25 years ago: carefully hand-write half-page essays on pre-printed application forms, attach $50 checks for application fees, beg your mother to drive your proc

25 years ago: carefully hand-write half-page essays on pre-printed application forms, attach $50 checks for application fees, beg your mother to drive your procrastinating self to the downtown post office by 5pm on December 31. Start receiving long-awaited envelopes around Spring Break, and speculate on whether said envelopes were thin because they contained simple rejection letters, or because the desired financial aid details would follow the next week.