<p>So, I keep getting this sinking feeling I may not have applied to the right schools. This may just be a symptom of looking into the mailbox eagerly each day only to find that I <em>still</em> haven't heard from Whitman, or already knowing that should I get accepted to Reed I'll never be able to afford it. I don't think the match/safety schools I applied to were great matches (I had no help with the college process, as I've mentioned before) and, though I've been accepted to all of them with aid I don't know if I'd enjoy attending. :/ </p>
<p>I know that if I did this again, I'd find a way to actually convince my parents they needed to help me visit. I'd pick schools more carefully. But, alas, this is all too late. I also wish I would have broadened my net a little bit more with location (I only applied to WA and OR schools), but at the time my parents were quite clear that travel costs would pretty much inhibit my visiting. :/ </p>
<p>But, as stated, this may just be a piece of mailbox-mania creeping into my psyche. Anyone else experienced this sorta feeling before? Experiencing it now?</p>
<p>While waiting for those last couple of decision letters, try contacting the admissions departments at the schools where you have already been accepted. Many schools run special events in April for acceptees and some even pay for the travel and living expenses involved. At the very least, they should be able to put you up in a dorm overnight and spring for a couple of meals in the dining hall. In this case, the fact that all of your schools are in WA and OR could be helpful.</p>
<p>Otherwise, there is little to do but wait, secure in the knowledge that many others are having the same feelings. If you are still convinced you have made the wrong choice after you have received all of your decision letters and aid offers, check out the list of colleges that are still looking for students on nacac.com around the middle of May.</p>
<p>This funny feeling is called "buyer's remorse". It follows every big decision. You think this is bad/ Wait til you're older and you've just bought a house.
Have confidence in your decision re: college. You may be deciding at a subconscious level but your brain is using what it knows about you. Read "Blink", a recent best seller about subconscious decisions.</p>
<p>BassDad: I've visited one of the schools I was accepted to and had a rather rocky visit. Its apparently a lot more of a party school than I ever thought. :/ And, I'm not a party kid at all. In fact, I'm really looking for a good challenging college education more than anything, mainly because I was miserable with the apathetic attitude towards learning in my HS peers. I was also accepted to another school (Lewis & Clark), but it is out of the range of money my dad is willing to look at. The party school offered me a very nice scholarship and so dad has pretty much made up his mind. The other two schools I know from were state schools, both of which aren't "top" schools or anyting of the like. If these decisions fall through, I will look into them though. </p>
<p>With the nacac list (which I didn't even know existed... thanks!), would there be any hope for aid? Of course, here's to hoping my decision just works alright. XD</p>
<p>Mardad: Oooh! Thanks for the info. Good to know what I'm feeling is natural. :)</p>
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With the nacac list (which I didn't even know existed... thanks!), would there be any hope for aid?
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<p>worth asking any schools on the list you are interested in, but I wouldn't think so. I'm guessing they would have given out whatever aid money they had by then.</p>
<p>I also seem to recall that last year's nacac list had a limited number of schools still offering financial aid. Some schools overestimate their yield. When they do that with students who were offered substantial aid, they can free up some money around the beginning of May.</p>
<p>I hope you don't wind up going to any school against your wishes. If you do wind up at that party school, try to find a few kindred spirits and a quiet place away from the dorms to study. I don't know where you have applied, but I suspect that you will be able to find good, challenging classes at most colleges. Admittedly, you have to work a bit harder to find them at some places. If things just don't work out, you might think in terms of a transfer after your first year.</p>
<p>Whitney - You have a lot of company in the nervousness department. It just goes with the territory. Also, keep in mind that you really don't know how much these colleges are going to cost you until you get their aid information. And you can always request reconsideration of aid if you are close to what you need to decide to go to that college.</p>
<p>Best to focus on your classes, friends etc. Only a week or so to go for most of your college responses anyway.</p>
<p>Whitney: Hello, I live in the NW, too, and I know kids from my D's and nephew's high schools at many of the colleges in WA and OR. My D is also at a state school (in another state) and was also very worried that she had made the wrong choice, as it isn't any great school with a top reputation. She went there for a specific major and because we could afford it.</p>
<p>Don't worry--it will all work out fine! If you go to a lesser school, and study hard and become a top student, you will do just fine and get a fine education. It doesn't matter if it's a party school--you will stand out all the more if you are one of the top students. This is what has happened to my D. At first she didn't like her college at all (wanted to transfer the first few weeks) but now in her soph. year, she loves it! There are good professors everywhere who appreciate serious students. </p>
<p>If the party school you mentioned is WSU--don't worry. We have a family friend who graduated from there who is now doing her residency after medical school. I also met a mom of two students there (both girls) who have done really well with top grades and excellent futures. Another family I know has two sons there and they both love it. </p>
<p>All the choices will be yours when you start college. You'll still have plenty of opportunities and you don't have to party, even if that is prevalent on your campus. Just remember--by the time you are a junior in college, a lot of those party people will be gone.</p>