I won’t get into too many details surrounding my own collegiate situation, but I desperately feel like this thought should be posted somewhere. It is, by no means, a thought backed by statistics or any form of data but rather by the experience that I have had and heard about.
Your college choice is a big deal. It is important, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Yes, it is true that it matters less and less as you gain experience in the professional world, and yes, it is absolutely true that you can get an excellent education at any college. They are all worth their salt. However, as a junior in college currently, I wish that more students heard these few thoughts before choosing a place where you may spend the next few years:
Treat each degree/program like it was your last. Please do not see a degree as a stepping stone simply to be completed to move on to better things. Treat every year with care, with enthusiasm, and with curiosity. I am specifically talking to the bright hopefuls looking to become our next physicians, lawyers, etc. You cannot predict what could happen, whether it be a pure hatred for your program, or mental health complications or even terrible grades. Do not assume you will excel from the start and never see a program as a breeze to be brushed off. You can be a lawyer with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science or a physician with a Double Major in Finance and Literature. Do what you love, and when the time comes, your investment into your hobbies will pay off more than you think. A 4.0 in Communications will impress the admissions committees more than a 3.2 in Biology.
Go to a school you are proud of attending. Obviously, do so within the scope of your list of offers to schools that won’t put you through exorbitant amounts of debt. However, you should attend a school that makes you smile when people ask about your college. It doesn’t matter whether it is a state school, an Ivy League college, a small liberal arts college. Really look at what YOU care about, and NOT what your family, friends think. Look into what YOU want for the next few years: do you want to go to a prestigious finance-target-Silicon-valley-flocking STEM giant? Or do you prefer the intimacy of a small liberal arts college with excellent professor relations without the herd of cutthroat keeners? Are you proud of the fact that you saved sixty thousand dollars by attending a huge state university? Do you want to study in a metropolitan area where there are tons of bars, museums, shops, and events? Or do you crave the community feeling of a college town where every house is occupied by a gang of college kids? It is up to you, but you should NEVER brush off your undergraduate studies and think that you will simply go to a better university for graduate school. So pick a college that makes you proud. You will be happy, and your enthusiasm will show on your transcript.
Apply for a transfer, even if you do not want to. Whether it is a second shot at your dream school, or your desire to try another type of collegiate life, you should apply for a transfer to a university which is very different from yours. Whether you are at NYU and applying for a transfer to Amherst, or at Waterloo applying to UBC, you should apply to something vastly different from your current life. You never know, you might decide to take the best chance of your life.
With regards to transportation, please make sure that you are doing one of three things: living in a metropolitan area with an excellent transit system (bus + subway at least), or living in dorms with access to dining halls/cafeterias, or will be bringing a car to college. College is the time to get sucked into your studies, passions, and career, it is NOT to spend your time commuting. You are there to learn how to be an adult, but also to explore your own changing interests and personality. Please take this to heart: time is the most precious resource, not money.
Bonus) If you are not majoring in a quantitative field (Math, Engineering, Finance, Statistics, Computer Science, etc.) take a minor in quantitative disciplines. It will help immensely with internships.
You may wonder why I wrote such a long post. Well, it’s because these are all lessons I learned the hard way, and I cannot say that I regret a decision more than my college choice. Hopefully, you won’t make the same mistake.
You’re a junior in college. I’m glad you found a school you liked and are enjoying your experience, but families are different. Most students can’t just attend whatever college they want with no regard for what their parents think.
Why should students who are happy where they are apply to transfer somewhere else? Most schools don’t offer great transfer aid, so how do you propose these students pay for it?
Many students commute to college out of necessity. It’s great to say time is a greater resource than money, but families who don’t have the money don’t have the option to choose.
When taking the Proust Questionnaire during his candidacy for office, the now current Massachusetts governor disclosed that his choice of college has been his “greatest regret.” The point for you in this example of notable candor may be that it offers perspective on the great depth of feeling, much like that which you’ve expressed, associated with a college decision:
Hey, @austinmshauri I completely agree with your statement on familial situations, and I do agree that balance between pros and cons is key! I am saying that, if commuting, one should ideally look into diminishing time spent doing so, via a good transit system or a car!
As for family situations, I agree that is it important to have input from family members, but I found heartbreaking when so many classmates chose the path their families wanted for them (whether it be college, program, etc.) rather than what THEY wanted and just saw it as ‘‘something to get over with ASAP’’ resulting in disdain for a school/major/location.
There are tons of resources that counter my perspectives (again, simply perspectives) and so I do understand your point. I just want students to perhaps see another perspective Again, every situation is different but I want to make sure that prospective and current students understand that their own passions and ambitions should be a priority with regards to college (not the only factor, but a priority among others).
Oh, forgot to add, but about the transfer application @austinmshauri I should have phrased it better, but I mean as in applying for a transfer without accepting it! If your dream school rejected you as a high schooler, wouldn’t you want to have the shot to transfer after freshmen year (financial situation permitting it, of course)? Why not at least try? Or what if you get sick of your college town/city?
One might argue that we should just “deal with our college choice and get over it”, and honestly although I understand the argument, I have seen firsthand the impact of a bad college choice on a person. Some might be able to handle it (shoutout to those people), but some won’t. It can wreck your happiness, it can ruin your experience, and it is to avoid THOSE situations that I wrote this!
I think folks (at least myself) moreso object to the advice to apply for a transfer even if you don’t want to. In cases in which a student is perfectly happy with their college choice and doesn’t want to leave, I see no reason they should apply for transfer. It’s time and money that seems unnecessary to spend. In other cases, a student may stand a better chance of getting in but the best time to get financial aid is in freshman year, and if they know that the financial aid offer is unlikely to be as good or better than the deal they currently have, I also don’t see a reason to transfer.
If you get sick of your college town or university after just a year, I’d spend some time first exploring why that is and whether you can jumpstart your interest again.
Gov. Baker attended Harvard, proving that even those in dream schools can have regrets. Make the most of your time wherever you are, and move on. Very few middle aged people would think of any college choice as a major regret, however it may seem at 18 or 21. The world is much bigger. It is largely what you make of it.
I think kids can do well wherever they land. If they focus on the past instead of moving forward then I think they’re wasting the opportunities they’ve been given.
Like I have said a million times. You make the school, the school doesn’t make you. In other words you can get anything out of a school you want to make yourself successful. I know many people that went to no name schools working side by side with people that went to some of the worlds best schools. They even live in the same neighborhoods.
Students keep getting better and schools grow in reputation over time. Ivy’s were 30 and 40 percent acceptance rates in the early 80s. Almost all grads from 20 years ago would have hard time getting in to the same schools today.
Wherever you go the memories you make are the most important things you take with you. The friends you will make become important parts of your life.
You will become a very proud grad and the prestige of your school will grow.
Some of them may not have had the choice, in that parents basically said that they had to choose the parents’ choice college and/or major or else the parents would not help pay for college.
Prestige doesn’t really increase your happiness or chances of success at a school. It doesn’t even help much in your success after school. For happiness and success in college, find a school in which you fit. For success after college, find one which you can afford, and which does a good job preparing people like you for the type of occupation that you want to do. If you don’t know what you want to do, look for a college which will help you find what you want to do and/or will help you grow in those four years.
If you need to go into debt for college, do the math, and make sure that it’s worth it.
Most of your life happens after college, which is only four years long. So, while you should avoid suffering during those years, don’t stress about “wasting” those years, and don’t mortgage your life for the “perfect college experience”
@juillet Thanks for the response! Your comment actually makes me realize I terribly formulated my perspective and I should reiterate it (a little bit late sorry): If you can make the most of an experience than please do so! Definitely, situations vary across the board, and constraints are never identical in-between people. I wanted to simply state that, situation permitting, an unhappy or regretful student should be proactive about their unhappiness! If one becomes unhappy at their school/intended on attempting transfer regardless, they should see not see the transfer application as an oddity to be kept taboo but rather as a normal college process! Thank you for the input though
@MWolf By college choice, I do agree with you, as I was hoping to address not only those who may value prestige but also those (and this should really be all students) who value college fit (spirit, campus atmosphere, etc.) as well! Thank you for the input, by the way!
Again, every situation is different but I want to make sure that prospective and current students understand that their own passions and ambitions should be a priority with regards to college (not the only factor, but a priority among others).