Uh Manoa Graduation Application: Fill & Download for Free

I’ve read a lot of these, and since I have some time during my frosh summer, I’m finally answering one yay.I went to an average high school in Hawaii. Apparently it is the top high school in the state for test scores, but there is not particularly a lot of competition in the top of the class. Also, Hawaii isn’t really known for having very great schools in general (we are somewhere around 40th in the nation for average test scores). Really, the only “good” schools are two private schools whose students usually take the spots in top schools.And, let’s just say that I am a procrastinator and got a heavy case of senioritis. I literally wrote my common app essay and my supplements during winter break, and I am not a very great writer. I definitely recommend rising seniors to start your college essays early. Yikes.Anyway, I also started my college search late and didn’t even figure out where I was applying to until maybe a month before RD deadlines. I wanted to go to somewhere on the East Coast because I really needed a change from Hawaii. Other than that, I was looking for somewhere that was not too stressed (obviously, I wanted to focus on academics, but I didn’t want to study all day), a collaborative environment, and somewhere where Greek life was not a big deal. Also, I wanted more of a liberal arts college in that I wanted to take some history and art classes (I only took art in senior year because I never had room in my schedule, but I always wanted more time to pursue it).Anyways, here are my stats:4.2 GPA (W), 4.0 GPA (UW) when I applied (I think. I didn’t really pay attention to my GPA much.), I was 2nd in my class halfway through senior year (I have no idea what rank I was when I graduated)36 ACT, 1550 SAT (both had bad essay scores)800 on Math II and 780 for ChemistryAP courses: (for junior year) Chemistry (5), Physics 1 (5), Psychology (5), Calculus AB (5), English Lang (4); (for senior year) Biology (5), Physics 2 (5), US History (5), Statistics (4), English Lit (3)I played varsity tennis and soft tennis.In terms of volunteering, I had 200+ hours through Key Club (which I was treasurer and VP for) and 100+ hours at a local hospital.If you couldn’t tell already, I’m more of a STEM person, so I joined a lot of science and math clubs (Math Team, HOSA, Science Bowl, Coding Club, Math Bowl) and was an officer for most of them.I had state-level awards. 2nd for HOSA medical math, 2nd Science Bowl team, 3rd Math Bowl team, top 8 in state for Chemistry Olympiad, finalist for a poster contest, Gold Key in art awards.I ended up applying to 12 schools (all regular decision, which I also don’t recommend doing) as a chemical engineering major (except Harvey Mudd which only has a general engineering major).UH Manoa (accepted with full tuition scholarship): This was my only true safety and it’s the flagship state school.UNC Chapel Hill (accepted): I honestly didn’t decide to apply until the day the application was due.Lehigh (accepted with full tuition scholarship): I applied because the engineering school is pretty good, and I know two people who already go there. I was surprised to get the scholarship especially because I didn’t do a separate scholarship application.WashU (waitlisted): This was one of my top choices junior year, but I decided that I didn’t really like the more competitive environment, even though St. Louis seems like a great city. It was one of the first schools that came out and it started a long string of waitlists.Vanderbilt (wailisted): This was definitely one of my top choices (probably 4th). Even though I couldn’t really imagine living in Nashville, it still seems like a charming city and a really great research school.Carleton, Haverford, Williams (all waitlisted): These are all great liberal arts schools, even though they are all very small. I was hoping to get into one, but sometimes, I guess things aren’t meant to be.Ivy Day happened to be my last decisions and also my top three choices.Tufts (waitlisted): This was my third choice, and after I got waitlisted, my hopes for the next two schools were not very high. It’s a great research university that was still liberal arts focused. Also, I just always wanted to go to school in Boston.Brown (rejected): This was my second choice. I really liked the open curriculum’s flexibility and the collaborative environment. This one stung.Dartmouth (rejected): So, Dartmouth quickly became my top choice while applying because I just really liked the atmosphere and could actually see myself attending and experiencing my “ideal” college experience. Even though its engineering program isn’t highly ranked, I knew that a school of its caliber would still provide a great education. Oh wells.Lastly, drumroll… (unless you read my “credentials”):Harvey Mudd (accepted and attending): This was really not expected since a bunch of my friends who graduated last year applied and not a single one got in. Initially, I didn’t want to go. It was the smallest school that I applied to (only about 850 students), even smaller than my relatively small high school of 1300. It is on the West Coast and let’s just say that it’s not known for being the easiest school. However, it is a liberal arts school (despite having a crazy core curriculum) that has one of the best undergrad engineering programs in the nation, but I can still easily take other classes at Pomona, CMC, Scripps, and Pitzer. It’s probably one of the closest colleges on the mainland to home. I am worried about not being able to handle the work, but I know that I’ll do fine with the collaborative environment, close-relationship to amazing professors, and being surrounded by some of the most inspiring college students. I am so nervous and excited to be finally leaving home for college but I know that I will love this quirky, little school in the middle of the LA suburbs.Edit: I forgot to mention that I was seriously also considering Lehigh because of the scholarship I received and it's engineering program. However, right before the commit date, I found out that I got a full ride scholarship to any mainland, four-year college, so it balanced the field in terms of finances. Overall, I felt that Harvey Mudd was a better fit more me personally and obviously has a great undergrad engineering program. Also, Harvey Mudd really stood out to me in terms of encouraging their students to learn out of interest and passion and for intellectual growth instead of being overly focused on future “success”.

I agree with all of the above mentioned responses and there are a couple of other options available for checking on current scholarship opportunities at UHM. If possible, in person or by phone I would recommend checking with the financial aid office. They have insights on current financial assistance available to both out of state and in state undergraduate and graduate students. Secondly, I would suggest checking out the UH star web app that you use to register for classes. It has a financial aid and scholarship application in it. You can set filters so that scholarships you may qualify for appear so as you don’t have to weed through all of the non applicable ones in addition to the ones you may need. Next I would also suggest checking with companies and corporations such as Raytheon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc… they typically have numerous scholarship opportunities to be awarded to deserving students nationwide. Here’s a link to an article listing a few Fortune 500 Company Scholarships. Finally, just apply apply apply. Apply for grants, for scholarships, work study opportunities and whatever you find. It never hurts to try. Anything worth doing takes work and getting aid in bettering yourself is doubly true. I hope this helped! Good luck!!