Well, I’m a senior now and I go to a competitive high school and I feel like I have a major case of ADD. I was pretty good at taking tests and following directions … i got pretty good grades and sat scores, but I feel like my ADD prevents me from doing so much. At the end of junior year, I knew that I had nothing left in high school. I had one or two close friends and that was it. I didn’t see how spending another year there would in any way be beneficial. I decided to enroll at the local community college as a dual enrollment student, and thats what I’ve been doing for the past year.
I’m not a very shy person, but I do have a hard time engaging in normal social interactions. I’m not afraid to say hi to people and ask them how their day went, but our conversations never seem to go too far. I always see students in my community college’s cafeteria in big groups sharing laughs, and quite honestly I never find myself to be part of a group of friends like that. Sometimes I’m lucky to spot a friend in a cafeteria and I sit with him while eating lunch, but no big group…
Also, I do try to go out and take advantages of my opportunities but it seems that my social awkwardness often gets in the way. For example, in the community college I am in now, I am a paid tutor and the other tutors seem to bond well together. I don’t tell anyone that I’m actually a high schooler because I feel that it would just make people shy away from me even more. Again, I do talk to my fellow tutor peers when I see them, but I never really see myself going out for lunch or doing anything outside of our “required meetings” and “accidental cafeteria” encounters.
My college decisions didn’t go too great. I applied for about 16 or so schools and I got into about 5 of them. I’m deciding between UCSB and cal poly and I know that many of them would consider great schools, and I do too, but I toured them both and I dont feel like those are my types of schools. I’m a introverted person, and I feel like both schools are very extroverted … UCSB is a party school and when I toured cal poly everyone seemed to be a good foot taller than me, which to be honest intimidated me a bit. (I’m 5’3 fyi). I was on Facebook today, and I just joined my high schools college decisions page. I see that a lot of people that I considered normal got into much greater schools… schools that I really wish I got into … I’m not even talking about the extra-ordinary schools… I’m talking about schools like case western and georgia tech which seem more introverted and a better fit for me. My stats arent far below those averages for those schools… its just that my EC’s are a bit lacking and again, I sense that my ADD has a bit to do with that.
Anyway, I just wanted to tell a story about myself without putting a face to it, so I decided to post here.
If any of you seniors or high school graduates have anything to share or have stories similar to this, feel free to response and tell me how how things turned out for you.
College is a new horizon- unless you make it the same yourself (by way of attitude), you can expect it to be better across the board. Things will take a turn for the better.
A lot of people are going to be taller than you. You’re below the average height for both male and female American adults. 
I wouldn’t count out a school based on how tall its students are.
But don’t worry…there are introverted people at every extroverted-seeming school. They might be a little more “hidden,” because they’ll be quietly reading a book in the corner or playing video games in their room, but you’ll find them and they’ll find you. Have faith!
Good luck from a fellow introvert at a party school.
Also you’ll probably blossom in directions you don’t expect. Good luck!
Agree with the idea that even ‘party’ schools have a wide mix of people and being careful about your residence hall selection or joining clubs can help facilitate meeting the people you would like. Social dynamics are very interesting and a lot of the formation of friendships/groups relies on chance - being at the right place at the right time (provided you have a natural connection to the individuals). When you start college, everyone will be friendly because everyone wants to make friends so take advantage of the transition period and increase the ‘odds’ of making friends by doing activities that make it easy to (after a certain point, friendships are established and this becomes harder, as might have been the case at your community college).
I’m an introvert also and I absolutely dread orientation weeks because I feel a lot of pressure to meet people but after a few weeks and I settle in, it’s all good. You’ll meet a lot of people but you’ll naturally gravitate towards the people you jive with and build good friendships from there.
My oldest was shy and introvert and she went to US. It was a huge turn around for her. She still has her introvert side, can’t put a good book down, joined a book club after college, but much more confident in her social ability. Also she is now able to stand up to people which is a factor about her that I used to worry about. Give it a try. They are both great schools. I thought it was a silly idea to complain about other people being much taller than yourself. It’s not even a factor because there is really no school that has a dominant in height and weight.
thanks for your comments. i committed to cal poly and I hope to make the best of it!
Colleges aren’t what make people great. Its people are what make colleges great.
But on a side note: UCSB is a great school. It’s right on the beach, it has a great atmosphere - a studious and laid back one - which is rare. Everyone that I know that attended there wish they could go back. You will have a great college experience there if you choose UCSB.
Cal Poly is great too, it’s just a bit more north. Jobs in the area are scarce but don’t worry too much. SLO is a great place and very similar to SB. I know that some of the CS profs. are difficult - so good luck if that’s your major.
Big schools with a “party” feel usually have lots of less-publicized programs and resources to make the school feel smaller for more introverted students. Research the best dorms, best clubs, etc. for your interests and you will probably find that there are hundreds of others (maybe more) just like you on campus. Cal Poly with its STEM orientation is a great choice for you; there will be lots of introverts and its national reputation is great. Good luck!
It is naive to call UCSB a party school. I don’t know why so many people regard it like that. Parties do happen but people there are still very serious about their academics.
If you call UCSB a party school, feel free to call Stanford a party school. Parties happen every other night.