The Waiting Game: Or, how to survive applying for the College Program Part 1

Wow, guys. I kind of fail at updating. Here's my excuse: National Novel Writing Month. I managed to churn out a 50,000 word novel that I'm actually really proud of, but it sort of killed my writing juju for... what month is it now? Three months? Dang.

Did someone say Disney?

Disney wasn't going to have any of that, though. On January 23, 2012, Disney opened applications for the Fall and Fall-Advantage 2012 Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort College Programs!
They're open! That means you should go apply! Go now! Go now before I run out of my quota of exclamation points!

Applying for the College Program

"But Sprinkles," you might ask, "What's the difference between Fall and Fall Advantage?"
Good question, hypothetical questioner! Fall Advantage actually starts in the summer, so it goes from May/June-January. Fall just goes August-January. There are many reasons why you might want to do Fall Advantage. For example, my hopefully-roommate wants Fall Advantage because she wants to get down to Disney ASAP. I applied for Fall Advantage because I want to room with my hopefully-roommate.
The downside is, of course, summer. Heat, crowds, busy busy busy!

Don' wake me up until my shift tomorrow.

The perks are that you get to see more holidays (Fourth of July, anyone?) and you get more time at Disney.

So once you've thought about whether you would want to do Fall or Fall Advantage, go ahead and head on over to the website that will be your best friend for the next couple of weeks: The Disney College Program Home Page. Ready to click that green button? Well, don't. I highly recommend (and so does the application) that you read the entire page and familiarize yourself with it. You all are big kids, I'm going to assume that you are going to do that.

Application time!
Here's a little guide to help you out with coming up with your password (so that you don't have to try making one five times like I did). It has to be case-sensitive, contain a symbol, and contain a number. So ThisIsMyP4ssw0rd! is an acceptable choice, while thisismypassword is not.

While you're filling out your application, you come to a section where you need to rank the available roles as High Interest, Moderate Interest, Low Interest, and No Interest. No Interest means that either you are not qualified for it, or you would rather not be accepted than have to work that role. I didn't put 'no interest' in anything, but I had to consider that they might very well put me in custodial again. That one was low interest, but it's still an option because I would rather go down to Disney as a custodian than wait another six months to apply.

Cinderella is judging me. 

So, if water terrifies you or you don't have a driver's license, don't select things like transportation or lifeguard.

Everything else about the application is pretty self-explanatory. Be honest, of course, and take your time. After you're finished and some time passes, you should get a "Thank You for Applying" e-mail. Then, it's on to the thing that strikes fear into the hearts of all potential CPers.

The Web-Based Interview (WBI)

Not so cheeky now, huh, Cindy?

 

Okay, first of all, calm down. Just because you've heard horror stories about the WBI doesn't mean that it is impossible to overcome, even if the answers are timed. There are just some ground rules to follow, and you should be fine:

1. Read the instructions.
2. Make sure you read every question twice.
3. Look over the scale each time to make sure you're answering how you want (strongly agree, neutral, etc)
4. CALM YO' MOUSE EARS DOWN!

Seriously. Stay calm, take a deep breath, and go. You'll be fine.

This is getting pretty long and I have some dishes to do. So, I'll continue with the next steps in the next post!