What do you regret not doing during your college application process/ transition to college/ life in college? What would you do better? Any advice for those currently going through this process right now?
If you get rejected from your first choice(s) and end up at a school further down your list, you have to get excited about going to that school. At least a little bit. Otherwise, you’ll go in expecting to be miserable, and then you will be.
Are you a junior and just starting the serious part of selecting your choices and applying or are you a senior in wait mode?
If you are a senior, there’s nothing you can do to change what the outcome is going to be. Regret is a waste of time and emotion. Get happy about your eventual choice and go for it.
If you are a junior, be proactive about preparing for the SAT and/or ACT if you haven’t already taken them. Take a few practice tests so you are prepared to plan your time during the real thing. Do the very best you can in all of your current classes, don’t let things slide. Talk to your parents about what they expect to be able to contribute to your education and run some NPCs with them so that you are applying to schools that you’ll be able to afford in the end. Visit a school or two if you have the time and resources to do so. Work on your essays over the summer and not at the last minute. Then start building your list. Work on your applications in advance of deadlines. Don’t make excuses, and don’t have regrets.
Put in more reach apps for curiosity’s sake, as long as the financial strain of more application fees isn’t too much. You will always wonder if you would have gotten into xx school. This is your chance to know. Every school on your list doesn’t have to be a perfectly curated fit for you. Explore a little.
reading stories on CC I gather:
- Some people put way more effort into their dream schools rather than finding matches and safeties that they would be happy to go to. Then they are miserable when they are only admitted to safeties.
- Students have to recognize the cost of the colleges they want…Yes your dream may be to to to college in California, but the prices are like private schools.
- Make sure you have any mental health issues resolved before you go to college…they are only amplified.
It’s not about the school, it’s about your interests and dreams. A college brand name is NOT a dream, it’s a fantasy, and in fact, that kind of emotional thinking can keep you from going to a school that is a right fit for you. Find a direction, soul search, and find things you could do for a career. Then base your college search on that. If you enter a university directionless, you’re going to be miserable…because college sucks! It’s that way by design.
I regret not doing the overnight visits during my senior year. I went to my school primarily blind, I liked the area it was around and the reputation it had. If i did go to the overnight visit I probably would have passed on this college and would have went elsewhere. There is too much wrong with my college to get into specifics.
Needless to say, after some college stuff out of my control, i am graduating with a degree I did not want, and 2 minors. One is my actual intended field and am 4 classes from that BA.
Also I was too limited on where I looked, there are now a couple more schools I would have applied to if I could go back. Ones most likely would have been a better fit for me.
I was a transfer student with really no guidance during my college app process, so I definitely second that one should seek help and be more open to different schools or you might end up with nowhere to go. When I first applied, my schools were: USC, UCLA, UCB, UCSD, and CSULB. I figured CSULB would be a safety school, but they rejected me so fast that it wasn’t even funny. I didn’t get into any of my choices. The next time I applied, I did so more broadly. I applied to the same schools, but also added CSUF and CSULA. The second go around, I got into all of the schools that had rejected me the year before.
Also, one of my biggest regrets was rushing my college experience. I was a spring transfer student, so I was in a hurry to graduate “on-time” with the rest of the fall 2015 class. My projected graduation date wasn’t until spring 2018! I wanted to make sure I walked and graduated with the spring 2017 class. To do this, I took on way too much and my GPA suffered by tackling a summer session at USC. I wasn’t prepared for how brutal summer classes at USC actually are. And the funny thing is, by the time it was spring 2017, everything was turning around for me and I was truly getting to do things I never though I’d do. I was doing research, taking a graduate class, and heck, I was even getting A’s in Viterbi classes 
I never thought that last one would happen. Oh how I wish I could have slowed down just a little and spent another semester at SC instead of rushing. I guess I really just want to stress that it doesn’t have to be a race. I felt like I would be behind other people my age, but that reason seems so silly looking back on things now.
Find schools that will fit you, not because of the name. Also pleeeeeaassee think about the costs. Just because you get into Harvard or Yale doesn’t mean you can afford to go. Also, do what works for YOU. Don’t pay attention to what others are doing. You finish when you are supposed to. And also have lots of fun.
When you go to college, try to take on as many opportunities as you can. If there’s anything you are interested in doing while in college, do it (even if the opportunity both scares you and interests you). And definitely do not spend college mostly just studying for classes without getting involved in anything because freshman year goes by very quickly and eventually you will be almost halfway done with college and feel like you’ve wasted half of college since though you studied for classes you never really developed a college experience which is crucial for mental health/satisfaction with college experience (after all you are paying a lot of money for it) as well as good additions to resumes.
It seems too simple but: Visit and spend time at any college you are seriously considering.
I have a close friend who dreamed of attending UC Berkeley ever since she was small. It was all about pride. Her family pushed her to attend and she wanted and loved the accolades she received being accepted to this once prestigious university (OK, UCB is still prestigious but it’s reputation is somewhat soiled as of late). Her first time on campus was her first day of class. Her dorm mates were wealthy elitists from Canada and New York, respectively, and she hated every moment with them. She enrolled in subjects she had never had before and was quickly overwhelmed by their difficulty and the pace. With over 500 students in each course, getting any help from a professional was impossible. The campus seemed weird and the people even weirder to her small town, conservative upbringing.
Miserable and with a transcript to match she managed to rescue herself by being accepted to lowly CSU Stanislaus where she successfully completed her degree. Like carpenters say, “measure twice, cut once.”
As far as “life in college” as you go off to whatever school you go to, remember a couple of things:
No matter where you are going -
You will not be the smartest person on campus, no matter where you go.
You will never read every book in the library.
You will never take every interesting class at the school. Or even scratch the surface.
There are some classes you have to take, but generally: Professors are more important than classes. Once you handle required courses, you are better off taking any course with an awesome, engaging prof rather than an interesting subject with a snooze, disinterested mess of a prof.
Remember that there are things at college that you will never again have in “real life.”
That many people your age all in the same place doing essentially the same thing.
That much cool stuff, often for free, happening right outside your door.
That much time to check out all sorts of subjects, interests and passions.
Access to so many people who are both paid to try to feed your brain, and most often find it a calling as well.
Make use of these things. 'Cause once you graduate and you’re in your new apartment in your new city, you will want to walk down the hall, grab a friend and go to the free lecture by NYT best selling author du jour and afterward all meet for a beer to discuss… but it won’t be near as easy as in college. And you’ll regret all the stuff you didn’t do…
Dream schools are a bit overrated. Yes they can be everything you wanted, but that means it is far from the only place you can flourish or a place you will be happy 100% of the time.
“College is the best four years of your life” gets thrown out there a lot, and I feel like it is incredibly misleading. Yes it can be a great few years with wonderful memories, but assuming that everything will be happy all the time and that everyone around you is happy/got everything figured out is a lie. Once you realize that you make your own experience, not some clique, that is incredibly liberating. I personally refuse to accept that college is the best four years. Yes it has been great, but that neglects the rest of your life. I intend to make it better.
Live life with no regrets.
Thank you to all who have answered to this thread! Your advice is very helpful!
I will just throw this out there- talk to current students and recent graduates to really get a sense of the school. The brochures and stuff are obviously going to hype it up, it’s good to hear the perspective of someone who has experienced both the good and bad parts.
“It’s not about the school, it’s about your interests and dreams. A college brand name is NOT a dream, it’s a fantasy, and in fact, that kind of emotional thinking can keep you from going to a school that is a right fit for you. Find a direction, soul search, and find things you could do for a career. Then base your college search on that. If you enter a university directionless, you’re going to be miserable…because college sucks! It’s that way by design.”
^^^ This. College is not your destination. College is your vehicle and you are the driver. If you go to college and do the minimum that’s where you’ll be. If you use the opportunities (regardless of where you attend) it can take you places.
One thing I will say is that while it’s a good idea to know what you want to do/study in college, it’s also okay to not know or to change your mind. It’s college and there are going to be a lot happening all at once. Sometimes, your interests will change and that’s okay. Just make sure you have the resources available to you and to understand what it means if you wish to change your major. I’d also advise you to not wait too long to make this decision too close to your junior or senior year. I changed to a double major and instead of graduating this Spring I will be graduating in the Fall.
Some advice for the people who’re currently in the process:
- Try to fit some form of physical activity in your day: From a simple walk around campus to an intense workout, it's important to add some movement into your daily schedule.
- Find a good studying strategy: Once you find one that works well for you, then studying for midterms/finals will be easier for you to manage.
- Be socially active: Just put yourself out there. You should be open to meeting new people, joining (clubs, frats, and sororities), and slowing crawling out of your comfort zone only if you feel comfortable in doing that. You can go to parties if you want to, but just be smart about it. It's all fun and games until something bad happens.
Remember, having fun in college isn’t just limited to partying, but the important thing is to find something that interests you. Once you find your calling, then you’ll enjoy college more than ever. You may never want to go home for a weekend just because of your overall enjoyment of college.
4 years will fly by fast. I still remember when I first moved in, it was a slight culture shock, but then, I eventually got used to it. I’m currently a sophomore now, and I still enjoy the things that I do.
I don’t regret where I am now–I actually love it. But I will say, for the purpose of alleviating the stress of my past self:
- I wish I would've had an actual conversation about finances with my parents. We spoke about it in a general sense but I don't think either of us really thought about it and we all assumed that I'd get good merit/need-based aid.
- I wish I would've applied for more scholarships and considered programs like Questbridge and Posse. Having a full ride to a great school was worth the try--however, I had never heard of/considered many of the schools on the lists my senior year.
- I wish I would've established my college list earlier and in a more organized manner. I wish I would've applied to more colleges. I had one or two "safeties," but I didn't realize that one wasn't actually a safety (I got in) and I had never seriously considered attending the other one. It's important to be able to see yourself at all of the schools on your college list, even the safeties! If I remember correctly, I applied to nine colleges and five were "reach" schools--rejected from all five! I wish I'd given myself more options by applying to schools better suited for me academically and financially.
- I probably should have given more thought to attending schools in my home state. I'm thinking of privates mostly so this has nothing to do with in-state tuition, but residents do get scholarships and also I miss my friends who still live/visit there!
But I am where I’m supposed to be and I love my school! So everything worked out in the end. I’ve felt the crushing weight of rejection and getting accepted to a school but not having the money to attend. And I believe that all happened for different reasons that make more sense in retrospect. Current seniors shouldn’t necessarily take it all in stride. However, I do believe that life goes on and, in many cases, for the better.
I wish I had done the golden four (required classes for transfer) first and hadn’t taken so long to finally decide on a major. It would have saved me a year and a bunch of money. Also, I regret not going to the UC I wanted to go to and deciding to go to the university that’s closest to my home instead. But it is what it is and I am planning to go to that UC for graduate school so it will all even itself out in the end. Point is, don’t always settle on what’s convenient.