(upbeat music)
- Hello, future Buckeyes, my name is Sly Worthy,
and today we're gonna talk about applying to Ohio State.
I'm a first-generation college student so I know
just how intimidating it can be applying to college,
but don't worry, you guys could do it.
To make things easier for you guys
we're going to be going around asking Buckeyes,
"What was it like to apply to Ohio State?"
- What is the most beneficial way
you've found of applying to college?
- Yeah, so I personally used Common App.
It was a really easy program that I was able
to apply to multiple colleges all at once.
You start off by choosing your district that you live in,
giving some information about your background,
answer some essay questions, and then you send it off
to the colleges you're applying to.
- The Common App is something that is very prevalent
just because there are so many universities that use it
and the ease of using it, but there's another one
that people might not be so familiar with,
it's the Coalition App.
They have this online portal that's similar to Google Drive
called the Locker so you can just upload
any of your materials, so letters of recommendations,
essays, and then when you do actually wanna send out
that application you can move them from your Locker
into your portal space and then send them to those schools.
- Being the first person in your family to go to college,
how did you even decide where to go to school?
- So for me a big factor was proximity to my family,
'cause I still wanted to be close to home
just in case that maybe college wasn't for me,
I was able to go home and talk to them.
- The most important part is choosing
where you wanna apply, right?
So do some research of where you wanna apply,
where you feel you would be most comfortable
and what suits you best, and do a lot of research for you
rather than just doing what other people
in your school or district are doing
and what your support system is saying.
- I think that one of my biggest pieces of advice
through the college search process
as a whole is visit your schools.
I think that my visit to Ohio State
really made my decision to come here.
Being able to see all the Buckeyes together
and everyone's wearing their scarlet and grey,
I think was just an amazing feeling
and I just wanted to be a part of that so badly.
I think that on paper, a lot of schools can look the same.
You can have the same major, you can have
similar financial aid, but that feeling that you get
on campus, you don't get anywhere else.
- I would totally recommend getting a recommendation letter
because if you're someone like me
who feels like it's kinda weird advocating for yourself
'cause it's almost like you're bragging.
If you get someone who knows you really well,
they could definitely advocate for you better.
- What tips can you give everybody else
when writing their essays?
- I would just come to it maybe twice a week,
once a week and just add a little bit,
as much as I felt as I could.
I would come back, edit, take parts out.
I really played with it a lot and it looked really different
at the very end from what I started with.
Your first idea's not gonna be your last one
and that's completely okay.
Definitely make sure that you have friends
or teachers or people you trust
to read over your essay and give you advice.
- Just be your authentic self and play to your strengths,
and don't try to hide anything in your personality,
and try to let that uniqueness shine through in your essays.
If you're having an essay prompt about a hero of yours,
don't be afraid to put something
that other people might consider silly.
Like, if Beyonce's your hero, go for it.
That'll make you really stand out
and play to you and your personality
and the uniqueness you'll bring to Ohio State.
- Yeah, Beyonce.
(laughter)
- Okay, so two years ago, you're going through
this similar process applying to college,
what advice would you give either to yourself
or someone just going through the same process now?
- The advice I would give to someone
is that first off, take a breath
because this experience is super stressful
and it could add a lot to someone's life
but I'd say take a breath and be super-thorough
when filling everything out.
Making sure everything's right
and everything's filled out to the T,
all your I's are dotted, all that,
making sure that every answer is what you want it to be.
- Definitely apply early.
Not necessarily submitted in early but definitely have
your essays written out before our November 1st deadline.
- I mean, it's important to take the advice of others
and listen to their feedback and stuff
but don't influence your decision on somebody else's opinion
or what somebody else says.
I just think it's really important
that you should make your own decisions.
Be independent and let this be your life and let this be
your journey and don't base it on somebody else's thoughts.
- If you have any more questions,
feel free to email askabuckeye@osu.edu
or comment in the section below.
Two important dates to remember:
November 1st for early action,
and February 1st for regular decision.
Like and subscribe, we hope this video helps you
on your journey to becoming a Buckeye, you got this.
Boom. - [Woman] Boom!
- [Sly] Was it good? - [Woman] Yeah.