekend and play Frisbee."

As an Eagle Scout, James is a regular camper and hiker and is well versed in survival skills. He is confident that this knowledge will help him as he prepares for college. "I've camped in hurricanes and subzero temperatures. I can survive most situations."

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DEVIN CLINE
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Westfield, N.J.

HIGH SCHOOL Westfield High School

APPLICATIONS 8

When it came time to think about college, Devin Cline took a relatively laid-back approach.

"I started a little late, I would say," said Devin, the middle child in a family of three boys. "I usually try to stay away from the overachievement mentality that's prevalent where I go to high school, and my parents mostly left it up to me,"

But Devin, a National Merit Scholarship finalist who will graduate with a weighted grade-point average of 4.14, also understood that he possessed an intellect and passions that would make him an excellent candidate at many colleges. He applied to eight: Georgetown, (rejected); McGill (accepted); George Washington (accepted); Boston University (accepted); Northwestern, where both parents had earned degrees (wait-listed); Tulane (wait-listed); the University of Virginia (rejected); and Maryland (accepted).

He has narrowed his choices to three: McGill, in Montreal; George Washington, in Washington; and Boston University. As of last weekend, he was leaning toward McGill, and planning to drive to an open house there with a friend. "It'd be really cool to study in a foreign country," Devin said. But he was also planning to revisit other colleges.

"I've just been trying to visualize what my life would be at each school," he said. He finds the process stressful but exciting.

College costs are important, but not a deciding factor. A relative has volunteered to chip in, but Devin said he would rather not accept the help "out of my own conscience." George Washington has offered him a $15,000 annual scholarship; McGill, which costs less, a $3,000 entrance scholarship.

Devin once planned to major in journalism - he is the opinion editor of his school newspaper - but has decided against declaring a major so soon. He said he is interested in government, history and politics. Devin also likes community service: He volunteers at a soup kitchen and has traveled twice to Guatemala to help build houses.

At college, he said, he would like to continue writing and making music (he is the bass guitarist for a band, Banana Hammock). He seemed unconcerned about social climate.

"I'm the kind of person who fits into most crowds," he said. "There aren't many people I don't like. I certainly have my own group of friends. We're an interesting bunch. If anything, I'd say we're the weirdos at school. A little crazy, but not crazy dangerous."

One thing is for sure: Devin hungers for city life. "When you're stuck in suburbia your whole life, you have a craving for adventure," he said. "I've lived my whole life in one house."
MARY JO PATTERSON
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JACQUELINE MORGEN
AGE 18, senior

HOMETOWN Harrison, N.Y.

HIGH SCHOOL Harrison High School

APPLICATIONS 14

Hanging out with the girls from Swarthmore College's volleyball team was a thrill for Jacqueline Morgen when she had an overnight there recently.

They shared her passion for volleyball and her drive to excel beyond the sport - in academics and in life.

Swarthmore is a Division III college, so there are no athletic scholarships, but the coach and the players did their best to recruit Jacqueline, taking her to classes and a baseball game.

"I want to be in a team environment with those girls," said Jacqueline, a student at Harrison High School in Westchester County. "I love playing volleyball."

But volleyball is not her only consideration. Salutatorian of her class, she has been accepted to a list of colleges that offer advantages that she realizes may outweigh her desire to be on a team.

Choosing from among them will not be easy.

Jacqueline applied to 14 colleges and was accepted at 11. She was wait-listed at the University of Pennsylvania and rejected by Yale and Middlebury.

She has already narrowed her choices by largely ruling out SUNY Binghamton, Tufts University, Colgate, Skidmore College and the Universities of Rochester and Vermont.

But Cornell is a strong contender.

"It has some of the best facilities and offers a great education all around," Jacqueline said. "It's the largest of all of my options, so if I want to go larger I would go to Cornell. If I want to go smaller, I would go to Swarthmore."

Then there is Barnard College, in Manhattan.

"Having such a close relationship with Columbia is good, and I could take advantage of all that the city has to offer," she said.

And Jacqueline is also considering Washington University in St. Louis.

"It has some of the happiest students, and it seems like a nurturing and positive place to be," she said.

The process of visiting all the colleges with her family has not made the decision any easier.

"I am looking to make sure that the people I'm meeting when I go on campus for a visit are friendly and open," Jacqueline said.

This makes her think of Swarthmore.

"The girls at Swarthmore were really great to me and said, 'Please, we want you to come,' " she said.

On April 17 and 18, Jacqueline is attending a gathering at Swarthmore for accepted students.

She might even be able to fit in a little volleyball.

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GEORGIA SQUYRES
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Maplewood, N.J.

HIGH SCHOOL Columbia High School

APPLICATIONS 9

At this point, there is only one thing of which Georgia Squyres is certain.

The college where she hopes to spend the next four years is going to have a "C" in it, somewhere.

After a tumultuous March - her description - Georgia is torn between Columbia University, Cornell and the University of Chicago.

"I'm trying to enjoy the whole process," she said, "but it gets increasingly stressful as my other friends make their decisions and I don't know yet."

Georgia is planning a trip to the University of Chicago, which she researched but did not visit, as well as repeat visits to Columbia and Cornell. At each campus, she expects to wander and wait for the "gut feeling" that will clarify things.

"Before, when I visited, it was like, 'This would be cool, if I could even get in, but don't get your heart set on it,' " she said. "Now, you know you're in. You can get excited. It's 'Oh, my God, I'm going to college!' This could conceivably be my life four months from now."

It is a little surprising that Georgia found the admissions process tumultuous, considering her credentials. The older of two girls, she was thinking about college as early as the fifth grade, and made her first round of college visits when she was a sophomore.

Her parents, she said, exerted no pressure on her choices. "It was always, 'As long as you're trying,' " she said. "It's been really lovely."

Striving to excel, she sought out challenging classes and Advance Placement courses. By the end of her junior year, she had a weighted grade-point average of 4.75. Still, she said, "the best way to describe me is laid-back and down to earth."

"A lot of kids who work very hard and look at the harder colleges tend to take themselves really seriously," she said. "I tend to take myself less seriously."

Georgia considers herself "kind of a nerd" who likes science and math. She plays piano and drums. "I'm really bad at visual arts and athletics," she said. "Except for badminton. I'm doing very well there. I cling to that."

She applied to nine colleges: Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, the University of Chicago, Michigan, Rochester, Johns Hopkins and Rutgers. College costs were not a limiting factor, but Georgia plans to get a job at college to help with expenses.

Yale and Princeton rejected her, but she was not fazed. "I'm a pragmatist," she said. "You never know, especially with the Ivies. It could be a case where you worked really hard, but they have 20 kids that look just like you."
MARY JO PATTERSON
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SHEILA GARCIA
AGE 17, senior

HOMETOWN Freeport, N.Y.

HIGH SCHOOL Freeport High School

APPLICATIONS 11

Sheila Garcia has always dreamed of going to Harvard. Or if not Harvard, then definitely an Ivy League university.

"My parents are immigrants, and they wanted to give me the opportunity to go to a better school than they did," said Sheila, a senior at Freeport High School whose parents, René and Clara, are from El Salvador. "My dad went to college, but my mom never did, and this was my chance to follow my dream."

Sheila applied to 11 colleges - including all of the Ivy League universities. As an honors students who ranks fourth in her class of 382 with almost perfect SAT scores and an impressive portfolio of extracurricular activities that includes being president of the Key Club, a member of the tennis team, the marching band and a school-based Christian club, Sheila was optimistic.

On March 31, at exactly 5 p.m., when the Ivy League colleges posted their acceptances online, Sheila signed on to learn her fate. To her surprise, she had only one acceptance - to Cornell - and was wait-listed at Penn.

"I was disappointed when I saw that I had been rejected at the other schools," Sheila said. "I was moping around for a while, but then I started to get excited about going to Cornell."

Financial aid was a factor in looking at colleges, Sheila said. Early this month she learned that Cornell had awarded her $34,000.

Sheila plans to major in business and economics at Cornell. "Whatever I do in the future, it will have something to do with business," she said.

No stranger to Cornell, Sheila visited many times when her brother, Benjamin, who is now 23, went there. She is encouraged by his career path since graduating from Cornell last year.

"He has a job now at J. P. Morgan and is very successful," she said.
LINDA SASLOW
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MATT FRIES
AGE 18, senior

HOMETOWN Lynbrook, N.Y.

HIGH SCHOOL Lynbrook High School

APPLICATIONS 8

Matt Fries had a wish list for the college he would attend.

"I wanted a school in a big city, with a diverse student body and a really vigorous international business program," Matt said.

Matt, who has a 95 grade average at Lynbrook High School and scored 2020 out of 2400 on the SAT, had another interest that influenced his application process: a love of foreign languages. This year he is taking Spanish, French and Chinese, and last year he took Japanese.

Matt recalled that when he and his parents visited McGill University in Montreal, "I liked the idea of being in a city that was different from my own and where they spoke another language."

But McGill did not have the international business program he wanted.

Last summer, when Matt spent a month in Antibes, France, studying French at the Lycée Horticole, his interest in going abroad for college grew stronger.

"I was one of 200 students from all over the world, and I loved how everyone was so different but we could all be friends," he said. "I decided that I really wanted to be in an international setting for college."

Matt's parents, however, did not share his enthusiasm.

"They said that I could apply to only one school in Europe," he said. "But I don't think they really took it too seriously."

Among the eight colleges to which Matt applied was the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University in the Netherlands. His other applications went out to McGill, New York University, the University of Southern California, the University of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Boston University and George Washington.

Rotterdam was the first school to accept him, and after that, Matt knew his decision was made.

"When I got in, it finally hit my parents that this was real," he said.

Other acceptances followed from four more colleges, with rejections from U.S.C. and Penn and a wait listing from N.Y.U.

During February break, Matt and his parents, Elena and Robert, visited Rotterdam, where he handed in his acceptance papers.

"I'm not the homesick type, and I'm good being on my own," Matt said. "Already, I've met a few people on Facebook from different countries, and we're getting to know one another."
LINDA SASLOW

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"We don't know how we will do that," she wrote. "We will have three children at home still, and we have lost 66 percent of our income, due to a layoff and a new job that pays substantially less."