What made you choose your college/university?
 

This might have already been a thread but i couldn't find it.

Anyhoo, I picked Clarion because:

-Far enough from home that I couldn't come home every weekend
-Great accounting program (my major when I entered)
-Not too costly
-Hardly anyone from my high school went there
-Felt at home as soon as I walked on campus

What about everyone else???

The devil!!!!!!!

This has to be one of the most retarded schools in the country.

I didn't get into the University of Washington, and UF was the only other real college I had applied to. Hell, I didn't even want to go here. I had hated UF all my life, but once I got here and got settled, things changed.... Now I bleed orange and blue :)

I am so sorry to hear that!

But anyway, I chose FLORIDA STATE because it is CHEAP.

Scholarship money.

I was totally set to attend Indiana U., my dream school. I applied to Bowling Green and Xavier back-ups. I got into all three, but didn't receive any financial aid from IU. BG and XU both offered scholarships, but in the end I choose BG b/c it was 4 hours from home, cheaper, and I liked the idea of a "college" town. I don't regret it for anything-my undergrad experience was fabulous! Go Falcons!!!

honestly, my then boyfriend. we've sinc ebroken up... i'm glad i came here though, two of my best friends from HS ended up here, and my wonderful sisters too!!

SUNY, All Women, and a Co-Ed
 

Oh a few reasons...
~I was accepted to three SUNY schools but was moving out of state so it didn't really help that tuition was reduced for me
~I decided the two all women's colleges, one in allentown pa and one in aurora, ny near the boyfriend @ his college, were not the way to go for me for many different reasons...

...Which left me with only one other school I had applied to/been accepted to. I was happy bc I liked the town a lot and the really good Elem. Education program. The atmosphere and look of the college seemed like the upstate NY all women's college I applied to but with men! LOL Now just over 100 days from graduation I am really glad I randomly found Moravian at a college fair, went for a second tour, etc etc.

It would be helpful to know which school we are all talking about.

Ohio University is the only place I applied. It had (and still does) the reputation as being one of the best broadcasting (as opposed to Journalism -- although it is considered among the best of that also) schools in the country. It was also in state for me at the time, which made if affordable -- barely.

It is one of the most beautiful campusus I have ever seen (and I've been on a lot).

And, to be honest, it had a party school reputation, too. It was far enough away from home, but not too far.

I really loved my time there and go back as often as I can.

Pitt is the only school I ever wanted to go to. I loved the location (20 minutes from home; close enough for laundry runs), adored the social life (I remember my mom saying to me, "Everyone seems really friendly here" when she came to take me out to lunch after my first week there and about ten million people stopped to say hi. She didn't realize that I'd been sneaking to parties in Oakland since I was about 15. Shhhh!), I was impressed with the writing program, loved the Panthers football and basketball teams. Oh, and I was eager to escape from the suburbs and live in the big city (well, it seemed like a big city then) but still have the safety net of dorm life.

Maybe not the best reasons, but I've never regretted it :)

I applied to only one school, The University of Iowa. I wanted to go there because of its reputation for having a GREAT writing program, and I was all about becoming a fiction writer. Hm, too bad I didn't follow up with that because I would probably be a lot happier! I also saw it as an alternative to U of Illinois, which was where most everyone from my high school went; I didn't want to hang out with people from high school in college. I thought it would be much better to go somewhere and have to meet new people, and for the most part, I was right.

I chose Tulane, my first college, because it had a good reputation and was close to home. I loved the idea of being in Uptown New Orleans. I didn't take a close look at the students, the quality of life, the programs, etc.

I chose LSU because it was free. Louisiana has the TOPS program, that provides a tuition waiver to basically any HS grad with a pulse (2.5 and 20 on your ACT) that's taken a certain number and type of HS credits. (wow, TWO whole years of a foriegn language :rolleyes: ) Plus, because of my grades/ACT, i got a $400/semester stipend for books, etc. And, a lot of my close friends from high school, and my boyfriend were there. I don't regret the decision. I got a semi-decent education that cost next to nothing, and I had a great time along the way.

I picked LSU law because they gave me a full scholarship. BIG MISTAKE. I should have taken the 8K/year hit to go to another school that doesn't have the reputation for beating the will to live out of its students.

I picked Louisiana Tech because it was the only school I had applied to. Everyone else from my hs was going to LSU, so La Tech was far away from home (6 hours from New Orleans) without being so far away from home.

I'm probably going to go to University of North Texas for grad school because, I took a tour in '96 and fell in love with the campus. Denton is about a hop, skip,and a jump from Dallas. It's pretty cheap compared to UT-Austin, and it has a good school of library science

I picked my 1st school because of all the a$$ I knew that was there and the a$$ that was soon to be.


Eventually I had to leave that school because getting a$$ was getting in the way of the goal, getting a degree.


The school I was at last semester, I picked that one because I knew absolutly no a$$ that was here.

My dad graduated from A&M in '73, so as soon as we moved back to Texas, he got season tickets to A&M football games. I came to all the home games and every Fightin Texas Aggie Bonfire since my freshman year of HS. Spending so much time up here, i fell in love with the Corps of Cadets and all of the A&M Traditions. When i applied to schools, i knew that no matter where i went, i would always be comparing it to the "other" education i would be recieving at A&M.

At the time i had recieved a 4 year Army ROTC scholarship and knew that the Corps at A&M would prepare me better for life as an officer than anywhere else.

Kitso
KS 361 hours i've spent working on Fightin' Texas Aggie Bonfire!

I applied to Boston U, Rutgers, and Michigan State. Got into all 3.

Ended up in BU because of their science program (majored in General Biology, tailored my electives for a Molecular Biology specialty) and also because of Boston. It was 4 hours away from home (like most everyone else, far enough away to ditch the parental units, yet close enough to get home when you really need to.) I also fell in love w/ the history. I was in walking distance of the NEHGS on Newbury St and found a new hobby in geneaology and a new love of American history--because that's where a lot of it happened.

Boston is also a beautiful, walkable, liveable city. I get homesick thinking about it and working on a plan to visit again (w/ husband in tow, who has never been.)

Adrienne PNAM-2003
:)

I claim one college and one university, so I'll tell the story of both of those.

I grew up loving The University of Georgia. My first visit was actually when I was 7 years old and I've loved it ever since. My family has had season tickets to the football games since I was in 7th grade. We drove up for every home game and sometimes for some of the away games. It was the logical choice at the time.

Judson was completely different. I had never heard of it before I found it through a web search one night. I had thought about attending a women's college before I went to UGA, but I was too worried about what my friends would think. As it turned out, I completed my degree in 2 years through Judson and I fell in love with the traditions.

I'm one of those people that believes everything happens for a reason, as corny as it may sound.

I was accepted to one school, but I couldn't attend because I didn't receive a scholarship. I attended a state school instead. It worked out fine for me. :)

Money.

I was in need of some serious financial aid to go to college, Boston U. came through with the most, and I decided to go here without taking an official campus tour. The first time I really looked around the school was my first day of orientation in July before my freshman year.

Collin

Well, I applied at Northeastern University in Boston and Washington University in St Louis and Howard University in Virginia. I got accepted with full rides to Northeastern and Washington. Howard only gave me a 2 year(at the time, i didn't know it was where most of the smart black kids went to school). Well, when I went home waving the letters to my parents, they forbid me to attend any school more than 5 hours away. They suggested Flroida State since it was only a 30 min drive and I said HELL NO because it was too close to them and I wouldn't get to stay in the dorms. So, they chose Valdosta State because it was 2 hours away and I got a full scholarship. I stayed at Valdosta for a year and a half before they up and MOVED to Dallas. I went home to Dallas for a year and then, applied to University of Louisville. I had to get away. I got accepted with no scholarship(by then, partying had taken precedent). And I left U of L because the parking was ridiculous. And now, I'm at Indiana US. Parking still sucks but I joined a sorority here. And I love it.


Phi Sigma Sigma. . .Greek's finest

I applied to 3 schools, all of which were at least 1000 miles away from home, small schools, and in the south. (I went to high school in northern Ohio) Texas Christian Univ. (my older brother went there), University of Tampa (gorgeous campus, great city), and Stetson University (mom's alma mater). Another key factor was that they had a ZTA chapter. All do, except for UT - when I applied the chapter was closed, it is now re-opening. I got into 2 out of the 3 schools - TCU did not accept me. In my HS year book, it states that I would be attending UT, because at that time I had yet to hear from Stetson and figured I hadn't gotten in. It wasn't until 2 days before graduation that I got a phone call from a Stetson student rep to ask me if I had made my final decision on whether or not I would be attendind ESP that summer (Early Start Program). I was totaly caught off guard, I honestly didn't think I had been accepted and that they just didn't send me a letter. TCU had been my first choice, but Stetson was a close second. I screamed, ran down the stairs, told my mom and 2 weeks after graduation, I was driving down to DeLand, Florida. I loved my 5 years there, maybe a little too much. Oh, another BIG deciding factor with Stetson is that DeLand is 15 mins from Daytona Beach - maybe that's why it took me so long to finish? :D :cool:

University of Chicago.

I got wait listed and later denied from HYP, so I chose Chicago because it's Economics program is number 1, it's still in a big city while being apart from it (hyde park and not right downtown), and it's known for it's "intellectual actmosphere".

-Rudey
--And my parents said I'd have to live at home if I went to Columbia.

Clarion:
-Far enough from home to get away from the folks, close enough I can make it home if I want to.

-Treated me better in the admissions process then IUP did

-Campus is better than Cal of PA.

-CIS is alright here

-Knew a few people that went here

-Only 1 of 4 from a graduating class of 300 some to choose Clarion.

-Reason not to go to Clarion, nothing to do, in the Middle of Pennsyltuky

Why did I choose my school?

Diversity. We were the racial and political diversity of my hometown. I didn't want to be made to feel like a freak anymore because I looked different, or because my parents weren't as conservative as my classmates' parents or my teachers were. One teacher told me that if I went to my college, I would join a cult. :rolleyes:

The 'New' Curriculum. Designed by the guy who designed the ill-fated Clinton health plan, any class can be taken pass/fail (even for your major!), if you fail a class it doesn't show up on your transcript, you can drop a class up until the day before exams start, and outside of your major, you don't have a general distribution requirement. The last math class I've taken was in 1998. :p Don't get me started on biology or chemistry classes! Classes are small--no 500 person courses here! I have had excellent relationships with professors in and out of my field.

Location, Location, Location. I wanted someplace where there were real seasons, after having grown up in Florida my entire life (and I've definitely got them now!). Most of my class was staying at home, or close to home, so I wanted to avoid a school that would be a "Grade 13" experience. It's in a pretty big city, so I know I would have amazing cultural opportunities, and I would be able to fly home pretty easily. The NE was good for me, too, because I was close to Boston, NYC, and DC without having to deal with major metropolitan issues.

Architectural History. I knew I wanted to study history of architecture in HS. Because the school's in one of the nation's first historic neighborhoods, I have had the opportunity to research historic homes as internships! We are next door to one of the nation's top art schools, so I could take art and design courses for no charge. Also, as a HS student, I talked to the man who is now my advisor about the program, and he had awesome things to say. :)

I'm waiting on grad school decisions to come in now, so soon I'll be able to add to this thread.

my first school, Florida Tech, was chosen because I thought at the time that I wanted to be a marine biologist and they have a good program for that... also at the time I made that desicion I was having a hard time with my family and wanted to get as far away from them as I could (I live in Illinois)... well then like a week before I left for FIT I went on my first date with my now boyfriend... so eventually while I was in FL we started dating and I decided to transfer to Western Illinois University in Fall of '02... cuz that's where he was going to be... well I also decided to change my major when I got there to dietetics so in the Spring at FIT I would've taken a whole bunch of blow off courses so my dad decided that I should just apply to WIU for Spring '02 instead of waiting till fall... so I did and I got in... I had never been here before then and I got so much crap for coming here for a guy... but even when we were going through the worst times in our relationship and we weren't even together anymore I never once regretted coming here... I would do it all over again in a minute...

Ziggy,
When I read this, I had to laugh. But, I also go to a SSHE school, it being Lock Haven. I went to LHU for a lot of the same reasons that you did, like LHU has a great program in my major, and the fact that I'm just far away from home....

EagleChick19

Munchkin: Where do you go to school?

I PMed you. :)

EagleChick19: Being from LHU you know what I mean when I talk about being in Pennsyltucky. It's more hick than Appalachia, and it's colder than hell. But enough of my ranting.

I chose Cleveland State University because of their Business Program I was in but I changed my Major to Urban Studies which has the #2 Urban Studies Grad Program in the nation behind The University of Kansas. I'm glad I did hang around here even though campus life is not so great.

I grew up in Madison . . . I went away for a year and realized how much I missed home, so I transferred back. Not only that, but the campus is beautiful, they have good English and education programs, and I just feel way more at home in the campus atmosphere here than I did in Minnesota. I can't believe I ever wanted to go anywhere else . . . this is the closest thing to perfect that a school could be for me.

Proximity. Colorado was just too far away from my g/f (now my fiancee).

I chose MIT because I'm a glutton for punishment :D

Seriously:
- Awesome computer science department
- Great economics department
- Close enough to the folks to go home for weekends
- Far enough away that they couldn't randomly drop in
- Alumni connections
- The diversity of the culture
- Boston :D

I wanted to get the heck out of Oregon. And everyone told me I wanted a small liberal arts college (as a future English major), and I foolishly believed them. So I applied to Kenyon, Sewanee, Hendrix ... and Case Western, because they offered a great guaranteed scholarship to kids with a certain GPA and SAT scores. Well when I visited, I felt claustrophobic after three days at Hendrix, I got funny looks at very Southern Sewanee when I wore my striped tights, and Kenyon just felt too preppy. But I just loved Case. (And at that point I figured I should have been applying to universities instead. Too late!) Luckily Case gave me the most financial aid anyway, so it worked out perfectly.

Like Munchkin, I'm waiting to hear from grad schools. I have some definite preferences, but it will all come down to one thing: $$$.

I applied to several schools, TCU, Texas A&M, Iowa State, U of Iowa, U of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and U of Missouri-Columbia. I got in everywhere except UNC, which was my 2nd choice school. My first choice all along was Mizzou b/c they have the best Journalism school in the country, and at the time my major was journalism. :D I didn't want to go anywhere in Texas b/c my dad lived in Dallas and at the time, I wanted to be as FAR AWAY from his as humanly possible. Iowa was too much like my home state of Nebraska, so that left me with Mizzou, which was my first choice anyway! I've never regretted my desicion and I LOVE IT HERE!!! Go Tigers!!!! :D

I chose old Rye-O due to the scholarship money. *nods* I also recieved a scholarship from Ohio U, but, my parents couldn't bear to let me go 45 min's away... :rolleyes: But, since I am an education major...Rio was the best choice for that field.