Ivy League Connection - Brown '08

After being here a couple of days, I've come to realize that I'm literally surrounded by some of the best and brightest of my generation. I was blown away at first by all the resources available to my peers like college counselors and test prep tutors. One girl that I've become good friends with goes to a school that Tom Hank's son attends and where famous names are thrown around without much excitement or reaction. It was interesting to see how people with such privilege act around one another and also to see their points of view and what they consider social norms. Almost everyone I talked to mentioned a parent who would absolutely die if they didn't get into a certain college. Coming from a neighborhood where it is an accomplishment to graduate high school, this completely goal oriented type of lifestyle was amazing and discouraging to me. How can I compete with kids who have opportunities and resources like these? Inevitably however (with the sort of academically competitive way of life that these kids have) classmates around me began to discuss their SAT and AP test grades and I began to realize that my scores could stand their ground against theirs. It was a surprising and wonderful epiphany that has begun to convince me that maybe that cliche saying "you can do anything you set your mind to" might actually be a good little tidbit of advice not to give up.