what school is right for you?

[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!

[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.

[RoyalEmpress33]

Originally Posted by 33girl

And sometimes...

it will be just a "feeling" in your gut. If you can't verbalize why you like one school over the other, but have that "feeling" - don't discount it! Go with it!

Amen! I second 33's answer all the way. People still ask me to this day why I chose the school I did, and I can't really think of an answer, I just knew it was just for me. I mean, I know a lot of alumna that graduated from the university I'm currently attending, but besides that, I trusted my intuition. Initially, I wanted to attend ECSU and then I took Norfolk State into consideration. Its close to home, but then I had to realize how much money it was going to cost my family and I. They also told me to not worry about my finances because I was going to school one way or another, but that's still a lot of money your spending if you go to school out of state. Later on I confirmed my decision to attend ECSU. If you have that gut feeling, just follow it because 10 times of of 10 your making the right choice. Oh, and everyone else's answers I agreed with too. Lots of good advice...

I got accepted to:

1.)Norfolk State University
2.)Elizabeth City State University
3.)Virginia Commonwealth

[adpiucf]

Apply to a school that has a broad range of majors and opportunities. At age 16, you may think now that you want to be a doctor or an artist, but that could change 5 or 10 or 20 times over the next 5 years! Leave yourself with plenty of options.

Some thoughts on schools you may want to consider in the areas you mentioned:

UGA
Mercer
Georgia Southern
Valdosta State
Emory
UT-K
U of Memphis

Among many others. Visit a variety of schools, stay overnight, talk to current students and alumni.

Know that it ok to come in as an undeclared major, and to change your major a few times. Take some diverse courses in high school and in your first few years of college that challenge your mind and stimulate new interests. Take on internships that show you what it would be like to work in the medical field, or as an artist/graphic designer/interior designer, event planner, teacher, etc. Experience is the best teacher!

Give yourself plenty of options and talk to a lot of students. You are doing a great job starting early. Best of luck!

I attended the U of Central Florida in Orlando, a state school that was far enough away from home, yet close enough to my family. It provided enough diverse course offerings, internship opportunities and student activities to keep me happy and I'm glad I chose to go there. When I started it was a smaller school, but has grown to become one of the largest schools in the country. Keep in mind that the school you start off attending may be very different 4 years later as a result of general growth and current events!

If you choose to stay within a few hours of your hometown, figure out how many miles away would make you comfortable and focus your efforts on 4 year schools with various programs that you would find interesting. Good luck!

[piscesbabi09]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Apply to a school that has a broad range of majors and opportunities. At age 16, you may think now that you want to be a doctor or an artist, but that could change 5 or 10 or 20 times over the next 5 years! Leave yourself with plenty of options.

Some thoughts on schools you may want to consider in the areas you mentioned:

UGA
Mercer
Georgia Southern
Valdosta State
Emory
UT-K
U of Memphis

Among many others. Visit a variety of schools, stay overnight, talk to current students and alumni.

Know that it ok to come in as an undeclared major, and to change your major a few times. Take some diverse courses in high school and in your first few years of college that challenge your mind and stimulate new interests. Take on internships that show you what it would be like to work in the medical field, or as an artist/graphic designer/interior designer, event planner, teacher, etc. Experience is the best teacher!

Give yourself plenty of options and talk to a lot of students. You are doing a great job starting early. Best of luck!

I attended the U of Central Florida in Orlando, a state school that was far enough away from home, yet close enough to my family. It provided enough diverse course offerings, internship opportunities and student activities to keep me happy and I'm glad I chose to go there. When I started it was a smaller school, but has grown to become one of the largest schools in the country. Keep in mind that the school you start off attending may be very different 4 years later as a result of general growth and current events!

If you choose to stay within a few hours of your hometown, figure out how many miles away would make you comfortable and focus your efforts on 4 year schools with various programs that you would find interesting. Good luck!

thanx..i agree..i want to be far away where my parents cant just pop up on me when ever they feel like it..but close enough where i could drive home on some weekends..

[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.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by piscesbabi09

i want to be far away where my parents cant just pop up on me when ever they feel like it..but close enough where i could drive home on some weekends..

Again, I really recommend you avoid going home on the weekends once in college (unless it's an emergency or you're on break or something). Way too many kids who lived up to five hours away did this at my university, and in my opinion it's just not healthy. They didn't seem to develop as independent adults the way the rest of us did.

The main reason I didn't go to my back-up (U. Wash.) or any other school in my state was because they were too close. And, I didn't want to go to a school where I knew I'd be running into a lot of people that I had been going to school with for 12 years already. I applied to and was accepted to a random group of schools too (Pepperdine, U. Southern Calif., Boston U., UW, WWU, U. Puget Sound), but ultimately the decision came down to a bunch of different factors, with the visit and financial aid being the deciding factors.

[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

[ZTAMich]

I never applied to a 'stretch' school & I think if I could go back and do it all again I'd be a little more adventerous in my applications. After 3 NY state schools, Wells & Cedar Crest all weren't the right fit, Moravian became the only one left standing. I think for a little after the application deadlines passed I felt sort of stuck. I got over it when I visited Moravian again ( and loved it) but perhaps having 2 to choose from would have been more sensible.