<p>I hope this is the right area to be posting this. </p>
<p>I live in Washington and I have to go to college in-state. I have heard all of the UW > WSU talk and I was initially dead-set on going to UW due to WSU's remoteness. However, I ended up thoroughly enjoying WSU during orientation, I was getting good vibes. I decided to sign up for classes and housing at WSU just in case I didn't get in to UW. Truthfully, at some point, I was sort of hoping I wouldn't get in to UW just so I didn't have to make the tough decision. I ended up getting in to UW, and for the last 3 months I've been convincing myself that I am uncertain which college I want to go to, even though I've been leaning towards UW. </p>
<p>Some background:
I use to be an EXTREMELY socially anxious person, but I have made amazing progress over the past 4 years. I still tend to be a little shy and reserved, and I was hoping college would help me BREAK OUT OF MY SHELL. I'm going to be honest here: SEX is something that I am hoping to participate in more often in college. I lack the necessary EXECUTION skills, but again, I was hoping college would help me come out of my shell. Plus I am assuming that sex may require less effort in a "college environment". I should note that nowadays I am actual doing moderately well socially, things have really been picking up for me, which is why I was hoping I could use college to augment this trend. </p>
<p>Academically, I am strong. I applied with a 3.9 on my associates transfer degree. However, I am very business-minded and traditional degrees have absolutely no appeal to me. Regardless of which University I go to, I am likely going to major in entrepreneurship. I simply cannot stand the thought of majoring in any other discipline. My college experience will be fully funded and I cannot give up this opportunity. Unfortunately, degrees in entrepreneurship are considered something of a joke. I do plan on starting a business, but Id like something to fall back on if I fail. An entrepreneurship degree from UWs Foster Business school would be worth a-hell-of-a lot more than an entrepreneurship degree from WSU (fallback wise). </p>
<p>After many, many days of contemplation, I started to lean EVEN MORE towards UW. I absolutely HATE football, I am not a BRO, I don't use MDMA, I don't like dubstep, and I am very uncertain if greek-life is my cup of tea (undecided, might join one). Frat parties and football are the thing to do at WSU. So immediately, WSU started to look like it was out of the question. Plus, from the sexual perspective... I simply cant compete with a bunch of hyper-sexual men that are 3x my size who have great EXECUTION skills. In fact, I figure I probably won't even appeal to A LOT of the woman at WSU (I'm very skinny). At UW, on the other hand, I might have the home field advantage. I'd be more confident, the competition seems lighter, the women aren't all frat princesses, and I might have an intellectual advantage. I can potentially pull the less socially savvy women, it is the intimidatingly-confident, sexually experienced women who (often) like big muscles that I have trouble with. </p>
<p>But the plot thickens:
Everyone is starting to tell me how UW is a "commuter school". Everyone is telling me that all of the real partying only occurs within the greek system, and that the greek parties are much harder to get in to at UW than they are at WSU (plus I have a bunch of greek friends and acquaintances at WSU, but only a few non-greek friends at UW which would make things harder). At the same time, a lot of people in UW's community are very consumed with academics, and I'm starting to think that UW without greek-life may turn out to be a wasteland, especially for someone like me who has trouble making new friends. I am 22, but Im not big on the bar scene (subject to change). I know some of you will tell me that there are OTHER parties to be had at UW, but please keep in mind that I am not socially adept. For both the UW and WSU orientation, I hardly spoke a single word to any of my peers. I have trouble making friends, even if my social skills are improving. In UWs favor, I do have a few rowing buddies who throw awesome parties, which does give me one guaranteed social venue from which I can build off of, but I might be overestimating the advantage this poses. </p>
<p>Despite the social implications, until about 6 hours ago, I was still somewhat set on UW. Id be in the city, there would be more to do, I could go to concerts, go to bars if Id like, and the social scene may not be as bad as it seems based on the diversity of activities alone. Plus, id get a better degree, I might have an advantage with the ladies. Yadda yadda yadda. However, after my cringe-worthy orientation today, I'm leaning back towards WSU</p>
<p>UW ORIENTATION:
I am terrible at math (very behind), and I ended up getting an arts and sciences transfer degree because of my academic uncertainty. I find out today that UW has a somewhat strict 6 quarter limit for transfer students, and that I am going to need to take about 7 or 8 quarters to graduate (at 3 classes per a quarter). I talked to multiple counselors and they are telling me that I might walk away without a degree if I dont plan things perfectly. Essentially, I will have to take a huge course load, classes will be VERY rigorous (UW), I would have to get amazing grades in order to get accepted into the HIGHLY COMPETITVE Foster School of Business, and I would have to complete all of my classes within 6 quarters, or else potentially walk away without even getting a degree. Unless I want take 4-5 classes per a quarter (which would significantly kill my social life) I will be forced to make up a few quarters at the local community college. However, in order to keep my admittance, I would also need to attend UW for the first quarter.
*So hear me out: I would go to UW for one quarter, go to Bellevue College for the next quarter, then return to UW the following quarter, and I would still have a slightly higher than average course load at a academically challenging school (2 or 3 extra classes). If I want a standard course load, I could consider doing 2 quarters at the community college, but that would require me to do a returning student application at UW, which fortunately has a very high acceptance rate (so i'm not worried about that). UW Is still an option at this point. Even if I spend 2 off quarters at community college, Id still live in Seattle and Id still have 5 more quarters at UW to embrace my experience(Im ignoring my first quarter at UW because I doubt I would make any huge social revelations when I plan on leaving for community college the quarter after). </p>
<p>Now, all of a sudden, WSUs merits are starting to show.
PROS: It will be easier, there will be more party-women, there will be more parties, there will be more drinking, more sex, I have greek acquaintances there, Im already signed up for classes, and after all - i'd still get a degree.
CONS: Its in the middle of nowhere, no concerts, no internships, no city scene, the commute is awful, the woman may not be attracted to me, it is very sports oriented, there are a lot of bros, everyone is BIG on greek life, they are big on DUBSTEP and ROLLING. Not exactly my thing. My thing is alcohol. </p>
<p>As for UW
PROS: Better degree, more intellectually oriented, I might fit in better, I very well might have a social/sexual advantage as a somewhat attractive smart man. Id be in the city, there would be concerts, there would be bars, there would be the Puget sound, the campus is nicer, there are more restaurants, I have at least one guaranteed party house from which I can build up my social network. More thing to do in general, more people to meet.
CONS: Traffic, huge partially-prude academically-oriented community, greek life seems like a necessity - and harder to infiltrate, id be spending some quarters at the community college and taking a larger course load which could really kill my sociality, not to mention split my college experience.</p>
<p>So here is my dilemma in the form of questions:
*Do I put up with the all of this stress that UW is putting on me, simply so I can get a better degree? (Fosters is the 15th best business school in the nation)
*Do I even need a better degree if I am going to be majoring in entrepreneurship?
*Will I actually have a social advantage if I go to UW?
*Am I severely underestimating the potentially wonderful social experience I could have at UW?
*Will going to a community college for ONE quarter hurt my experience? What if I have to go for TWO quarters?
*What if the combination of harder classes and extra classes ends up crippling my college experience? Or what if community college ends up SPLITTING the experience?
*Should I just go back to community college for a year, then re-apply to UW? Id be entering UW at 23 years old. </p>
<p>*Will I hate it at WSU? Or will there be enough fun-loving people and partying to give me the experience I crave?
*WSU is supposedly GREEK-centric, and FOOTBALL-centric. What will my experience be like If Im not in to those things.
*What will it be like going to a bunch of DUBSTEP BRO FRAT parties? I cant hear anyone, cant voice my opinion, and the women arent even interested in me?
*What else is there even to DO in Pullman? Will everything to be college related? Will I have to do an internship in Spokane?
*Am I severely underestimating the wonderful social experience I could have at WSU?
*Will my degree in entrepreneurship be practically just as good as the one I'd receive from UW? </p>
<p>ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU CAN DRAW FROM MY STORY AND VIEWPOINT - FEEL FREE TO ANSWER. I am really stuck in between a rock and a hard place here. It very well may be that I will have an awesome amount of fun no matter which school I go to. In that scenario, maybe I should just go to UW so I can get the bossin degree. Or maybe I should just invest in myself and my own entrepreneurial ability, and head out to WSU to party it up?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for reading this LONG POST and giving me some positive feedback.</p>