<p>Is anyone entering college this fall absolutely hating it? Honestly, I'm not that excited for college at all and would rather stay in my senior year (yikes!!!).</p>
<p>I suppose, I'm more interested in whether anyone know of someone or has had such a feeling of dread, and how college eventually did affect him/her....</p>
<p>I'm just scared that this mindset before even entering college will predispose my freshman year to absolute cr@p!!</p>
<p>Any observations/stories?</p>
<p>Dude seriously, college is a million times better than high school. Quit worrying and start looking forward to the next four years that will totally change your life and how you view things.</p>
<p>if you're not excited to go to college, then maybe you should go to a different college. Or maybe you should talk more to college students.</p>
<p>stanfordkid, you're going to stanford (if I guessed right) so why shouldn't you be excited to go to college? It's not like you're going to Notre Dame.</p>
<p>OK Stanfordkid2008, you're going to have to fill in some holes for me here --</p>
<p>You are a straight A student who lives on the East Coast. You were accepted to:</p>
<p>Stanford
Dartmouth
Cornell
Penn
Vanderbilt
BigStateU </p>
<p>You also got into, but never really discussed:</p>
<p>Duke
Washu
Northwestern
Emory
Johns Hopkins</p>
<p>You said most recently that you decided against Stanford because it was too far from home. You said you were leaning away from Penn and Dartmouth because of very little aid. You never said what happened to Cornell, JH, Emory, Duke, NU or WashU.</p>
<p>You never closed any of the threads you started asking for advice, so nobody knows what you decided or why. People were advising you to look closely at Vanderbilt and its $39k aid to you. You said BigStateU was a free ride plus a $10k stipend to spend as you wished. You mentioned on I can't remember which thread that you were really uncertain about going away to a school and having to make friends again from scratch... that this is not easy for you. so I assume you chose BigStateU.</p>
<p>As it is past May 1, you're going to have to bring us up to speed about which you choose, and why? After knowing that we might be able to give you some worthwhile input.</p>
<p>You know, your posts are starting to add up to a whole bunch of .... creative writing.</p>
<p>Are you afraid of going far away? What is bothering you about going to college?
You should be really excited about going to college unless you are burnt out? Maybe it's a good idea to take a gap year, ie delay going to college for one year. Some schools do allow this.</p>
<p>Did you attend an admitted students' weekend at the school you are headed to in the fall (i.e., ProFro weekend at Stanford)? If not, many schools (especially big state schools) have summer orientation weekends that serve the same purpose.
You need to start making friends and researching your life at your new school...there will be a student group for almost anything you are interested in...reach out and contact them now for information.</p>
<p>Stanford, Penn, dartnouth etc are all amazing schools. You should be thrilled!</p>
<p>Thanks people...</p>
<p>to DunninLA:
Sorry, but I find your little "research" into me very offensive and intrusive. I posed a question, and I welcome any replies to that question. I did not ask for you to delve into my school life. If there are rules here that mandate my revealing my life, please do tell me.</p>
<p>well the thing is that no two colleges are alike, and aside from generic "yay more freedom and beers" etc boilerplate, there are specific and real reasons to appreciate college, but that's hard to do without specifics. I can't tell you about the joys of collegiate urban adventures if you're going to dartnouth. And if you're from NYC, that wouldn't even matter to you regardless!</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>If there are rules here that mandate my revealing my life, please do tell me.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Of course you don't have to reveal anything. In fact you don't have to post at all. But many people try hard to offer sound and sincere advice on these boards. And for some reason a few people like to take advantage of them and play them for fools by posting bogus problems or spinning complicated yarns to puff themselves up or apparently for the questionable thrill of watching others respond - sort of jerking them around on a string as it were. Thus when someone's story doesn't quite add up or gets too over the top, suspicions of being taken for a ride begin to arise.</p>
<p>So feel free to post as little or as much about yourself as you wish, but be aware that when people have only a confusing and very limited part of the story, it's very hard to give good advice. And they may begin to suspect that someone is simply putting them on.</p>
<p>StanfordKid:</p>
<p>Actually, DunninLA's research was really just clicking on your user name and selecting Find More Posts by StanfordKid. DunninLA got everything from your previous posts - this is all information that you voluntarily posted on CC. </p>
<p>In fairness, that information is relevant to your request for advice so it was not out of line to bring it up. DunninLA could have refrained from the "creative writing" comment. </p>
<p>Whether you are going to be far from home or close by may be part of what is bothering you. Whether you are entering into a very costly venture or you are getting the full ride and feeling like you settled might be part of it. All speculation until you are ready to share information.</p>
<p>Going off to college is a great experience for most people. I'm sure that it can be for you as well.</p>
<p>--K9Leader</p>
<p>stanfordkid2008 -- there are no rules requiring you to reveal anything...</p>
<p>However, don't expect to walk into the doctor saying: "I really need you to fix me!" and the Dr. says, "Fix you where?", and you reply, "I'm not going to tell you. Just figure it out and fix me!"</p>
<p>Could just be transition issues. Going to college is a huge change and many become a little tense over it.<br>
Think back over your life to other big changes - middle school to high school, kindergarten to elementary school, etc. If you were anxious then, it is likely the same type of feelings you are having now, especially if life is pretty good right now. It can be hard stepping out into the unknown.
Over my many years I have learned to see this happening in my life and to not make decisions based on these emotions. I too worry that the new situation won't be any good. I think it is a way of preparing for the worst and then am pleasantly surprised when things are good. You'll be fine.</p>
<p>I grew up knowing that my parents could only afford a state school. There was one school that I had always wanted to attend, but as it turned out, they didn't have my major. There was only one state school that had my major. </p>
<p>I applied and was admitted without ever visiting the campus. I went for an overnight/scholarship competition and was none too thrilled. I knew no one there. I did not want to go. I wanted to go to a community college and work and then transfer. My parents knew that I had gotten one of very few spots in the program and that it would be nearly impossible for me to get in as a transfer. </p>
<p>I had no excitement whatsoever about going to college. I dreaded it. But I did it. I had a terrible 1st semester room mate. I only got through 1st semester by diving into a presidential campaign, which allowed me to meet a lot of like minded people. By second semester I had a new roommate. I made friends. By the end of second semester I was having a blast.</p>
<p>Yes, it took time. But I had a great college experience. You've just got to make yourself do it.</p>
<p>Welll....it is scary to start a while new adventure to some and senior year is comfortable and safe. Your less than thrilled feelings could be fear in disguise. It is normal to feel apprehension about starting a whole new chapter of your life and leaving the old one behind. You may be one of those people that just needs to get there and start living it before you can actually feel OK about it. So, my advise would be to stop thinking about college, put it in the back of your mind and enjoy your summer doing things that make you happy. When you actually leave for school expect that you may feel anxious until you settle in, start classes and get the routine under your belt.</p>
<p>Take a year off and get a job. You will be able to be deferred from wherever you have decided to go and you will probably be more interested in going to college when you see what you have to gain from it. Postponing something you aren't interested in will just give you a chance to catch your breath and make sense of the voyage you're on. If you're not sure about your destination, don't get on the next train!!!! I have never met a single kid who was sorry that they took a year off. I've met quite a few who regretted starting college right after high school.</p>
<p>ya i agree with fatladysings</p>
<p>what fatladysings said.</p>
<p>Check with your college to see if you can defer for a year and keep your spot in your major. Many schools allow this, but not all. You should also ask your college if they would allow you to take a few CC classes during that time. Many will not allow you to attend another school during a gap year and will tell you to reapply as a transfer student. But maybe your college will let you, since it's a state school and they often have a relationship with CCs. It's probably worth the phone call/visit at least. Just make sure you're talking with an admissions officer or higher and not some college kid working in the office. Maybe an email would be better as you would have your answer in writing.</p>
<p>If you do take a gap year, make sure you have/get medical insurance, since most parents' plans don't cover kids if they're not enrolled in college. Car insurance rates may be affected also, since you're no longer a student.</p>
<p>If you decide to go this fall, look into taking insurance that covers your college costs if you decide to leave before the year is over. We took this out for our son in case he had to leave for medical reasons. Schools rarely refund your tution, R & B costs if you leave once classes begin. We heard that if you're on financial aid or merit scholarship and you don't stay a full time student, you are obligated to repay the aid you were given. Not sure if true in all cases but we decided not to worry about it and just took out insurance. It wasn't very expensive. We know several kids who left college within a month because they were homesick.</p>