Grads to leave nest in spring

Two class of 2018 alumni will attend their dream schools next semester.

Class of 2018 graduates Cami Kuruma (left) and Joyce Ni will be attending NYU and USC on the spring admission system.

While most high school graduates start college in the fall, class of 2018 alumni Joyce Ni and Cami Kuruma were selected by their dream colleges as spring admits.

The spring admission program allows incoming freshmen to start their first semester of college in January. Some universities allow accepted students to choose when to begin their first semester, but most colleges select students from their list of wait-listed applicants to start during their spring semester, USC being an exception. USC sends out spring admission offers to the applicants in replacement of wait-list letters.

Though the freshmen begin one semester later, they are still considered students in the class of 2022, and the missing semester does not affect their graduation. It is the students’ responsibility to finish their General Education requirements prior to graduation.

Kuruma was initially wait-listed by NYU and intended on attending California State Long Beach. She was planning to transfer to NYU after completing all of her general education requirements within one or two years. Once she received the spring admit acceptance letter, her dream became a reality.

“It’s definitely safe to say that finding out that I got off the wait-list to NYU was the happiest moment of my life,” Kuruma said via Facebook. “I have been dreaming of going to school there since I was little, and to me, it’s always been New York or nothing. It has been my goal since the very beginning and I still can’t believe I will be attending the university of my dreams.”

Kuruma will be attending NYU in the spring with a major in media, culture and communications. Prior to her starting semester at NYU, Kuruma was considering completing some courses at Mt. SAC but decided to work full time to save up for college tuition. She also hopes to also spend time with her friends and family before her departure.

According to Kuruma, one of the biggest challenges of having to attend a school across the nation is the location, as she will be thousands of miles away from her family.

“It’s going to be interesting to live in a completely different state where I won’t know anyone else but that’s what’s so exciting,” Kuruma said. “I get to start a new life in the city that is famous for creativity.”

Ni was originally set on attending Boston University in the fall, until she received an acceptance letter to USC. Rather than attending school on the East Coast, Ni chose to commit to USC in the spring with a sociology major.

“I was ecstatic to be accepted at first, but a little put off by the spring admission,” Ni said. “But my love for the school outweighs the cons of missing a semester, so it was worth it for me.”

Like Kuruma, Ni was also planning to attend community college to complete some college GE requirements. Instead, she will be working a part-time job just for the experience and plans to develop her interests in her free time to create a clear-cut path of what to pursue in the future.

Ni finds spring admission itself a struggle, as she feels she is missing out while her friends start college in the fall. However, she hasn’t let this disadvantage bring her down.

“It’s going to be hard at first, especially when you see your friends off at college, so you may feel as if you’re missing out,” Ni stated. “But as long as you keep yourself busy and focus on the positives, the few months will fly by.”