As current juniors start thinking about where they went to spend their post high school years, they will certainly be bombarded with many resources, giving the do’s and don’t’s of college searching and tips to making the most of it. This story will be the first in a series of stories featuring current MSMS seniors and their college experiences that may serve as  helpful resources from real people in relatable situations for any rising senior.

Background and Experiences

MSMS senior Arielle Hudson hails from Tunica, a small town bordering the Mississippi Delta. She said that in her education, she was used to not being in a diverse environment. However, in deciding to attend MSMS, she said, “I wanted diversity in my education, which is why I came here.”

Hudson comes from a single-mom household, with a brother attending college at Mississippi State University and a younger sister. On top of having to pay for fees at MSMS, her family has to help pay for her brother’s education and her mother’s education as she is earning her master’s degree. Because of this, she knew that she “definitely needed to apply for scholarships, so I don’t have to add on to all that.”

Intended Study

Hudson intends to study English and political science and go to law school. These interests have influenced her desire to attend college in the California area for its “really great humanities programs.” She added, “I would love to go to law school.”

Hudson said that two things influenced her to pursue law school: her mentorship under current Columbus district attorney Scott Colom and the MSMS Mock Trial class. Elaborating on her experience in mentorship, she said, “[Colom] was the prosecutor, so I would go with him to city court and even go to misdemeanor and felony cases.” She continued, “I also went with him to New Orleans on a case about student’s first amendment rights with free speech. It was about a rap song, and it was really interesting.”

College Choices

Hudson applied to Ole Miss, Clark-Atlanta University, Spelman College, Howard University, UC Riverside, Xavier University, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley. She has been accepted to several and will hear from UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley this month. Her dream school is UCLA.

Hudson looked to the California schools, not just for their programs, but also for their diverse student bodies. As for her overall college list, she decided to use the “Dream, Reach, Safe” method that last year’s seniors recommended. This method means applying to two or three “Dream, Reach, and Safe” schools, to insure a wide variety of possibilities and choices when acceptance time rolls around. However, it is a lot of work.

Hudson has also “loved Ole Miss” even before she attended two of its leadership programs, APEX Leadership Summit and MOST.

Scholarships

Hudson is a Jack Kent Cooke college scholarship semifinalist, and she will learn if she will receive this scholarship this month. The scholarship, according to their website, is given to up to 40 high school senior applicants, who will receive up to $40,000 a year towards pursuing any field of study in a four-year undergraduate institute. The scholars are “selected based on exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, a desire to help others, and leadership.”

Hudson has already received the full-tuition Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Scholarship at Ole Miss. Through this program, Hudson has earned a full-ride to Ole Miss, including room and board fees, a technology stipend and study abroad opportunities. The program chooses only 20 students (10 for English and 10 for math education) from all over Mississippi, and these students commit to majoring in secondary education with a concentration in their intended study. The students also commit to teaching in a Mississippi public school for five years after graduation.

Advice to Juniors

Hudson said that going through senior year caused her to make many changes concerning her dream college and her future. She said, “All in middle school and junior year, I told myself, ‘I am not going to school in Mississippi. When senior year came, I thought, ‘Maybe you actually need to stop thinking like that.’” She also believes that going to her dream school would not be worth going into student debt after college. “Although UCLA is my dream school, I’m most likely not going to go when I have a full ride at Ole Miss.”

Hudson also strongly encouraged juniors to “take senior portfolio seriously!” Furthermore,“If I would have taken it more seriously, it would have gotten a lot of things out of the way because the [questions] are actually the same prompts and topics of the Common Application.”

If you have any more questions concerning colleges and scholarships, you can e-mail Hudson at [email protected] or just talk to one of the MSMS counselors.