Allegedly, there are two types of people at this school. The first kind are people who wanted to come to Stevens: it was their first choice school and they applied early decision. They love Stevens, maybe not its price tag, but to them that’s a problem to be dealt with in four to five years. The second type are people who declare proudly that Stevens was not their first choice school. They’re generally “Pinnacle,” but came here because either they didn’t get into their top choice, or because of good scholarship.
Where do I stand in the midst of these archetypes? In between. Stevens was my first choice school. It didn’t have the highest US News ranking among all the places I applied, but I felt the most comfortable with the community here. I didn’t apply early decision, but my heart was set on coming here after completing the summer program in high school. Stevens was somewhere between a “match” and “safety” for me; I got a good scholarship. But it wasn’t a safety, I wasn’t invited to Pinnacle or the “President’s Leadership Circle” (which I wouldn’t even know of without Pinnacle friends). I wouldn’t have cared much, but extra money in the summer would be nice.
What distinguishes those twenty, thirty kids from the rest of us? What does it mean to be a leader? I don’t know. I was never a club president or captain in high school. Even in band, I only reached second chair. It’s not that I didn’t try – I tried very hard to get better. And by senior year, I knew I had established myself in all the activities I was in. But that would’ve been too late. If I wanted to be a leader, I should have shown curiosity and passion from freshman year. If I had, I would have been labeled “a natural” and would have been a candidate for leadership by senior year.
There was something that all successful kids seemed to have in common. Fearlessness, inherent confidence. Even if they were different, they didn’t care. They just did what they had to, and did it to the best of their ability. They often had older siblings who shared inside knowledge with them: they knew which clubs to join, they knew which teachers to take. And those teachers already had biases towards them because of their really great sibling. I didn’t have any of that. I only had myself to learn everything.
Maybe it takes the school two weeks to fix a toilet from flushing eternally or to fix a shattered door. Still, to be here is pretty sweet. Stop saying things like “I could’ve gone somewhere nicer.” Admissions didn’t deem you as the elite to put down our school. You don’t have to listen to me. I don’t have the right to tell you how to live. I only have my opinion, which is your choice to consider or disregard. Realize that there are some really incredible peers around you, especially those individuals who love Stevens so much that they’re taking out loans to be here. Look across the Hudson and envision the things you will do with the next few years. Not everyone is as lucky as you; make use of the resources that only you have access to, and make our school even better.
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