Ms. Bergondo is a Language Arts teacher at Iselin Middle School and went to Rutgers herself. Now she passes the torch onto her son, Trevor, who has recently been accepted to Rutgers Honors College. We are interviewing her to get a closer look on what the process is to get into Rutgers Honors College.
Panther Press: How did your son decide to apply to Rutgers Honors College?
Bergondo: So, he applied to there because he got good grades. He grew up around me talking fondly about Rutgers because I went to Rutgers and loved it. My husband’s a season ticket holder for football so Trevor enjoyed going to the games, he just had a lot of Rutgers spirit and pride in our family. He applied to the Rutgers Honors college because he does exceptional in school too he thought he wanted to challenge himself.
Panther Press: What was his favorite part about the application process?
Bergondo: When it was over. He had to write a million essays and he hated it. Like honors college you have to write extra essays, you can apply to Rutgers and if you do the honors college you need extra essays, so I would say honesty when it was over. It’s stressful.
Panther Press: Did he visit the campus before applying?
Bergondo: Yes, he’s been there many times before applying.
Panther Press: Has he been there with you?
Bergondo: Yes, many times.
Panther Press: What major did he choose?
Bergondo: He wants to do biochemistry because he loves the sciences and he excels in chemistry. He loves science.
Panther Press: How did he prepare for college admissions?
Bergondo: He did very well in school and he’s involved in a lot of things, but, Trevor only does what Trevor wants to do. Trevor’s end goal was never, “I want to get into an amazing college,“ or “ I want amazing grades.” He’s just lucky very interested in learning and he’s very into doing lot of things, and that’s what Rutgers Honors College looks for. It looks for a variety of interests, so he did not just perform well academically he achieved well in language arts, math and science all the things. He was in Drama, he spent four years in Drama Club performing plays. He did cross country four years so he was athletic, he was captain as a senior, he also did winter track and spring track, he did Poetry Out Loud, he did Shakespeare competitions, he just has a lot of interest and that’s what they look for in Honors College. It’s not just SAT scores or good GPA and challenging classes. He was in AP classes and he got 5’s on his AP test and got 1500 on his SAT’s and was involved in different things. He also did something called, “Cool Kids,” and also tutored for “School House.”
Panther Press: Were there any activities that helped on his application?
Bergondo: I think all of those things I just mentioned, because he was in the arts, he did plays, he did athletics and he did community service, he was in Cool Kids and tutored for SAT’s.
Panther Press: What was the most challenging in the application process?
Bergondo: The essays. He really didn’t like the essays. There were a lot of essays and you have to try and make them unique, original, well-written. There’s a lot of effort that needs to go into these essays.
Panther Press: What was his reaction when he got into the Honors College?
Bergondo: He was excited, and I’ll start crying because I cried. He was excited because they offered him money too. They gave him a scholarship.
Panther Press: Is he going to any Honors programs?
Bergondo: He got into every school he applied to. He got into the honors programs for all of them, for University of Vermont, University of Maine, everywhere he applied to they put him in the honors program. But, he wanted Rutgers.
Panther Press: Is he excited for Rutgers and what is he looking forward to at Rutgers?
Bergondo: He was so excited. I think just the whole experience. Getting to pick your own classes; you’re not told what you have to take. You get to pick what you want. You know you could take science or language arts. There’s so many different types of classes you can take that interest you. So I think he’s excited about that, living on his own in his own room, meeting new people. He is kinda done with some of his high school friends and looking forward to new connections and relationships with kids.
Panther Press: Is there anything else you want to add?
Bergondo: No, just that it’s going to be a beautiful journey for him.
