Katherine Mirani

More by Katherine Mirani

4 Productive Things To Do While Waiting To Hear Back From Colleges

1/3/2013

 

The worst part of applying to college probably isn’t even applying.  It’s waiting—that awful period in between turning in applications and hearing back, when you’ve finished everything and there’s nothing more you can do to determine whether or not you’ll get in.

So what can you do to make this awful in-between period a little less painful?  While I spent most of my post-application time in front of the TV brushing up on my knowledge of the rom-com genre, there are more productive ways to pass the time.  Here some ideas from collegiettes on how to make your wait worthwhile.

Get more involved in your activities

You were involved in a million activities while you were applying to college, and hopefully you were doing them because you loved them, not just to look good on applications.  But application time is stressful, and it’s probably been a while since you were really able to enjoy yourself in extracurricular activities. Now’s your chance to spend some quality time at your activities and not feel like you have to balance ten million things at once.  Help plan events or spearhead a new initiative.

Hannah, a sophomore at NYU, says she used her downtime to spend more time with her gymnastics team.

The 6 Craziest Things High-Schoolers Did To Get Into College

12/12/2012

College applications are a daunting task. You’ve packed countless hours of homework, volunteering and activities into your schedule, and now you have to explain to someone why that means you deserve a spot at their school. You have to make yourself stand out from millions of other students. It’s not easy – three drafts later and that essay still sounds clichéd – but some have found a way to break the mold and make their applications unique. These strategies don’t always get you into that one dream school, but if you’re creative enough to make one, you’re sure to get in somewhere amazing.

Record a song

Jackie Milestone gained Internet fame in the winter of 2012 with her catchy pop song about Yale stealing her heart.  Jackie recorded a song after her Early Admission application was deferred, showcasing not only her excellent guitar-playing and singing abilities, but also impressive collection of Yale merchandise (we counted at least 13 different Yale t-shirts) to bolster her chances.  Unfortunately, she didn’t get in, but she did get to show the world her creativity and resourcefulness!

Rap your way off the waitlist

8 Of The Craziest College Clubs

11/14/2012

Have a love for quirkiness?  Not into joining your run-of-the-mill school paper or homecoming committee?  Last year we compiled a list of 15 crazy college clubs, but there’s plenty more craziness out there if you’re willing to look for it.  From a murder mystery club to a pizza crust appreciation club, check out the wacky options that await you at schools all around the country!

Western Washington University – Foulplay: A Murder Mystery Club

Murder mysteries are no longer just for the detectives in books and movie—now you can become a sleuth too at Western Washington University!  The Foulplay club lets you act out your Sherlock fantasies by giving you the chance to play elaborate murder mystery games.  At a game, you’re given a character book and have a few hours to figure out who the murderer is while cautiously interacting with your fellow friends—who may be your enemies!  According to the Foulplay Facebook page, “It’s to DIE for!”

Florida State University – The Flying High Circus

3 Ways to Add to Your College Apps At the Last Minute

10/26/2012

It’s the fall of your senior year, and there’s one thing on your mind: COLLEGE. APPLICATIONS. It’s the one topic you can count on to come up in every conversation you ever have. Admission deadlines haunt your dreams. Maybe a couple of months ago you were regretting not doing more community service or starting that dog walking business you’ve always dreamed about, but now there are bigger fish to fry. You’re so obsessed with writing the perfect essay and keeping track of supplements, the thought that you might have something more to add hasn’t even crossed your mind.

But it’s not too late! You go to high school for four years, not three, and schools want to know about everything you’ve done up until the moment you hit the send button on your common application (and even after).

There may not be that much time, but it’s enough to show just how much you have to offer as a future collegiette!

1. Volunteer
Volunteering is always an excellent way to make yourself feel good, with the added benefit of upgrading your resume. But it’s not always easy to fit service into your high school schedule – what with all-day classes, sports practices, newspaper meetings and more, you may just not have had time. Think about all your community has given you over the years, and how you’ll be leaving it soon. Now, in your last year, may be the time to give something back!

“You can talk with the charity coordinators and administrators at your school to organize some type of fundraiser, whether it be for food or clothes, or just raising money in general,” says Jessica, an Ohio University senior. “It shows you have initiative, organizational skills, and you care about the less fortunate.”

13 Things to Think About When Making Your College List (Besides the Obvious)

9/17/2012

When coming up with a college list, pretty much everyone uses the same criteria: size, location, academic standing.  Big or small?  City or rural?  Is it top of the list in U.S. News & World Report?
 
Those three questions are great for starting, but there is so much more to college life.  While a school may be small, prestigious and near a beach, the Greek life may be way too much for you.  And while you might want to be in the city, you may be upset when you see how little interaction students actually have with professors.  Check out our list of criteria to see the best questions you can ask when narrowing down your college list.
 
1. Will the basic amenities meet your needs?
While some people may get excited about the idea of living in a classic dorm setting (and sharing a bathroom with more people than you ever thought possible), you may be horrified at the prospect.  Make sure that the school you’re considering will meet your most basic criteria.  If you can’t stand the thought of eating the same soggy pizza every day for dinner, look for a school that is known for offering lots of variety or that gives you plenty of dining dollars along with your meal plan to visit local restaurants.  Or if it’s housing that gives you the jitters, check out this HC list of unique dorms to find a living situation that’s more beautiful, spacious or private than at other schools.
 

10 Ways to Calm Pre-College Nerves

8/14/2012

COLLEGE.
It’s an exciting word, but also a terrifying one.  After months of endless applications, emotional acceptances and rejections, and difficult decisions, you’re finally ready to pack your bags and go.  Or are you?
 
As your departure date draws closer, you’re probably suffering from some serious pre-college anxiety.  You’ll have to make new friends, adjust to new academic expectations, and learn how to live away from home.  That’s a lot of new—no wonder you’re nervous!  But never fear: we’ve compiled a list of some tried-and-true ways to calm down and get excited about the next four years of your life.

1. Talk to current college students
When you’re nervous about something, the best way to feel better is to talk to someone who’s been through it and survived—and no matter where you live, there are sure to be tons of college students home for the summer.

“I talked to a very good friend of mine who was a rising junior,” says Laura, an HC campus correspondent from Virginia Tech.  “Listening to her tell me about her freshman year and everything she went through really put things into perspective that it isn’t as bad as you think and you CAN get through it.”

George W. Bush's head makes an appearance on "Game of Thrones"

6/14/2012

Collegiettes who watch "Game of Thrones" - Did you notice the very famous head perched on a stick in the DVD release?

The show's creators did, and David Benioff and D.B. Weiss laughingly mentioned it on the episode's commentary. George W. Bush's head ended up impaled on a stake because it just happened to be around, the Washington Post reports. Pretty awkward.

"George Bush's head appears in a couple beheading scenes," one of the two creators says in commentary for the episode (watch the commentary on i09). "It's not a choice, it's not a political statement. It's just, we had to use what heads we had around."

HBO released a statement saying they had no idea that this happened but aren't happy about it.

"We were deeply dismayed to see this and find it unacceptable, disrespectful and in very bad taste. We made this clear to the executive producers of the series who apologized immediately for this inadvertent careless mistake. We are sorry this happened and will have it removed from any future DVD production."

Zoë Damacela: Northwestern's Seventeen Magazine Cover Girl

9/22/2011

Seventeen Magazine has announced the winner of their Pretty Amazing contest, and the winner is one of Northwestern’s very own.
 
Sophomore Zoë Damacela has a pretty amazing story to go with her new title.  After enduring homelessness and poverty for more than 10 years, she started her own fashion business as a freshman in high school. She has met Miranda Cosgrove, Tyra Banks and President Obama.  Now, Zoë is the first reader to be on Seventeen’s cover.
 

North Carolina Woman Becomes Fastest Person Ever to Hike Appalachian Trail

8/29/2011

On July 31, Jennifer Pharr Davis completed the fastest ever thru hike of the Appalachian Trail.  She finished all 2,181 miles in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes.
 
Let’s put that in perspective.  The average thru hike of the Appalachian Trail takes four to six months.  Davis hiked the trail in less than two months, at a rate of 46.93 miles per day.  That’s more than 1.5 marathons a day.  Davis was also the first woman ever to set the overall record.
 
Davis did a supported hike, meaning that she did not need to carry a heavy pack when she hiked the trail.  Instead, she would meet her husband at the places where the trail crosses the road to restock food, change clothes or stop for the night.
 
It was not an easy journey.  Though it was Davis’s third time hiking the entire trail, there were still unexpected problems and obstacles that arose throughout.  Davis struggled with terrible shin splints, stomach problems and hypothermia, while also battling bad weather and less-than-ideal conditions along the trail.  At one point she briefly brought up quitting, but her husband quickly talked her out of it.
 
“I felt completely weak, completely empty, I had horrible shin splints and I was sick,” she said.  “So that was my lowest point on the trail, and it was the only time that I talked to my husband about quitting.  And at that point he was able to talk me out of it, he believed.”
 
After that, Davis said, there was no looking back.  They finished the trail and are thrilled to have accomplished such a huge goal.
 

Home Sweet Honduras: One intern's amazing trip to a foreign land

8/17/2011

I just spent a week on a farm in the mountains of Honduras.  I had no hot showers or cold drinks.  The tap water was unusable and bottled water was a precious resource that was locked away until needed.  Meals were an ever-rotating combination of beans, cheese and rice with some meat and eggs thrown in at lunchtime.  I spent most of the week feeling sweaty and damp from the humidity, and didn’t shave once the whole time I was there.
 
So now, why do I wish I were back there so badly?
 
I was at the El Hogar agricultural school, a boys-only three-year program that teaches boys how to farm, raise livestock and live sustainably while operating their farm as a business.  The boys who graduate from the school go into the Honduran workforce leaps and bounds ahead of others their age, having the skills to help keep themselves and their families out of poverty.
 
When I arrived at the school, I was tired from hours of travel and skeptical about what I would find there.  I was sure that with my limited Spanish skills and the simple fact that the boys and I came from totally different worlds, I would form only superficial connections with them.  I had always wanted to go on this trip (my church does it every year) to prove that I could overcome my fears, and maybe even to have a life-changing experience, but I was certain it would be my first and only year on the farm.


Chilling with my fave cow