With two weeks before college decisions my situation is becoming very complex. During the college process I was incredibly thorough, sending applications to over 20 schools most of which I visited and knew a great deal about. After decisions, my top options are Wellesley, Wesleyan, Northeastern, and UVA.
Having visited each of them I am only more confused than I was before. Each have things I like and things I don’t but I am not excited or in love with any of them, or the whole college process in general. Given how objectively incredible my options are it is making me question a few things, if these schools are right/good fits for me and if not should I reapply to others and risk loosing the ones I have now? If given such top choices I can’t connect to any, than I am simply just not ready for college at this time and should commit to the one I like the most now and then take a gap year?
I am feeling burnt out and unsure of what I want but I also do not want to prolong this process any more than it already has been or commit to a school that isn’t right for me.
Thanks for all advice!
Are your choices affordable?
If you did a gap year, what would you do? Work to earn money to help pay for college?
Not everyone falls in love with their campus at first sight, but many learn to love their school once they are attending. Others fall hard for a dreamschool and have a tougher time with the imperfect day to day reality of life on their chosen campus.
If you’re not feeling passionate about one place, be logical. Choose the school that seems to be the best combination of financial, academic, and social fit. Go give it a try.
yes. I am incredibly lucky to be able to pay for any option I choose. That being said, I will be factoring cost into both my college decision and the gap year option
If I gap year it would be with the goals of rejuvenating myself after a grueling high school career and college application process, to grow in confidence and resiliency as well as independence. To those ends I would most likely split the time between some combination of traveling\service\language immersion\internships
If you don’t want to go through college admissions again, ask one of your acceptances to hold a space for the you during your gap year.
To me, the question is what do you think is going to change during a potential gap year that will make you more ready to make the decision and enter college?
Particularly for high-achieving students who were good enough to get into the schools you got into, I think it’s normal to feel a little meh right now - probably at least partially due to exhaustion! I also think it’s normal to feel quite ‘done’ with the whole process.
All colleges, including the one you will eventually attend, will have things you like and things you don’t like. I think the process of choosing a college is mythologized to the point that you feel like you have to be super hyped and passionate about it, but you don’t - many, many students (probably most, actually) choose a college based on practical reasons. You can grow to love your campus over time. Not feeling supernaturally “connected” to any college right now isn’t a sign that you aren’t ready for college.
Furthermore, taking a gap year doesn’t really get rid of your primary problem, which is making a decision. Even if you took a gap year and deferred admission, you’d still have to choose which one you wanted to attend so you could defer. So I think it behooves you to make a decision now, and then think about whether you want to attend that college in the fall or take a year.
Wesleyan requires you to submit a plan for what you intend to do during your gap year. Northeastern’s deferrals are not guaranteed; there is a possibility that you can be denied, and if you are you have to reapply for admission for whatever semester you want to enter.
I’m all in favor of gap years. Your brain is still growing and there’s nothing wrong with arriving on campus with a slightly more developed prefrontal cortex. Yes, by all means, make the most of your time; finding a job would be great; maybe, take that trip to India you’ve been thinking about. Wesleyan, in particular, is a good place to land as a non-traditional student.
Interesting group of schools. One (Wellesley) is a single sex, small LAC, one (Northeastern) emphasizes co-ops/internships; one is a quite liberal LAC (Wesleyan) and one (Virginia) is a moderate leaning large state school.
What do you plan to study ? What do you want to do after college ? Do you want a small school environment ?
the reasoning behind each of them is this: I am leaning more towards Wells and Wes because I like the support and student professor relationships lent by both, am attracted to the “learning to be leaders” of Wellesley and the humor and happiness of Wesleyan as well as their open curriculum. With Northeastern they have incredible opportunities built into the program and UVA is my state school so its a good and safe option.
I plan on studying humanities, a mixture of international relations, philosophy, and peace and justice studies, all with a global message. In my dream world I would like to pursue a job in international humanitarian aid at the UN or a large-scale nonprofit. That being said I want to focus on issues like war crises and refugees, more so than social justice issues. The professor student relationships and support of small school environments appeal to me but I would like my school to have both opportunities and energy. Maybe that is too much to ask…
thanks for all
Maybe take a gap year doing service work.
You sound to me like you could really use that gap year for much needed R&R from the academic rat race, and that you would also be able to use it well for your own personal growth. Contact the top two on your list. Ask about deferral for a gap year. When you have their responses, you will be able to make a choice.
Enjoy that year off!