Thanks girls!!!
Did anyone notice how all of the replies here have all been from girls? Hmmmm...LOL.
I am just so confused. I have realized in the past two days that I REALLY want to go to the University of Arizona now. I have shocked myself! Amy, you are so smart...the U of A totally reminds me of USC. And lately, I have realized that the U of A has almost everything that I'm looking for in a dream school!! And, now, I so want to go. I'm even thinking more about the U of A these days than UCI and UCSB. I've even thought about how the U of A might fit my wants better than UCI and SB!
BIG PROBLEM though. HUGE, possibly. *Sorry, prepare for my rant* My parents. I have talked to them and they totally think I am springing a huge practical joke on them. Pardon my language, but WTF?! I have told them honestly what really makes me think that the U of A is a good match, and have told them how totally unhappy I would be at my safety school. What part of that do they not get?! My parents even said flat out, "Does it matter if you don't like your school if it's a good school? What's the point of giong to a school that is not as academically-good?"
I hate my parents right now. I really do.
I understand they want the best for me. And they think that just going to a top-50 school is the best for me. But what part do they not get - I DO NOT LIKE my safety school. I hate how close it is to home, how they have virtually zero school spirit, how boring (supposedly) social life is there...I could go on and on about it. Plus the weather is not warm there, and as I said, I need warm weather. I even think my hometown - San Francisco - for heaven's sakes, is cold! LOL.
I want to go to a school where I can say with pride, "I go to the University of __________________!" I want to go to a school where people love their school, talk about the school with pride, and are proud to wear their college sweatshirt. I'm the type of person who would drive out of her way to get a college sweatshirt, a school license plate, etc. And, to be honest, my safety school would just not cut it. For any of this. I think about my safety and go "Oh...that's cool." With not very much enthusiasm. I have been the Spirit Chair at my school for two years now. My HS lacks spirit though, especially since it's such an academically-absorbed school. That's why spirit is such a key for me for college. Amy, I'll email to tell you which schools I applied to (and of course, which school is my safety).
I am so sad, because as of now my parents think it is laughable that I am even considering the U of A. They are not taking me seriously. Basically, they have told me flat-out that it is better to be unhappy at a "top" school than happy at a less academically-prestigious school. I hate that. They treat me as some sort of trophy or something, someone to brag about. I know they love telling their friends where my sister ended up at college (since it's a well-known, top academic school). And they would be ashamed, as it seems now, to tell their friends that their daughter attends the U of A. Heck, they don't even like UCSB and UCI (though they like UCI better than SB) that much. They only think about the Berkeleys, the UCLAs, the Stanfords, etc. etc. Basically the top 20 schools. I have a few classmates that applied early to Stanford and got in. My 'rents found out and kept on going on and on about it, saying how I should have applied myself earlier in my HS career so I could have gone there too.
I'm sorry this post is all about my bitching, but I'm just so sick and tired of my parents, and just so mad because I think I might have just found a great school for me, but they just don't give a damn!