By Ethan Lu
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
The rising seniors of Westwood High School found themselves bracketed by two major milestones. The first of August kicked off college admissions for Fall 2024 with the rollover of Common App, the digital one-stop shop for college applications. The thirtieth signaled the dawn of a new school year, what will be the new 12th-graders' very last.
In an increasingly competitive and often taxing admissions environment, Hometown Weekly interviewed three senior students, unearthing a sliver of the hopes and anxieties among the students set to thrust themselves upon the world next year.
Samantha "Sam" Schmitz does not fully know her path in university. “I feel like I’m mostly undecided right now,” she explains on the question of majors, “and right now that’s a good place to be.” When pressed, however, she expressed interest in a history concentration.
An avid fan of Bruce Springsteen, Sam wants to solidify what she wants out of her education after getting in. “I got really into astronomy as a kid, got into history and guitar in high school, [and they’ve] all become big parts of my life,” Sam recounts. "I'm excited for that freedom to choose my educational path."
Fresh off a foray in Maine, Sam rattles off the suite of schools she has toured—mostly small, mostly in New England, and mostly dedicated to the liberal arts. Tolerance and diversity are major pluses.
Applying to many and liking nearly all, Sam takes exception only to Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution, finding it less inclusive and too pretentious.
"Dartmouth is one of the schools I really, really like," reveals Sean Tao, a star student and captain of the school robotics team. "I love this focus on creating a collaborative community, while still having access to world-class faculty and research."
Sean aims for the higher rungs on the American college ladder, his search defined by a definite, if broad, focus on STEM.
"My biggest priority is the community," the affable senior declares, not wanting to be "just another number on a page."
"Since freshman year, I have been actively seeking out positions where I can effect change… I really enjoy helping transform the [robotics] team while gaining valuable leadership experience," Sean offers on his part in the high school community, his ironclad fleet of extracurriculars. "I really started to care about these things not because of college applications, but because I genuinely enjoy those things."
As for his top choice of school? The affable young man is “more than happy” to divulge that detail to friends, less to strangers.
Sam, by contrast, produces a curated list from her phone of everything she liked about her favorite, Middlebury College. "I really, really, really want to go there," she enthusiastically admits.
Sam gushes about the small college's nestling in Vermont's Green Mountains, its observatory, its recording studios, and its satellite campus in California. She especially emphasizes its low student-to-faculty ratio. "You can get a really personal relationship with your professor," she enthuses. "You're not just another student in a class of 500."
To underscore her enthusiasm, Sam leans into her phone screen. Inches from the camera, a manic glint in her widened eyes, she thunderously, passionately pleads for Middlebury to accept her.
Westwood High School seniors are diverse, dedicated, and deeply interesting, your correspondent notwithstanding. Their aspirations are immense in breadth and depth—a breadth too great for one newspaper column, and a depth that betrays the great deal of thought and effort put into their pursuit. How colleges answer their aspirations will only be seen in the year ahead.
