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The 4 Stages Every Accepted ED Applicant Experiences (As Told by Spongebob Squarepants)

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Katherine Cramer
Juliette Sebock
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Gettysburg chapter.

December is a long awaited month for everyone.  There is so much to look forward to after all!  From snow days and Winter break to tree decorating and Christmas dinner, there is always something to enjoy.  You, on the other hand, have been a bit more stressed out this holiday because the only present you really want to see under the tree is your college acceptance letter.  

 

But all stress is relieved from your body when you spot the “big envelope” in the mailbox because…YOU’RE IN!  Let me be the first to say, “Congrats Grad!” because you may not be graduating for another 6 months or so, but you DO in fact have a future, which I know you doubted some nights pacing the floor teetering on the brink of sanity because you just could not take the anticipation anymore of whether or not your first choice school accepted you.  Yet, here you are, all of that worrying for nothing, and all of that hard work for something.  I say again, congratulations, and as a fellow accepted Early Decision applicant, I lived the post-acceptance phases that you are most likely encountering now.

 

Stage One: Excitement

 
Nothing is official until it is Facebook official.  You hop online after you dry the welling tears in your eyes to share your “victory screech” and announce that you are now a college girl ready to step onto your new college campus!
 

Stage Two: Curiosity

 
 

Once the excitement settles in, you remember you can use technology to do more than post about your college…you can research it!  Whether or not you already know your major, you have probably taken advantage of Rate My Professor to sleuth for the best teachers available to you in an attempt to avoid taking the wrong class for you.

 
Next, you introduce yourself in your college or university’s accepted student page, and you can’t help but already ponder who your future roomie will be!  You consider what colors you will pick out for your dorm together and if you will go to parties together.  You are curious to look through the list of fellow incoming freshmen and find the person who seems the most compatible with you! Just remember, “curiosity salted the snail!”
 

Stage Three: Self Doubt

 
Just like when Spongebob lost his identity or spotted the Hash Slinging Slasher, you may start to get cold feet.  You may get nervous that senioritis is going to overcome you, and you definitely can’t help but worry about being a freshman again.  College should be a great experience for you, but you get scared about making friends again first!  
 

Stage Four: Determination

 
At this point, you have regained your confidence and you are determined to have a great Freshman year, yeah!  Since you have begun pinning study tips on Pinterest and watching Legally Blonde on a loop, nothing is too much for you to handle—even the Salty Spitoon isn’t too tough for you!  College is a whole new adventure, but you’re absolutely ready to take it on.  “The world is your oyster!”
 

 

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Katherine Cramer is an Economics and Public Policy double major at Gettysburg College. She is the Secretary for the Class of 2020 as well as the senator for her dorm hall and the Student Senate representative for Her Campus at Gettysburg and the pre law club. On top of her academics and extracurriculars, she enjoys playing violin in the Sunderman Conservatory Orchestra on campus.
Juliette Sebock, Founder: Jules founded the Gettysburg College chapter of Her Campus in Fall 2015 and served as Campus Correspondent until graduating in Spring 2018. Juliette graduated from Gettysburg College in 2018 with an English major and History/Civil War Era Studies/Public History triple minors. In addition to HC, she was a member of the Spring 2017 class of Advanced Studies in England and of various organizations including Eta Sigma Phi, Dance Ensemble, and Poetry Circle. She has published a poetry chapbook titled Mistakes Were Made, available on Amazon and Goodreads, and she has poems forthcoming in several literary magazines. She is also the editor-in-chief of Nightingale & Sparrow Magazine and runs the lifestyle blog, For the Sake of Good Taste. For more information, visit https://juliettesebock.com.