Everyone has heard of the rhetorical question: “Is the glass half-empty or half-full?” It’s supposed to quickly distinguish between a pessimist and an optimist, but alas, any simple analogy can be extended for a more enlightening effect.
For instance:
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| If I had a mohawk and green skin, that person in my drawing would be me. For now, it shall sadly remain a nameless figment of our imagination, yes? |
You see, when PERDIMOS A TITO asked me to share what I thought made the difference for me as a student to get accepted into MIT in my last blog entry, this “glass analogy” was the first thing to come to my mind. (Thanks for the inspiration, by the way!)
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter which institution your dream school is—one of the most important factors that makes students competitive for the most selective universities is for them to simply quench their thirst for their passions, even IF the glass is “half empty”.
Think of the glass as the opportunities any given student has. For instance, if your high school offers 30 AP classes, has an IB program, and has great extracurricular activities, you would consider yourself to have a glass half-full of opportunities. If your school lacked extracurriculars and more advanced classes, your glass would be half-empty.
But, in the grand scheme of this analogy, it doesn’t matter! Why? Because either way, a student can still be dedicated, passionate, creative, and prepared for an education at a top university even if he or she hasn’t “discovered a cure to cancer”.
When I started looking at MIT, for example, I was stretching my imagination a bit to picture myself going there. My high school was a good high school with great teachers, but we certainly did not “feed students into the Ivies,” as people say. We did not have an IB program, nor were we offered ALL AP classes in existence. Which segues into my next point:
It’s more important to focus on doing the absolute best with what you’re given, rather than worrying about whether the opportunities you have are good enough. (Just drink the water in the glass!)
I went to an all-girls, liberal arts high school, and while I received an amazing education there, it was certainly not an intensely math and science focused school, and not many people graduating from it had ever even applied to my dream school.
But I think that what made the difference was that I filled my days with things that kept my passions quenched. After school, you could find me out on the football field practicing for a band competition or at philosophy club (which a friend and I started during the end of my sophomore year).
The moral of this analogy: If your glass is “half-empty” with opportunities, make your own! When it comes to your education, there is no limit to the questions you can ask and the opportunities that can arise from them. Be curious, and don’t be afraid to be yourself! Even in high school, establish a network with teachers who can mentor you with additional projects and other students who might help you establish clubs and organizations. Become a leader and immerse yourself in what fascinates you.
So whether you’re a pessimist, optimist, or anything in between, get awesome grades and do well on the ACT and/or SAT. Most importantly though, love what you do and completely embrace your passions so that you can drink from that glass of opportunity and garner the inspiration to write memorable college essays and ask for recommendation letters.
Get excited for your future!
Buena Suerte,
Ana Sofia
