613: Inside the Application (Part 6): Making the Decision with Cassidy, Class of 2025

Ethan Sawyer  0:08  
Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. So this is going to be a very short episode, because it's one I didn't intend to record. Why? Well, some of you have been following along with Cassidy, who was a high school senior and has now graduated and is getting ready to head off to college. When we last left off, she was trying to decide where to attend, and I thought it would be fine if we didn't actually reveal where she ended up, which Silly me. Y'all wrote in and were like, Yo, we need to know. So here it is the Well, I wouldn't call it the end of, really, the beginning of Cassidy's journey into college. Here's the answer to where she ended up.


Ethan Sawyer  0:53  
Hi, Cassidy, welcome back to the


Cassidy  0:55  
podcast. Hi. Good to be back. So just to


Ethan Sawyer  0:59  
set context for folks, I totally messed up. I just, you know, thought it would be fine if we just had a final episode with you where it was, like a mystery, of like, you know, Cassidy ended up somewhere great, probably. And I thought that that would be fine for people. And it wasn't because we got these requests, not like upset requests, but people being like, yo. Well, where did Cassidy decide? And I realized that's no way to end a series. So here we are on the follow up, the reveal. Where did you finally decide? And I don't know that we should do an actual drum roll, but I'd love to actually, before we get into like, where you actually decided, I just love to hear it's your summer before college. What are you up to this summer. Like, how are you spending your your last summer, post high school?


Cassidy  1:45  
Yeah, it's been really good, a good summer. I actually just finished a course to get my EMT certification, so that's been super fun. I mean, just hanging out. Oh, I actually got my wisdom teeth out too. And, yeah, hanging out with friends and stuff. So it's been really chill,


Ethan Sawyer  2:04  
amazing. And before again, you reveal, like, how are you preparing for college as you're starting to think about heading off, because you're probably, like, you're probably gonna leave in like, a month,


Cassidy  2:13  
I'm guessing. Yes, my Move In Day is on the 19th of August. Cool. So, yep, a little less than a month. But I've already chosen my classes and stuff, you know, doing my dorm shopping and, yeah, that kind of stuff


Ethan Sawyer  2:27  
amazing. All right, so walk us through, like, what were the things that you were considering when you were trying to decide, and ultimately, where are you going to be in the fall?


Cassidy  2:36  
Yeah, so I did, I don't remember if I like, talk to you guys before I do tours and stuff. But I toured all of the my top choice colleges. Did a lot of thinking, a lot of praying about it. And I, oh, I talked to friends that I had at the colleges and just like, about their experience there. Yeah. And then do you want me to say where I ended up. Let's do it. Okay, I ended up at UC Berkeley, which I'm super excited about. So, yeah, sweet.


Ethan Sawyer  3:09  
And what had you ultimately decided on Berkeley over some of the other schools? And just for folks who maybe don't remember, will you just remind folks of what the different options were?


Cassidy  3:17  
Yeah, so my top three were UC Berkeley, USC, and UC San Diego. And then I feel like I definitely ended up at Berkeley for like, a variety of different reasons. But one of them was that I when I visited, I visited like, a couple times, like, after I got my decision, and both of them, I I really loved the campus. I loved the vibe of the campus. I feel like I was really able to see myself living there for the next four years, like, more than any of the other two that I was considering. And then I was just getting really excited about, like, the opportunities that I'd be able to pursue at Berkeley. Not that like any of the opportunities at USC and UC San Diego were like, I don't know, like, not as good. It was just like, I feel like it was a better fit for me at Berkeley. And so,


Ethan Sawyer  4:03  
yeah, and what I'm curious to like, double click here, what felt like a better fit? Was it the program offerings? Was it the, the, you know, the was it Berkeley itself, like the nearby town, or, like, what? What felt like? Ah, this is my place. Because I imagine that if students or parents are listening to there's going to be this moment where, you know, they're in that same position of, like, kind of walking the campus and taking the tours and like, I'm just really curious to get into the specifics of like, not like when you knew, but if you had a when you knew moment, what were the some of the particularities of that?


Cassidy  4:37  
Okay, Cal day, I really loved, like, just exploring the campus, the people that I met were all super sweet. And then also, like, really, really, like, I feel like we connected on, like, our, like, academic drive and stuff. And then also I did a tour, and my tour guide happened to be also pre med. And so he gave me a ton of, like, cool insights on, like, why he loved being pre med at Berkeley, and then what, like, resources and stuff and opportunities he took advantage of. And I thought that was, like, it was really just, like, getting me hyped for, like, you know, that kind of experience at Cal too. And then one of the big things for me was that, like, Berkeley is, like, there's a lot of research happening on campus, and so, like, one of the things that my Tori, I talked about was that the inventor of CRISPR, gene editing technology is a professor at Berkeley, and he took a class with her, and he, like, was working on CRISPR, actually, like, in one of his, like, research labs, and he was able to just literally, like, talk to her about, like, oh, like, I need a couple tips on, like, how to do it. And I was like, that is just so, like, incredible. And I feel like, just to have, like, that kind of opportunity, like, it felt like that's what I, I was drawn to, and stuff like that.


Ethan Sawyer  5:55  
Yeah, neat, neat. And I'm also curious in terms of, was there anything did you go to you went, am I right that you visited a few different campuses? Yes. And was there anything different about the the visit day that that really landed for you? You mentioned the tour guide. I just wonder, in terms of just the way that those were constructed, were there? Was there anything that felt different about Berkeley?


Cassidy  6:17  
Yeah, let's see, for the admitted students day. I feel like it was structured in a way, like, honestly, like, kind of nerdy, but like, in a good way, because they had like, a bunch of like, you could sign up to go to lectures and stuff, versus like, I guess at like, USC, there was, like, a big like, it was more of like a conference style, where we have like a panel of students on the stage, which is like, which was also super cool. And I love that too. But I feel like, just like the vibes I was more getting more excited about, like, going to Berkeley's offerings and stuff, yeah, and then yeah. I just feel like, when I was on campus at USC, it was less of like, Oh, I could see myself going here, living here for the next four years, versus at Cal, I really could see myself living there.


Ethan Sawyer  7:04  
Did you spend time like, in the nearby city, as it were, like, in terms of like, did you go through Berkeley? Did you go through LA? Did you get a chance to experience the differences there? Yeah,


Cassidy  7:15  
I went more through Berkeley than LA. Probably. I really did. Like Berkeley's downtown vibe. It was super cute. And then, yeah, USC, it felt like, you know, there's very much, like a campus like, kind of bubble, I feel like, and then there was like the outside too, which is, like, also super cool, but like, maybe not as much what I was looking


Ethan Sawyer  7:37  
for. Yeah, yeah. So curious to, like, put you into like, advice giving mode for a second, and go all right, when other students are listening to this in the future and they're thinking about how to decide among different schools now that you've sort of just freshly gone through it, is there any advice that you'd give to students or parents, you know, really families going through this process?


Cassidy  7:59  
I don't know if I'm, like, qualified to give advice, but like, I don't know, like, if I could say anything for me, I was super stressed, because I felt like it was like, This decision is, like, this huge accumulation of my whole high school, like, everything I've done in high school, and then it was honestly, like, like, the stress, I'd say, was comparable to, like, actually going through the application process, which is kind of crazy, because I feel like no one really talks about that. Maybe that's just me, but I would say, like, wherever you end up, I think you're going to end up at the place that's meant for you, and to have fun with your decision. And instead of, like, stressing over like, needing to pick the perfect College, otherwise, like it's gonna mess up the next four years of your life, kind of thing?


Ethan Sawyer  8:43  
Awesome. Well, honestly, that's all I've got. Like, I'm so grateful to, like, check in with you and to hear that you're you seem happy, like you're smiling, you seem, I don't know, downright optimistic. And like I said last time, I'm just so excited for you to embark on this journey. Thank you so much. Thanks for checking in and have a you know, we should do, we should do some follow up, or something in like, a year. Be like, Yo, how was your first year? I think that'd be really fun. So I'd be so down to do that. Okay, maybe this isn't fully goodbye. Then this is just, like, the beginning of the Cassidy or, like, episode, I don't know what it is now, six or seven in you know, the life of a soon to be college student, and then you can come back and tell us about freshman


Cassidy  9:30  
year. Yeah, I'd be so happy to do that awesome. Well,


Ethan Sawyer  9:34  
have an amazing rest of your summer. And it was great to talk to you. Thank you. You too. You you. Thanks, friends as ever for listening. If you're not subscribed yet to our email newsletter, that's where you'll find out about all our upcoming webinars, our pay what you can courses and so much more. Just go to anything on the website and opt in, or you can opt in on the main home page. Thanks all. All and stay curious. You.


Transcribed by https://otter.ai