what school is right for you?

[PhoenixAzul]

When I applied, I applied to a really bipolar group of schools, and was accepted into all of them. I applied to :

Penn State main
St. Bonaventure
Ball State
Bethany College (WV)
Otterbein College
University of Alabama (yeah, I know)
University of Pittsburgh

There may have been others. But here's the deal. I wanted, no, scratch that, NEEDED to get away from people in my high school. I was done with it. Those people were poison, and would have ruined my college experience. So remove the poison, go out of state! That meant that Penn State, Pitt and Indian Uni of PA were out. Plus, I wouldn't have been given much financial aid because I didn't qualify for "need". I needed merit.

I visited Ball State and St. Bonaventure...both were WAYYY too big for me, and had to have a big emphasis on partying...not what I was looking for. Plus, Ball State's representatives were rather rude to me when I did my visit.

Now on the other end of the scale was Bethany. Bethany had been part of my childhood because my grandfather is an alum. My brother also went to Bethany and would have been on campus w/me for 2 years. Its a beautiful school...BUT it is in the middle of NOWHERE and has a student body of 500. Yes, you read that right, 500. Plus it is too close to home. Plus I would always be known as Brother's Little Sister, and the whole point was to get my own identity. Plus their art and journalism programs were not quite what I wanted.

Then I found Otterbein. When I first started looking at schools, I wanted to be an Equine Veterinarian and OC has a great program in equine sciences, but I decided that my math and coping skills were not good enough for vet sciences and that my real calling was in journalism and art. Otterbein was far away from home but not too far, small but not too small, in a small town but connected to a big city, private, collegiate, perfect class size (1:14 i think?)...all in all, wonderful. It just felt right, and I know that seems trite, but when you know, you just know. As I sit in my dorm with my senior ring on, I'm ordering my hood and gown right now and wearing my letters. I'm so happy to be here. The college made every attempt to get me here. I was offered nearly 17,000 in merit aid. They sent me to Northern Ireland. I was able to get involved in nearly every aspect of campus life (newspaper, religious life, governance, GREEK LIFE!!!), I started a rowing club...the campus offered those opportunities, and made them accessible. I think that's another thing you've got to look at-- what sort of opportunities are there to be a leader? Its one thing to be a member of x club, but can you LEAD. OC has those opportunities.

Sorry, I'm getting sort of teary right now. I had my last undergrad thesis defense meeting today and I'm sort of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

O-T-T-E-R-B-E-I-N let's go O!!!

[WVU alpha phi]

[QUOTE=PhoenixAzul;1396727]When I applied, I applied to a really bipolar group of schools, and was accepted into all of them. I applied to :

Penn State main
St. Bonaventure
Ball State
Bethany College (WV)
Otterbein College
University of Alabama (yeah, I know)
University of Pittsburgh


I visited Ball State and St. Bonaventure...both were WAYYY too big for me, and had to have a big emphasis on partying...not what I was looking for. Plus, Ball State's representatives were rather rude to me when I did my visit.

QUOTE]


St. Bonaventure in upstate NY? My dad went there.. doesn't it only have about 1500 students?

[ADqtPiMel]

I was accepted at:
-Miami (OH)
-UVA
-William & Mary
-Butler

I really did like UVA, but I knew as soon as I visited that I belonged at Miami.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

I was accepted at:
-Miami (OH)
-UVA
-William & Mary
-Butler

I really did like UVA, but I knew as soon as I visited that I belonged at Miami.

It's funny, it was the opposite with me and BU. When I first visited I didn't think I would go there, but ended up choosing the school because of the scholarship package (money was a big concern in my household) and the mix of journalism and other programs. Luckily, on my first day I knew I made the right choice.

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

I was accepted at:
-Miami (OH)
-UVA
-William & Mary
-Butler

I really did like UVA, but I knew as soon as I visited that I belonged at Miami.

Texas
SMU
UVA
Washington and Lee
Alabama
Georgia

[Phimuteach]

My advice: keep an open mind! When I was applying to colleges, my parents were going through their nasty divorce. I wanted to get the hell out of dodge, so I only applied to out of state colleges (in SC where I grew up) These are the schools I considered:
USC honors program
College of Charleston
Furman

I ended up going to College of Charleston and then transferring to Ohio University my junior year. I think if I had gone to Clemson, I probably would of loved it, since it's very similar to O.U. Alas, being a gamecocks fan (my Dad got his MBA at USC), I didn't even consider Clemson.

[blueangel]

Originally Posted by macallan25

Texas
SMU
UVA
Washington and Lee
Alabama
Georgia

Very good!

[ADqtPiMel]

Originally Posted by macallan25

Texas
SMU
UVA
Washington and Lee
Alabama
Georgia

I looked at Washington and Lee and ultimately decided against applying because I wanted to go to a bigger school. That ended up being the downfall of W&M and Butler too.

Also didn't hurt that Miami pulled through with a merit scholarship.

[ISUKappa]

I realize I'm not the norm, but I only applied to one school. It was in-state, I knew I would be accepted and I wanted to go there - end of story. My HS guidance counselor tried to get me to apply to other schools but I was lazy and didn't really feel like filling out the application forms and writing essays.

[AUDeltaGam]

I only applied to one school...Auburn (for me, it was out of state and 2hrs from home). I visited, fell completely in love with the campus, and never once regretted my decision. War Eagle

[mu_agd]

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

I was accepted at:
but I knew as soon as I visited that I belonged at Miami.

Hey, me too!

[WVU alpha phi]

I knew since junior year of HS that I definitely wanted to get out of Maryland, so I didn't even bother applying to in state schools. I looked at East Carolina, UNC Charlotte, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and WVU, but ended up only applying to ECU, Clemson, and West Virginia. WVU was actually my safety school but when I took the tour, I really liked it a lot. My mom was obsessed with Clemson's campus but I couldn't really see myself there, so East Carolina wound up being my second choice and Clemson my last. It really is true what people say about just "knowing" what school is right for you.. the only time I've regretted coming to WVU is during January and February when it's FREEZING and I see my East Carolina cousin's away message about having a BBQ. It makes it worthwhile though on the first warm day in the spring when everyone skips classes and just goes outside and drinks all day long.

[Jimmy Choo]

Originally Posted by WVU alpha phi

I knew since junior year of HS that I definitely wanted to get out of Maryland, so I didn't even bother applying to in state schools. I looked at East Carolina, UNC Charlotte, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and WVU, but ended up only applying to ECU, Clemson, and West Virginia. WVU was actually my safety school but when I took the tour, I really liked it a lot. My mom was obsessed with Clemson's campus but I couldn't really see myself there, so East Carolina wound up being my second choice and Clemson my last. It really is true what people say about just "knowing" what school is right for you.. the only time I've regretted coming to WVU is during January and February when it's FREEZING and I see my East Carolina cousin's away message about having a BBQ. It makes it worthwhile though on the first warm day in the spring when everyone skips classes and just goes outside and drinks all day long.

And the warm winters were part of the reason that I picked East Carolina! That and the second I set foot on the campus I knew I was home! Other schools I considered were: Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, NCSU and Univ of Delaware (backup safety school.... but I never really wanted to go there). I decided Coastal and GSU just weren't big enough and if I was going to be that far from home I wanted plenty to do.

[WVU alpha phi]

Originally Posted by ecupidelta

And the warm winters were part of the reason that I picked East Carolina! That and the second I set foot on the campus I knew I was home! Other schools I considered were: Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, NCSU and Univ of Delaware (backup safety school.... but I never really wanted to go there). I decided Coastal and GSU just weren't big enough and if I was going to be that far from home I wanted plenty to do.

Yeah I'm definitely jealous when my cousin IMs me to tell me ECU cancelled classes for 2 inches of snow and I'm trekking to class through 4 or 5 inches of snow and ice.
My ex boyfriend went to Coastal Carolina, I visited him down there once - beautiful campus, but like you said, small if you were looking for something more like ECU's size. My sister actually went to University of Delaware for a year and a half too.