Some of my friends are going crazy with their college apps. I guess this is what happens when more than half the school's population consists of overachieving Asians (I know this sounds offensive but it's true). Many are applying for IVY League schools and private universities so they're trying to write gorgeous essays. Since I'm so lazy I only applied to UC's and Cal States so I won't need teacher recommendations or crazy essays

What I really don't understand is why some people apply for 10+ schools. In the end, even if you get accepted to all of them, you only get to choose one. And when you get accepted, you're basically taking someone else's place who could have gotten accepted so it's better to do that to as few people as possible IMO. Also, application fees are so expensive! Cal States are $50 per campus and UC's are $75 (if you're not familiar with Cal States and UC's, they're both public state universities in California. UC's have a better overall reputation but they're both fine). I don't even want to know how much private universities cost! o_o So much money spent on just the applications...

One thing that irritates me a little is how paranoid one of my friends is getting. She's really smart and has grades I would die to have myself but she's saying stuff like, "What if I don't get into ANY of the colleges I apply for? Even the ones with like an 80% acceptance rate?! And how about financial aid? I don't know if we (yes, she said "we" ) apply for any!". And when I try to reassure her that everything is going to be fine and that I found plenty of scholarships and financial aid programs we both can apply for, she starts asking what my plans are and starts shooting them down. -_- I told her I wanted to get into veterinary stuff so I'm going to take a program that trains you to become a veterinary assistant and then try to get into a med school. I said something along the lines of "the school I want to get into has a program to become a veterinary assistant." Her response? "Uhh...Veterinary assistants don't make much money." My response: "But once I finish that and get into a med school I'm good". Her response to that: "You can't just get into a med school, though. Do you know how hard it is?". Dude. I'm well aware of how much of a b**** it is to get into med schools. A MAN CAN DREAM, GIRL! Besides, even if I don't get into a med school, once I finish that program, I can still make a living as a veterinary assistant. It isn't as if veterinary assistants get paid minimum wage.

She told me she's thinking of the worst case scenarios so she'd be prepared, but with all the other extreme stuff she's been saying, I think she's just being downright pessimistic. She becomes a completely different person when the conversation turns towards colleges. She's usually very bubbly and sweet but the way she talks about future plans is way too depressing for me.