Student struggles to find a school that fits
Busy schedule leaves little time to fill out college applications
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

FARRAHMAFFAI staff Lauren Van Hise shows Sanjana Khapyala, 5, of Marlboro, what part of her foot to use to kick the ball during the “Intro to Sports” class she teaches at the Western Monmouth YMCA in Freehold. An aspiring teacher, Lauren plays basketball and lacrosse for Allentown High School.

Everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, but some make much more use of it than others.

Lauren Van Hise, 18, is a good example of a young woman who makes the most of her time.

The Upper Freehold resident is a senior at Allentown High School (AHS), where she is the student council president, the captain of the girls lacrosse and basketball teams, sports editor for the school newspaper, a member of the National Honor Society and the English Honor Society, and serves on the President’s Council at the high school.

She has a 3.64 GPA.

All this activity is in addition to her job teaching T-ball and introduction-to-sports classes after school at the YMCA of Western Monmouth County in Freehold Township.

In the summer, she is a lifeguard at the Cedar Village Country Day Camp in East Windsor.

Such a busy life has it drawbacks, however.

Lauren said she is a little behind in the application process because she has been so busy with other activities. Within the next few weeks, she will have her applications filled out and sent off, to schools such as the University of Delaware, Pennsylvania State University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, and Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa.

She may also apply to Loyola College in Maryland, Villanova Univer-sity and the University of Maryland. Lauren plans to major in elementary education and possibly minor in communications, with the intention of becoming a teacher.

There are financial challenges as well. As the third of four children, Lauren has seen her older sisters Leslie, 22, and Dana, 21, go through the college admissions process.

Her brother, Jeff, is a sophomore at AHS and will be attending college in two more years. Leslie attends The College of New Jersey and Dana is a junior at Boston College.

All of this creates a great financial burden on their parents, and Lauren is looking for financial aid and scholarships to pay for her education.

Both girls have taken Lauren to visit their schools and helped her with research.

“The advice they have given me is to branch out and look all over,” she said.

Lauren does not want to go too far away from home for college. As someone who loves warm weather, she might have considered schools in Florida or California, but not in New England like Dana. Her siblings’ experiences have given her some valuable insight.

“I have visited them both at college often, so I have seen everything from the cafeterias to the bathrooms, little things I may not think about until after applying,” she said, adding that it has helped give her a better idea of what to look for when she is observing colleges for herself.

GPA: 3.64

SAT scores: 1120

Clubs/sports:

student council president,

basketball & lacrosse captain,

sports editor- school newspaper,

National Honor Society, English Honor Society, member of the President’s Council

Job:

YMCA; summer lifeguard

Colleges applying to:

University of Delaware

Pennsylvania State University

East Stroudsburg University, Pa.

West Chester University of Pa.

Bucknell University, Pa.

May apply to:

Loyola University, Md.

Villanova University, Pa.

University of Maryland

Although she has a strong sports background, she does not think she would excel in an athletic environment on the college level.

“Sports take up a lot of time in college and begin long before the season starts and continue after it ends. I am planning on pursuing club teams or intramurals, which will fit into my studies easier and allow me to focus on my studies more,” she explained.

Lauren wants to be sure that her choice of school will aid her in becoming successful in her profession.

“I want to be able to interact with students and teachers, although I do not mind sitting in lecture halls for some classes,” she said. “The campus also has to be accessible, because I do not want to have to take a shuttle to and from every class. I want to be able to walk around.”

Her school of choice would have a “traditional, tight-knit atmosphere.”

“With college, you cannot settle for a place that seems just mediocre or adequate. You want all your needs to be met,” she said.

For Lauren, the most difficult part of the process has been finding schools that fit her personality.

“When I first started looking, I felt bombarded because there are so many options and fits, such as size, location and majors. It is hard to know if a school is right for you by just statistics on a page. It is also frustrating to find a school that you are interested in, and then learn later that certain aspects of the college won’t fulfill your needs,” Lauren said.

Her mother, Yvonne Van Hise, is the librarian at AHS. Although this the third time she has been through the college admission process with her children, it doesn’t necessarily get any easier.

“Each child is unique in what college what fit their needs,” she said.

In Lauren’s case, she feels her SAT score of 1120 doesn’t reflect her real ability or her strong work ethic.

“Not all kids test well,” her mother said.

She calls her daughter “a wonderful person with a strong will. Whatever she puts her mind to, she will follow through with. If the college she wants to go to doesn’t accept her, she’ll land on her feet. A college will be lucky to have her.”

Looking back over her high school years, Lauren said there is nothing she would have done differently.

“I feel I did the best I could. I worked hard for the past four years to keep my grades up,” she said.