![Channing Tatum’s 18 Hottest Moments [Photos]](http://s2.wp.com/imgpress?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcollegecandy.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F01%2Fchanning-tatum-lead11.jpg&resize=225,135 "Channing Tatum’s 18 Hottest Moments [Photos]")
Countdown to College: Decisions, Decisions
April 1, 2009 Posted in Back to School, Reality
As this week’s deluge of college acceptances floods into the houses of seniors across the country, I consider myself lucky to be done with the whole process. However, many of my friends are not as fortunate, and are now faced with perhaps the toughest decision of their lives (so far): picking a college.
“Choice” is the buzzword that seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue at school. Several of my friends have already heard back from all their colleges and have many to choose from. Others do not have the luxury of six or seven potential choices, but they don’t seem to envy those who received the thick envelope from multiple colleges. The trend I have noticed is that many of my peers simply don’t know which college they want to go to and feel overwhelmed by all the choices. One of my friends equated it to reading a menu with dozens of options; most of them look delicious, so it feels impossible to narrow the choices down to just one.
Here’s one example: Student A applied to nine schools and was accepted by six of them. Together, they’re a representative sample of just about every type of college: big universities, small liberal arts colleges, some with big party scenes, some focused more on academics, and various geographic locations. Her problem is that she likes them all equally, and can envision herself being happy at any of them. What is she to do?
Some of my friends are going a more logical route à la Rory Gilmore: pro/con lists. They are going through each school’s website, course catalog, and a bunch of college guidebooks and writing down each and every pro or con they can find. While the empirical approach seemed to work for Rory, it isn’t necessarily the best way to go about making this decision. At the very least, this method should be balanced out by taking into account the emotional side of the issue.
When I first walked onto the campus of my school, I had a gut instinct that told me I’d be going there in the fall of 2009. It was the first school (of many) I’d looked at, so my parents just smiled sheepishly and prodded me along the tour, but I was positive that I was going to apply there early. A dozen college visits and three college guidebooks later, I was applying there early decision and, fortunately, was accepted. The gut approach worked for me, but it wasn’t the only evaluation I used. I didn’t make pro/con lists, but I reasoned why my school of choice was the best fit for me out of the other possibilities. Hopefully, my experiences over the next four years will prove that I was right.
To all the current college students and college grads out there, what was this process like for you? Do you have any tips for seniors struggling to make their decision?
Tell us what you're thinking...
Lindsay Lohan's New Photo Shoot Is Full of Cleavage
Someone Tried to Extort The Duggars… So They'd Be Cancelled
So Snoop Dog Recorded a Rap About Porn
Lady Gaga Is Starting a Social Media Site for Her Fans
Kris Humphries Has Some Interesting Divorce Demands
Bethany says:
Wed, 1st Apr 200910:59 am
After being rejected by my top two schools, my choice came down to 2 schools I really wasn't excited about and one school that I was so/so about that offered me a full ride. I chose the full ride and I so happy I did.
Linda says:
Wed, 1st Apr 200911:22 am
I have several schools on my plate: Columbia, Fordham, Emory, UGA, Tech & a State U.
Columbia is my dream school, really.. but I have been offered a full ride to State U + meal plan, housing & 10 grand personal expenses. As much as I worked my ass off to go to Columbia .. Atleast $150,000 in debt vs. full ride.I'm really leaning toward State U right now. .
Brittany says:
Wed, 1st Apr 200911:38 am
I agree with Bethany.
Of the 8 schools i applied to (2 being safeties, 3 reaches, 3 "good matches") I was rejected by my number one (a reach). Ended up going to my state university because of scholarship money. In hindsight, my number one would have been a horrible life decision for my major.
Mazuba says:
Wed, 1st Apr 200912:02 pm
I hate how some schools take forever to get back to you.Im still waiting on 3 uni's to get back to me.
theresa says:
Wed, 1st Apr 20091:42 pm
When I was applying to colleges, I got into the school I really wanted to go to, and I got into another school that offered me full ride. I chose the full ride, and honestly, it was one of the worst decisions I've ever made in my life. I was completely miserable and ended up transfering to the school I originally wanted to go to anyways. I ended up basically wasting 2 years at the first school, and now I'm really behind in my major and am basically in school an extra 2 years now. My advice is to not let scholarships sway you too much; definately take scholarships into account, but don't let it be your only deciding factor.
Linda says:
Wed, 1st Apr 20095:15 pm
Hmm… interesting Theresa ..thanks for the info..
Allison says:
Wed, 1st Apr 20096:17 pm
I didn't have a choice, unfortunately. I only got into one school out of four (three of which were way out of my range, both academically and financially) and I didn't even get any scholarships like I'd been hoping for! Since I was only paying attention to the schools I wanted to go to, I missed the deadline for FAFSA! Oh well, I'm happy with where I'm going, even though I totally could be paying a lot less had I paid attention.
Salome says:
Mon, 6th Apr 20093:08 pm
The Rory Gilmore approach is probably the best, from my experience applying to colleges and conservatories last year (I'm a music composition major). If I had gotten into the school that my "gut" told me was the best one, I don't think I'd be as happy as I would be where I am now.
Pro/con lists only work, though, if you figure out what criteria are most important: what you absolutely need to have, and what you can compromise. For example, you may prefer a hard-partyin' school but be willing to give that up for a more focused place that has the best program in the area you want to study. However, if you have no idea what to major in yet (and don't rush it – us music majors have to declare a major to pass our auditions, but most people don't), then the partying and general atmosphere might come first.
I would generally caution the really focused students to not rule out the atmosphere of the place they're applying to. You WILL be living there the next 4+ years, and if you're a city person stuck in a po-dunk middle-of-nowhere town, you won't be happy no matter how great the school is (and vice versa). Also, if you're a partier at an egghead school, you'll be bored, and if you don't like parties but that's all there is to do on the weekends, you'll feel very torn.
Keep in mind, too, that you might change over the next four years, so give yourself a place where you have room to grow. I went to a high school where there were almost never crazy parties, and I had this really warped, scary view of what college parties are like. I even eliminated a couple of schools from my list based on this. However, I've learned since that I do really enjoy partying, and while I don't think I'd be happy if that was the only weekend option I had, I'm glad they're there for me to enjoy when I want. If you went to a fairly sheltered high school and have never partied before, don't be so quick to sign yourself up for the substance-free dorms and plan to avoid all parties. You might actually enjoy them!!
loveejonesy says:
Tue, 7th Apr 20096:42 am
I definitely went with the gut approach. If you feel like you belong somewhere, don't let money or anything else hold you back. Loans can be paid back, wasting up to four years being at the wrong school for you can not. <3
Lily says:
Wed, 8th Apr 20092:09 pm
I chose between Caltech, UChicago with $10k annual scholarship, state school with a full ride, and Rice with $17k annual scholarship. For a while I was set on Caltech, but after visiting, I realized that while I loved the school and all the people I'd met, I wouldn't be happy there for a multitude of reasons. Though I didn't write out a pro/con list, I definitely considered the different options open to me at each school, and Rice came out on top as far as "opportunities and quality of education per dollar spent."
Bre says:
Sun, 12th Apr 20095:28 pm
I was accepted into the 5 schools I applied to. For me it came down to that gut feeling. Literally the moment I stepped on to campus I knew that was where I was going.
My advice would be to visit as many of your choices as possible. It sounds lame, but 9 times out of 10 you will know when you find your school. It will feel right, and eventually everything will fall into place.
I ended up turning down the school that was giving me a scholarship for a school that I LOVED. Yes, money is a huge consideration but if it is meant to be it will happen. I am going to be largely in debt with student loans when I finish here in a month, but it was well worth the debt for everything that I experienced here.
like loveejonesy said .. loans can be paid back.
Andrew says:
Sat, 2nd May 20094:45 am
I am totally the type A person that was mentioned in the article. I have two schools that I could see myself at. Both are state schools and have similar tuition. Also, im undecided in my major so I really don't know which one is the best choice for me.