TURNING in my college application was terrifying. Even more so because of the fact that I was turning mine in late. College applications were due about a month ago but unlike the Harper's, who've been working on theirs since the school year started, I had only started working on mine a couple of weeks ago.

The more I think about it, the more worried I get. Columbia University was one of the most prestigious ivy league schools in the United States and I turned in an application that I only started working on a few weeks ago. Sure, I was able to get back on the straight A's train and...