Experiences

Hi, everyone! My name is Evelyn Gonzalez and I am a first-year at Harvard College. I am a first generation low-income student from Miami, Florida. My parents and grandparents were born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States in the 80s. The college application process was one of the most stressful parts of my high school career and honestly I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teachers, close friends, and family. There was a lot going on during this process  that truthfully I didn't know how to complete the application or even start it. There were so many nights where I thought that all my work and achievements during high school were going to be useless because I didn't know how to read the financial documents of my family to receive financial aid or because I didn’t think I was going to get an SAT grade high enough to get into Harvard. Although I eventually got over these insecurities and I bounced back stronger as a person and student, I still would have liked to have more resources to complete the process with less stress and more sanity. For this reason, I wanted to help create a guide for Latinx students that maybe aren't familiar with the English language or familiar with the college application process. We created a guide for all the parts of the college application process that we had difficulties or would have made things a lot easier for us if we had these resources too. I hope this helps you during your application process! Always remember to be true to yourself during the process and remember that wherever you may end up, you will receive a worldly education, as long as you apply yourself and work diligently!