Meet Sin Seanne!
We are launching a spanking new section in our blog! Let us help you get to know the facilitators better, and hopefully that will convince you to attend the workshops!
To kick-start this segment, we have Sin Seanne who is a part of the 2012 core committee. Previously she was a facilitator for the 2010 and 2011 workshop. Get to know her from the interview below!
Hi Sin Seanne, please introduce yourself!
Hello! I’m Sin Seanne and I’m from PJ, Selangor. Currently in Mount Holyoke College pursuing Economics and Environmental Studies. I did the IB in Mahindra United World College of India and before that I went to SMK Damansara Jaya.
What do you like to do outside USAPPS?
I love having dinners and hanging out with friends. I love cooking for my friends and family too. I also look outside my bedroom window for some birdwatching – a new hobby of mine that I picked up from Costa Rica.
What did you do in high school?
ALL I DID WAS SWIM SWIM SWIM SWIM! Never did any of my schools ECAs.
Do you remember much about your college application experience? Tell us a little about it!
YES I DO! I remember that I still had all my application essays including supplementary essays to write and it was already winter break – I had plans to travel across Southern India. My train ride was 25 hours along and I wrote some of them on the train with the help of my 2 classmates. I remember finishing my personal statement itself on New Year’s Eve in a little shack while I was at the beach in Goa with a bottle of inspiration on the table.
Warning: DO NOT TRY THIS DURING YOUR APPLICATION PROCESS
Why did you choose to apply to the US?
I love the flexibility of the academic system. It allows us to experiment in different subject areas in the first two years rather than going straight in to a definite major and realizing in the end that this is now what I want to do.
What colleges did you apply to?
Middlebury College, Colby College, Grinnell College, Connecticut College, Bryn Mawr College, Luther College, Earlham College
Give three areas you feel you’ll be able to give advice on:
IB, Liberal Arts Colleges and Financial Aid and even choosing your colleges =)
Tell us about your favorite application essay:
My application essay was a very very personal one. I wrote about me shaving my head bald. It was probably one of my hardest things that I have done thus far. I wrote my personal and emotional significance behind the reason why I shaved my head. The essay writing process made me dig deep and I learnt and understood so much about myself from the day I shaved to me putting down the thoughts and emotions on paper.
How did you feel when you received your application results?
Very very nervous. I knew for a fact that I would not get into some schools but even though I knew, the rejection letters do hurt. On a more positive note, when I got my first acceptance letter (even though it wasn’t my dream school), it was a huge sense of relief and joy. I knew that I was set and that I was going to the US regardless. But the cherry on the top was when I was took off the wait list for my top school. It was just a fusion of feelings of excitement, OMG, I-can’t-believe-it-I-got-in and more. It was a very very reach school for me but I am now currently waiting to start my third year at this very school.
What are the best and worst things about your college?
Best thing would be my swim team and friends =) and the oh so beautiful and breathtaking campus. And the worst thing would be having no boys on site… =( Oh well, sacrifices need to be made if you want to go to a great college, no?
Did you submit an arts supplement/ sports etc.?
Yes, I submitted a sports supplement for swimming. And yes I am on the varsity team in college!
Why do you think USAPPS2012 is special?
It is a place that brings very special people together whom you share a common experience with, thus, creating a family. We all know that by going abroad, we always want a source of comfort. The people you meet at USAPPS are going to be one of your sources of comfort when you step foot in the majestic land of The US of A. Now, you have a reason to travel across the country or even jumping borders through a two hour bus ride.
