<p>I got a full-ride scholarship to the University of Virginia. Yet I'm not sure if I can be happy there. Let me let you know that I am already binded to attend the school so I don't have much choice. But I want to love UVa so please show me how.</p>
<p>UVa is such a beautiful and top-notch academic college. It also has a great social life on campus and is a work hard play hard school.</p>
<p>Yet, I will now be across the country from my siblings....
Also, I am a city girl that likes a big city with lots to do not just on campus full of internship opportunities and overall fun and excitement to be had.</p>
<p>Most kids wind up loving the college they attend, even if it wasn’t their first choice or was an environment they didn’t originally intend on. I sort of get the feeling that the small minority that is unhappy could be unhappy anywhere. Not that there aren’t mismatches, but the odds are in your favor. </p>
<p>Also, regardless of where you go to school, the campus itself tends to become home. For a large number of students, if it’s further than 10 minutes off campus, it’s not worth bothering to go to. There are probably students who go to Columbia and never go anywhere else in New York outside of the surrounding neighborhood, unless it’s to go to the airport or train station.</p>
<p>There will be some challenges for you in moving across the country, away from your family and your familiar environment, and into a new community. But most students do adapt. One thing that you can do now would be to get in touch with any other QB students who are at that university or who have already graduated. They should have some useful ideas for you.</p>
<p>Wishing you much success at your new university!</p>
<p>Get involved…from day one join organizations that interest you. You will be surprised how quickly the size of the city becomes a non-issue because you will be so busy with being in the band, the cheer group, the game day hosting, the business club, the dorm social club, the whatever it is that excites you club!</p>
<p>Congratulations! Very few QB students were “matched” this year, so this is truly an accomplishment! :)</p>
<p>Ask QB to put you in touch with other QB matches who are going to UVA. And as suggested above, check out the forum here. :)</p>
<p>Also, most students live on campus and never actually go anywhere because they’re so busy all the time and everything is there at their fingertips - UVA has a huge, beautiful campus anyway. Plus, you’ll be able to spend a semester abroad in a big city if you wish :)</p>
<p>First of all congratulations. And you have some good advice above me. I’d also suggest that you try to get involved early not only academically but in clubs and activities that pique your interest. And Skype your siblings on a schedule like one set time per week so you can look forward to it but it doesn’t overwhelm your life at college (it is not the same, my brother lives in China, but it does help to see him and hear him).</p>
<p>I sent my 17yo to Italy for 2 months in August. I missed her terribly and I worried about her every day. But I found out how to use Skype, and that made our lives a whole lot better. I found I could talk to her face-to-face (almost) once or twice a week for as long as we wanted and that relieved the loneliness and worry a great deal. Teach your family members how to Skype before you go and it could really help overcome the distance. UVA’s a great school and beloved of Marylanders, Charlottesville is a really nice small town IMO, and the history of the colonies, early republic, and Civil War will surround you there. There’s also Washington, DC, just two hours away, and it has a lot of free museums and cheap stuff to do for when you miss a city. Congratulations, and good luck.</p>
<p>uvaquestiegirl, everyone here has great advice for you. I wanted to add, in case it helps, that you are not alone! You would be surprised at the number of matched kids who find out they are matched, scream for joy and then immediately question their choice of school. This happens with regular ED and when kids make decisions during RD too. Its a momentous decision, deciding where you will go to college, especially if you are moving away from family and familiar life. And however amazing that full ride is, it’s still a binding decision and you are committed! It’s very normal to get cold feet - people do it before their weddings too ;)</p>
<p>You don’t need to worry about making it work at UVA yet - you aren’t going anywhere for another 8-9 months! Can you try to relax and enjoy knowing that the hurtling train of college applications has come to screeching stop for you ?! you don’t have to fill out another supplement, write even one more essay, you don’t have to fax another mountain of finaid documents, no more common app, no more Naviance - you are DONE and your college education is paid for! </p>
<p>In the meantime, when you’re ready, connect with the Quest chapter at UVA, and the 8 matched UVA questies. You can also try to remember what made you rank UVA - out of 35 schools you chose 8 (at the most) and UVA was among them, so whatever you loved about it is still there waiting for you and there will be much more!
MrMom is so right - the vast majority of kids in college feel that they landed in the right place regardless of how they got there, (and even if they weren’t lucky enough to be matched to a top school with a full ride ). Congratulations!!!</p>
and there will be much more!