UWC-USA

My name is Carolina, and I am studying at the United World College in New Mexico. Class of 2018!

[recitativ]

I'm thinking of applying to UWC and I'm so nervous. I've always wanted to study abroad, and start somewhere new and I think UWC is the best way I can do that. I'm still unsure which specific college I'm applying to. Any advice for the application process?

Hello there!

I’ll address your points one by one:

1. Studying abroad/starting somewhere new

UWC will absolutely help you do that :) it’s an opportunity to discover who you are when you strip away culture and history. At UWC everyone has a blank slate. But remember, eventually, you have to return to the real world. It’s only two very short years.

2. Which college to apply to

So the colleges are VERY different from one another. Some are academically rigorous to the point of being cut-throat competitive, and others barely care about academics at all. Some emphasize wilderness and backpacking (USA), and others emphasize marine biology (Pearson). The best way to find out particulars surrounding a specific school is to a) Ask people who have attended and b) scour their websites. When I applied, I made a table of which subjects and programs were offered at the different schools, and at which schools they were absent.

3. Advice for the application process

This differs from national committee to national committee, BUT I can give you a couple pieces of advice that will apply no matter where you come from: a) If you are passionate about your position in the world and what you can do with it, let it show. During your interview, let a smile spread across your face, let your eyes light up, show them how you feel. It will be infectious, and they’ll know you’re there for the right reasons. b) You want to return to your country and make it a better place. UWC educates too many students that just end up studying at American or Western European universities, and never return home to contribute. They make beautiful lives for themselves, but don’t further the UWC mission. Think about how you would take your place as a UWC alum, and what you would use it for.

Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have :) I’m more than happy to answer!

[uwc-moments]

Hello, as a prospective student, I would like to know if the college provides opportunities for science research/competitions? I’m really interested in science especially biology and would love to have those opportunities but I cannot really find any info on the website. thanks!!

I can talk about the different academic departments up to as recent as 2018! Future post coming on that

[uwc-moments]

Hi! Just got the acceptance letter from UWC USA!!! Would you be so kind to brief me on what I should be expecting? Is it as wild (meaning alcohol and parties) as the other UWCs I’ve heard of? Thanks so much!

Oof I got this a while ago, I’ll make a full post on it in a few days :)

[uwc-moments]

So. I figured, looking back, that this account could actually be quite useful to some people. Things like this were quite helpful when I was applying just a couple years ago. And maybe I needed a little moment to reflect, anyways. So here it is, whether or not anyone asked for it: Some things I suppose I’ve realized since coming to UWC-USA.

1. You might spend more time studying than you would have anticipated.

It’s hard. And probably not in the way that you think. Depending on your academic background, and unfortunately which region of the world you come from, the IB will either be a breeze or will be quite challenging. Different education systems give you different skills. Some of them help with the IB, some don't.

2. UWC is not what you think it is.

Guaranteed. The way that it is perceived, especially by applicants, is a utopia that simply does not exist. Lots of people come to UWC to escape something back at home, and they, mistakenly, take refuge at UWC. This is not a place that will cure your depression. This is not a place that will make you happy.

3. You will feel out of place, at least at first.

The environment that you will be thrown in will likely be foreign to you, at first. After all, that is the point. At first you won’t know how to react, but don’t worry. None of us do.

4. You may change so much that you fail to recognize yourself.

At least I did. 1.5 years in and the school, as well as its people, have altered me to the core of who I am. For better or for worse, only time will tell.

5. You will develop some of the most meaningful friendships that you will ever experience.

At least I didn’t know how much I could care for people until I came here. And I know it will be hard for me to reach that same level of intimacy with people outside of this school.

6. You will leave.

This one seems a bit more obvious, but it’s something that we always forget, and never fully understand. UWC, no matter how beautiful, is not even close to what the real world is. When you leave, you have to re-adjust yourself to the same world you inhabited before you attended. The only problem is that you are now drastically different, in irreversible ways.

I suppose one of the biggest questions that lingers in the back of our minds, one that I am asking myself right now, is what happens when we leave?

And I have absolutely no idea.

Just a few months more, and I’ll have to figure it out.

[uwc-moments]

How are the academics given that all the students are coming from completely different schools and backgrounds? Have the classes been challenging so far? -Sophia, San Francisco, UWC applicant

Hi! I have no idea of how long ago this was sent to me so I apologize for the potentially late response. I’ll do my best to answer :)

So the IB is an inherently difficult diploma, no matter where you come from. However, coming from a certain background may mean that you will do better in different subjects than other people due to differing education systems.

You will see more students from Far East Asia, North America, certain parts of Europe, and the Indian Subcontinent in the HL Math classes than in the HL Art classes, but this is a trend and not a rule. This does not mean you will not do well in Math HL just because you are not from these regions!!!

Since you are, I’m assuming, an applicant from the USA National Committee, I think I can say that the traditional US education system prepares you adequately for the IB. The material is just as challenging (if not more challenging) as your general AP courses. (The rigor of your classes also depends on which subjects you are taking, but that's another matter).

If you have any other questions I will be checking this account regularly so I can promise to be better about answering asks! Good luck with your application, and feel free to ask away if you would like :)

[uwc-moments]

So Far

I don’t know where to start, so I’ll just start. What has UWC been like so far?

It’s been a whirlwind. It’s a flurry of activities and blooming friendships. It’s been thrilling, exhausting, and beautiful. I had a realization the other day, which made me reflect on how different UWC is from a regular school back home.

Back at home, you show up at school to enhance your academic ability. That’s it. You go home to your parents and siblings to do the rest of your growing. But UWC is different, UWC is all-encompassing. At UWC everything you touch changes you. UWC is the place where you become yourself. Every minute I feel different from the next, and it’s almost scary to see how much I’m stretching myself. I wonder how things will be when I return home for Christmas. Who will I be then?

UWC isn’t easy. It forces you to evaluate who you are, where you want to go, and why you want to go there. This place terrifies me, but I can’t wait to see who I become.

[uwc-moments]

One More Day

Tomorrow I leave for my trip to New Mexico. And I am SO excited.

Of course I’m sad to say goodbye to my friends and family. But now I’ve started to look ahead and just realize wow, I’m actually doing this. The next two years of my life are going to be so bizarre, so crazy different from life at home.

And I don’t imagine UWC to be a utopia, but in a tiny school with the right people, it’s bound to be pretty amazing.

Now, there are only a few days before I meet the people who will change my outlook on the world forever. But it’s safe to say I am completely, wholeheartedly ready.

Until the 17th!

[uwc-moments]

To Future Zero Years

There is a time when the reality of what you’re leaving behind crushes you. Because achievement can come with a certain degree of pain, and sacrifice, and guilt. And that’s okay.

When we met UWC for the first time, we feel giddy with excitement. We think about what it would be like to live and breathe in these schools, in these countries, with these people, but forget the process of getting there. And the process is a lot more difficult than we make it out to be. 

The reality of it is that we leave so much behind in moving forward. We leave behind some of the most amazing people we have ever met, the teachers that have changed our outlooks on life forever, and family that have guided us through our most difficult times. And though we never doubt our decision for a second, it is just hard.

But it’s okay to feel this part. Choosing passion over comfort is something that goes much deeper that you might think. Because this is just a part of moving on. You have to say a lot of goodbyes. But you will move forward. Your world will expand to its breaking point, you will meet some of the most incredible people your age, and you will never look at the world the same way again.

Your future is bright. And sometimes you have to leave behind familiarity to pursue it.

[uwc-moments]

So . . . why?

There’s always a confused, lost look in people’s faces when I tell them that I’m choosing UWC over my current competitive high school. I live in a place that claims to be open-minded, but judges silently when you choose to opt out of that environment, when you choose another path.

“So you’re leaving to go . . . where?”

“New Mexico.”

“Oh . . .”

And I find myself feeling like I have to defend my decision, that I have to justify it somehow. And so I rush to explain that lots of the UWCs across the world are incredibly isolated, how the campus in Norway is 8 hours from Oslo by car so the American one is isolated too and not in San Francisco or New York and lots of the other campuses weren’t an option for me since I needed a teacher to continue playing the violin 

But then I remember why I applied.

I never applied because I wanted to go abroad. I applied to a movement that brings 70 different nationalities to one place, a movement that shakes you to the core and tears your beliefs down around you, questioning everything you were taught. I applied because I know nothing of the world, because I know how little I understand human suffering, poverty, disease, and death. And I don’t know how I can stay here, especially when I know just how blind I am.

And so when I tell my teachers, friends, and family where I’m going for the next two years, and when I wait for that blank stare as they struggle to comprehend why, I wonder if they might be more excited for me if I told them I was going to Italy, or the Netherlands, or the UK. They probably would be.

But in the end, I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing this for all the people that I haven’t met yet, all the things that I have yet to see. There is so much that I don’t know, and unless I visit each of these 70 countries individually, I might go my whole life in ignorant bliss. Lots of people do.

But I’m not that kind of person, and UWC is not that kind of place.

[uwc-moments]

An Introduction

Hello! My name is Carolina, and I currently live in southern California. In August of 2016, I will be attending the United World College in New Mexico (as of 1/22/15 at 3:00 PM). I am creating this blog to document my time here, and provide insight into the UWC experience! If you are a prospective student, feel free to contact me, I’d be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped me with this along the way! My teachers for their recommendation letters, my family for supporting me, the UWC Selection Committee, Shelby Davis, and especially the amazing applicants that helped ease me through the anxiety-ridden process! You all deserve the world, and I hope that we can keep in touch no matter where we all end up. Good luck!