All throughout high school I was excited about the idea of college, especially during the beginning of my senior year… But now that application deadlines are soon, the excitement has died down. The five schools I’m in the process of applying to are nice and all, but I don’t feel like I’ll belong to any of them (or even get accepted).
I want to get out of high school, but at the same time I’ll miss some people. What if I won’t make good friends in college? I’m extremely socially awkward and it took me all of high school to find the right kinds of friends to be with. I WANT (NEED) to get out of my house though, but I don’t want to leave my city (if I get into Irvine or Riverside I’d probably commute so much). Idk, I’m just worried that college won’t be a good experience for me.
Is anyone else having second thoughts and doubting themselves? Because at this point I’m just so overwhelmed and I can’t process anything in my mind anymore.
Definitely apply to some safeties, so you won’t have to worry about acceptances.
Have you toured these schools? I believe that you know if you’ll enjoy a college, so make sure to visit.
Most colleges are larger than high schools, (especially the UCs), so you’ll definitely meet some friends! If you commute, and your friends are away, you may not enjoy yourself. Living off campus will probably be expensive. Also, it’s usually easier to make friends as a resident, so take this into consideration.
I’m a senior as well, we’re all stressing during the application season. Once we get our acceptances, we’ll feel much better! The fun parts of senior year like prom & graduation aren’t far away! Good luck.
Make sure you have at least one school that isn’t too far from home and that you are pretty sure to get into, so you have that choice on May 1 if you want it. Senior year is bittersweet that way. You are saying goodbye to a lot of stuff.
@newjerseygirl98 @intparent I applied to one safety school that’s only 39 minutes away from my house, and the other schools are nearby where I live.
Thank you for the responses though! I’m still a bit nervous but I guess I’m just not use to a lot of independence and college is definitely one huge step!
If nothing goes as planned, then I’ll stick to the 2 year community college and then transfer plan.
Apply to Liberal Arts Colleges and smaller universities, so that you won’t feel “lost in the crowd”. It’ll be easier to make friends if you live on campus, in the dorms, and especially if you’re part of a living-learning community where you live together and take a couple classes together. LLCs can focus on an academic theme, a career, a cultural common trait, a hoby or extracurricular interest. More and more there are also “Leadership” LLCs.
Here are two examples outside of California :
http://wp.stolaf.edu/americon/community/
http://uncw.edu/uc/excel/
At the UCs, you can typically request a “Quiet Hall” or “Substance free Hall” (ie., you can party and be wild elsewhere, then go home to a quiet, well-maintained dorm, and there are activities planned for residents, ice cream socials, trips, etc) and some UCs have LLCs too:
http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/residence-halls/living-learning-communities
http://housing.ucdavis.edu/education/communities/
What makes a liberal arts college different from a university and community college? @MYOS1634
I applied the CSUSM, which has low enrollment (and close to home). And SDSU may be big but it’s home to me and so the size won’t matter much. UCSD is too hard to get into, but if I do that would be wonderful :’) I am considering living in dorms the first year if I like the campus a lot, but I’m not sure. My parents are strict lol.
A residential liberal arts college is conceived like a community. The setting is designed so that you make friends easily. As he adjective “residential” implies, almost all students live on campus. The dorms are designed to be little communities with activities. Orientation lasts a couple days and may include an adventure or volunteer trip together (Hendrix does that, and it works very well), a dorm vs. dorm challenge, ice cream socials, activities, a small-group discussion based on the reading the entire freshman class had to do over the summer…
At a large university, “orientation” often is one day when you get your picture taken, you sign up for classes, and get your campus ID, perhaps you have a presentation about things to do or not to do on campus. It’s an individual experience, not a time where all students are supposed to meet and bond over common experiences - totally different.
A LAC is smaller, so you meet people often and you always have someone with whom to eat lunch, vs. at a large university where you might meet someone and if you haven’t exchanged names and phone numbers immediately, you’re unlikely to come accross again. Your classes have 15, 18, or 25 students, so that it’s easy to interact, and because the classes are small, they’re highly interactive. If the college is strong enough, the students are also motivated and the exchanges really interesting, with the professors prodding and guiding rather than lecturing. It’s less anonymous - in fact, the professors know you by name, and at some colleges you can invite them to lunch on your school’s dime, or they invite you to their house, especially if they require an interdisciplinary first-year seminar.
Living on campus always makes a difference. Commuting makes it MUCH harder to make friends. You’ll have to make a conscious effort to stay on campus and participate in clubs and study groups, even if it means returning home at midnight (because study groups often end at 10 or 11pm).
What’s your budget? What are your stats?
Look into University Redlands, for instance.