Written by Thais Diaz
There are many movies about the transition from high school to college. The scene consists of the main character running to their mailbox waiting for their college decision. However, it’s not like that anymore. Instead of a paper holding the decision, it’s an email. Yet, both the character in the movies and today’s students deal with the same feeling: anxiety. How do they deal with the anticipation as they wait for a decision which could either tell them they’ll be accepted or denied from an institution?
Multiple sources tell how to prepare for the day of admission decisions. For students at MAST@FIU, one decision they were eagerly awaiting was the University of Florida (UF). Luckily, UF sent an email with tips for decision day. They stated things like “don’t stress out too much” and “have a plan for post-decision.” When UF released its decisions, many students cheered, and others cried. One student, who has chosen to remain anonymous, didn’t get into UF and stated they never prepared for the decision. Instead, they were “working the whole day.” After learning their outcome, they said, “I was sad I didn’t get in but, I didn’t make a big deal about it”. When asked if they felt like they should’ve prepared, they said, “yes, because then maybe I wouldn’t have felt so bad."
Another school that many seniors from MAST@FIU waited to hear from was Florida State University. Senior Brunella Fernandez waited patiently to hear back from the school. To be able to relax, she said, “I spent the day talking with friends so I’d be able to ease my anxiousness.” After receiving her decision, she said, “I was very happy to have been accepted and have the opportunity to stay in the state.” When asked if she was glad she attempted to relax, Fernandez stated, “yes, because it didn’t make opening up the email so scary.”
Overall, opening up that decision email can be terrifying for many. University advice pages state that it’s always best to prepare for whichever outcome. According to IvyWise, “students should try to prepare for a multitude of outcomes” since they don’t know the outcome. Like the teenager from the movie waits in suspense by the mailbox, so do the students of MAST@FIU...but by their computer.
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