Am I going to the right college?

Student Lounge College Life
1

I’m the first kid my parents had to send away to college which wasn’t easy for them especially my mom. When I was starting to apply to colleges I remember my mom encouraging me to apply to all in-state colleges that were less than an hour away from home. She didn’t want me to leave home and would get quiet whenever I would talk about applying to colleges far away. Eventually I convinced her to let me apply to 2 colleges out of state; one an hour away and the other 5 hours away. I ended up getting accepted to the college 5 hours away and was waitlisted to the one an hour away. I remember not knowing what to do. I didn’t know if I should stay in-state where I could visit my family every weekend or if I should go 5 hours away. I hardly knew anything about this out of state school except that it was my only choice of going away to college. I ended up choosing that school since I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and wanted more indpendence.

I’m now a sophomore at this college and I’m wondering if I made the right choice. If I had applied to more out of state colleges would this have been the college I would have chose? I’m not sure, but I feel like this was my only option at the time. I didn’t have multiple schools to choose from. It was either in-state or out of state for me. I’m now wishing that I would have applied to more urban schools since my college is in an rural/suburban and I sometimes wish there were more things to do. I have also had a difficult time making friends at this college, but I’m not sure if that’s because I’m at the wrong college or if it’s just me. Could anyone give me some advice on all of this? It’s really stressing me out to think that I could have make a wrong choice that will affect the rest of my life.

2

Second guessing. Regrets. Buyer’s remorse. Cold feet. Life is all about choices and consequences of those choices. You’re showing some maturity in reflecting on this choice and thinking about your motivations. Also there’s a reason for the term “sophomore slump.”

What I’m curious about is your mother who figured so prominently in how you recall selecting this school. You don’t mention how she’s handled your 1.5 years away.

3

@Oregon2016 I communicate with my mom everyday whether it’s texting or Skype. Whenever I talk to her about any of my problems she says jokingly that I should move back to New Jersey. She’s been handling me going away better than I expected though. I think she realized that she’s been way too overprotective of me and that I had to become more independent by moving away.

4

Your daily contact with your mom is very heartwarming- I’m sure she treasures you. So it sounds like you’re going through a down time and naturally trying to sort out what needs to change. I looked at your past posts and it looks like you really thought out your college selection and you are at the right school for you. But things do change too. Seek advice from someone at the college who can help you pin down whether your misgivings are based on social or academic confusion and how to move forward in a positive way.

5

While being close to your mom is good I feel that she has made you acclimation and satisfaction with your current college difficult. You are becoming an adult and need to develop an adult relationship with your mother. You are no longer her little boy.

To answer your title question, it appears that you are at the right college.