<p>I've wanted to go to Indiana University-Bloomington since I was seven. I've always been quite a Hoosiers fan, and etc.
I've been set on going to IU for all these years, and expecting to love it.</p>
<p>Yesterday we flew down to Indianapolis, and drove down to Bloomington to visit.
Today we drove to the campus. Five minutes on the campus, and I realized that the place completely and totally sucked on every possible level. No offense to anyone who goes there; it just wasn't at all what I expected. People were very rude, the campus was extremely ugly, the student union was overrated, the class I sat through was rowdy and the professor didn't come in for 15 minutes, and the woman in the admissions office literally YELLED at me, and made me afraid to go back in there.
Even though I was only visiting, I did not feel welcome. It was just a really awkward feeling.</p>
<p>So what do you do when you hate your dream school? Finding a new one seems so hard, because I was so focused on, and still am, on what I THOUGHT IU was. But apparently there is no university like that.</p>
<p>What should my next step be? Thanks so much. =[</p>
<p>All you can do is move on. Visit other schools, maybe schools you never even thought you would like. I’ll tell you that I thought that Brown was my dream school and I wanted to go there up until junior year. I then discovered that Brown just was not the school for me - something just didn’t fit. Anyway, I visited TONS of other schools and happened upon loads of schools that I could see myself in. In fact the school that I will be attending next year, Swarthmore, wasn’t even on my radar until my mom convinced me to apply for Discovery Weekend and visit it. So all hope is not lost. Just get suggestions from your friends, teachers, guidance councilor, etc. and visit as many schools as you can. It’ll all work out for the best!</p>
<p>Are you sure you didn’t make a wrong turn and wind up at Purdue? I’m sorry you had such a bad experience, because the IU campus is gorgeous and the people are really friendly. The student union is amazing and regarded as one of the best in the country.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’ve gone from projecting a lot of positive attributes to Indiana U. to projecting a lot of negative attributes to it. It went from being the site of an idealized, imagine future for you to being a place that “totally sucked on every possible level.”</p>
<p>What grade are you in? What do you want to do with your life? How are your grades/test scores? Will you need financial aid?</p>
<p>Oh wow, I’m sorry you felt that way…I just visited it and I was amazed at how much I loved it! IU was my safety school and now I’m almost sure that if my #1 pick doesn’t work out, I’m going to be a Hoosier.</p>
<p>Anyways, visit every other school you applied to/got into it - I’m sure one of them will feel like home. (Or maybe visit IU again :))</p>
<p>Well if IU was your dream school, and you didn’t like it at all. Imagen how much you may not like the other schools you had in mind. If that’s the possible case, make sure to visit other schools to see if you like it better or worst than IU.</p>
<p>Perhaps you set your expectations too high? </p>
<p>Personally, I visited some schools in the summer, and I was all ready to go to one school, found out I didn’t really like it, but I did find two other schools I really liked. Now, I think that might have been because I kept thinking “this is gonna be awesome”.</p>
<p>You’re going to be at the college for a lot more of the winter than summer…if it’s too cold and bleak, that is information you need to note and process.</p>
<p>We made a point of sending S1 off to visit snowbelt colleges in the winter. If he liked the place in spite of the weather, that usually was a good sign!</p>
<p>You’re a junior. You have time to regroup and come up with other choices.</p>
<p>What specifically didn’t you like about it? What were you imagining it would be like? Perhaps we can suggest some places that would be close to you idea of the place.</p>
<p>@ Consolation: Of all the places I know about, UIUC is the closest to what I “thought” IU would be like. I’ve been to UIUC twice, once in the fall and once in the summer. I’d be honored to go to there, but the OOS tuition is like 43k, and totally not gonna happen…</p>
<p>Then there’s the University of MN-Twin Cities, which is great, but they don’t have any of the majors that I’ve been thinking about.</p>
<p>And I REALLY don’t want to stay in North Dakota.</p>
<p>(PS: My stats are 3.72 GPA, top 10%, 32 ACT, amazing music EC’s, volunteering, all AP’s)</p>
<p>LoonLake, can u get financial aid? if so, you seem like a great fit for some private universities with your stats and geography.</p>
<p>What exactly was it about UIUC that you liked? the large size, the campus, and the ruralness? If so, Cornell might be a great choice as well! or a place like UofMichigan is awesome too.</p>
<p>Let us know what you want to study, what type of campus you like, size, location etc! and Champaign, IL is not much better than North Dakota…lol</p>
I’m sorry you had such a bad experience, because the IU campus is gorgeous and the people are really friendly. The student union is amazing and regarded as one of the best in the country.</p>