I applied to several colleges as a senior in high school, one being a local state school (safety) and several others being very high reaches. I thought long and hard about what colleges I was going to apply to and I don’t regret the choices I made. I knew that I would only go out of state and pay steep tuitions if I really liked the college, and it just so happened that all the colleges I liked gained tremendous exposure this year and ended up having record low acceptance rates. I had no chance at full-ride scholarships/schools so that option of expanding possible choices was way out of the question. The situation now is that I will be enrolling into a good state school, but because of the diversity of people I socialize with I already have an exposure to a good amount of the incoming student body, so there is no feeling of a “fresh start” which was something I was really looking forward to in college. I tried talking to some people through the school’s roommate page to get a feel of the incoming student body but many of them lack passion; people are very distant in conversations and have the persona typical of clique-absorbed high schoolers. The campus itself doesn’t get me all giddy inside either. Is anybody out there who can humor me with stories of falling in love with your college? Transferring is not a possibility because of the academic, social, and financial cost. My gut feeling isn’t looking very positive either…
Well you cant reverse time but you should have applied to matches and safeties you feel good attending. Now you really don’t have a choice but you should try to visit this school and talk to current students. Do they have a club you are interested in? I am sure you can find your “niche” there.
You are by far not the only person going to a non-first-choice school for financial reasons. All you can do now is to go with an open mind and with a feeling that you can do very well academically and socially. At a large state schools if you work at it, you will find a group of friends that fit your academic and social needs. Don’t prejudge everyone. I agree that joining clubs that interest you, seeing out research work eventually. etc. will all be useful.
It sounds like you might be close minded to a lot of things. Like applying to a better variety of schools, liking anyone in the roommate pool, transferring, your gut feeling etc. Try being open to new experiences and looking for the positive.
If the school is truly making you depressed, go to community college for a year and reapply to some more realistic schools. Just be sure to research which ones will give scholarships to transfers and what the criteria are.
You won’t even see them. Honestly there was ten kids that was admitted to my daughters school, they are not all the people she likes either. In college she never saw them. Only from afar and she waves at one of them. This guy also decided to transfer out of her college. The other one she occasionally sees her at the gym and politely she and the other girl politely acknowledges the other and that’s it. Don’t stress, there are thousands of students in college, especially at a public institution.
You already have exposure to a good amount of the incoming student body? I must say, that must be a tiny school and doesn’t sound like any state flagship that I know of. It’s too late now, but you should have looked at some other in-state options as well as affordable safeties OOS (if you have high stats in the PSAT or SAT, there are several of those). Also, some privates (and publics) offer big scholarships.