When Pete Gilligan '09 first started documenting his college application process on his blog in November 2004, he thought it would just be a simple way to keep his friends and family informed of his situation.
"I just wanted to have an easy way to share with friends my college situation," said the 18-year-old from Edina, Minn.
But soon after Gilligan started writing about the status of his application to Brown, among other schools, he started getting unexpected visitors on his Web site. Parents and prospective students searching for information on colleges and the admission process on the Internet often found themselves on Gilligan's page, and after not too long, his blog had a small base of readers who were interested in his progress.
"I really doubted it would do anything," he said.
Gilligan's blog, a surprisingly candid first-hand account of the college application process, captured the spirit of an anxious high school senior. Readers were able to follow the ups and downs of Gilligan's experience and read about his feelings about the process, which ranged from nervousness to disappointment to confidence that bordered on the cocky.
Gilligan, who applied to Brown early decision and has written several times in his blog that Brown was his first choice, wrote about his anxiety over the whole process in one of his earlier postings on Nov. 22. "I seriously think I'm going to go insane," he wrote. "College applications are driving Pete absolutely mad. ... I really am hoping that I am admitted to Brown University early decision just so I can stop worrying about this. I'm still working on finalizing my other schools. I'll know in 18 days."
He seemed especially anxious in the days leading up to the Dec. 10 early decision date. In a Dec. 1 post, Gilligan wrote, "I'll hear back from Brown in about nine days regarding my application decision. I'm quite nervous and if I don't get in I'll be disappointed, but I'll get over it. Hell, I think I'll get in. I hope I don't have to bite my tongue."
His apprehension reached its peak in a 12 a.m. post on Dec. 10, 16 hours before Gilligan would know the status of his application. In the post, titled "Waiting...," Gillian posted only a picture of an ellipsis with the following words written below, "Friday, December 10, 2004. Four o'clock," referring to the time when he would find out his fate.
Finally the hour came, and readers found out about the status of his application through the one picture Gilligan posted on that day: the Van Wickle Gates, with the word "DEFERRED" in bold white letters above it.
"I guess I knew this was coming," he wrote beneath the picture. "My grades really aren't good enough to get in to a school like Brown, and my SAT scores pretty much suck.
"Now I'm just concerned that I'm not going to be able to get in to any school!" he added, echoing the fears of thousands of fellow applicants.
But the next day, Gilligan bounced back from his deferral, trying to motivate himself in a Dec. 11 post:
"Well, I was pretty disappointed yesterday to see that Brown deferred me to the regular admission pool. Quite honestly, I expected, and I deserved to be admitted. ... I'm going to be a freshman at Brown this fall. Mark my words."
But now, reflecting on that post, he said he was trying to motivate himself, although he admits he may have come off as arrogant.
"I think it was that one that was putting me out there and made me seem that I got really obsessed," he said. "I think it was more of a motivational kind of thing. I was really emotional at the time. ... Where I was coming from, it wasn't really such a cocky thing, but a motivational thing. I believe that if you really want to do something, you can do it."
Regardless, Gilligan's defiance did not follow into subsequent postings. At the end of his Dec. 12 "College Application Panic" post, in which in finalized the list of schools to which he was applying, Gilligan wrote:
"I want this to end. NOW. I really just want to be in a school and know for sure that I'm going to enjoy the next four years of my life there. I still think I'm going to end up at Brown, but I'm feeling really uncertain and it makes me feel sick and unhappy."
In the next three and a half months, Gilligan continued to periodically update his site with thoughts on his college selection process, although not as often as before. In a March 6 post, he wrote:
"There are 26 more days left until April 1st, and my anxiousness towards college decisions is in full swing. I'm not afraid of rejection; I'm more afraid of the unknown."
Finally, on March 31, Gilligan got the news for which he had been waiting.
"I hope you are as pleased to receive this decision notification as I am to provide it," wrote Gilligan on his blog, copying the decision letter the Admission Office had sent him. "You have been admitted to the 242nd class to enter The College of Brown University."
Gilligan's writings about the college application process attracted a collection of onlookers.
"A lot of people who Googled for Brown statistics wound up on my site," he said, adding that search terms such as "Brown admission statistics" and "Brown deferral" led to his blog.
Gilligan said he met many new people, mostly fellow Brown applicants or their parents, who found their way to his Web site after searching for information about Brown. One woman even gave him encouragement after his deferral.
"I stumbled upon your website as I was curious about student blogs and googled 'brown student blogs,' " wrote a reader who identified herself as "valerie." "My daughter learned today that she was also deferred from Brown. So you are not alone. ... You seem very bright and with it. You will find your place."
Gilligan's blog started receiving even more hits after it was referenced in an article in The Herald in January. After being mentioned in the March/April issue of Brown Alumni Magazine, he even started receiving comments and e-mails from current and former Brown students. Two students, one alum and various other well-wishers posted congratulations on his blog after his acceptance to Brown.
"I've been getting tons of e-mails from (about five or six) alumni," Gilligan said. "A lot of them are saying congratulations, or come to Brown. ... That's the (group) I've gotten the most response from because I think alumni want me to come to their school."
Looking back at the process, Gilligan said he enjoyed blogging about his college search.
"I met a good number of people," Gilligan said, speaking of the numerous fellow college applicants and Brown alums he met through the process. "The blogosphere in general is a nice way to get to know people and to share thoughts."
In that same spirit, Gilligan is now trying to help future college applicants by posting his college essays on his blog, as well as the follow up letters he sent to Brown after his deferral.
As for his future at Brown, Gilligan couldn't be happier.
"I'm really excited, and the people I've talked to seem awesome," he said. "I feel really blessed."
