How to Make the Call: Which University is Right For You?
By: Megan Shea
The time has finally come and you’ve found yourself at a crossroads, but before you can begin to open that long anticipated chapter (and that just might be the Greek kind) of your life, you need to narrow down your options. I’m about to preach to you about college, and I’m sure I’m about the hundredth person to do so.
As someone who ultimately found themself with more conflicting options than I had expected, the decision on which college is right for you will likely not seem like an easy one. Picking where you belong for your next four years is rarely a decision that is as black and white as your freshman-year-self painted it to be. I’m a firm believer that wherever you end up is where you’re supposed to be. While it may seem like the bane of your senior year existence, to be afforded the opportunity to choose is a victory in itself.
In my case, I found myself picking between Florida State University and University of Florida- a decision that makes both schools scoff at the thought of the mere consideration of the other. My freshman-year-self would have called no contest; University of Florida had been a school I had put on a pedestal for the latter half of my high school career. It wasn’t until incentives were offered that I found myself split directly down the middle. I had visited both campuses and adored both. Both schools offered the program I hoped to pursue. I found myself in a situation that thousands of other Florida kids do, and yet, that barely seemed reassuring.
When you find yourself torn between universities, there’s likely several factors that have been stressed to you- the dorms, the football, the people, classes, programs, campus, and exclusivity of its admission. This school has the program you’re looking for, but this one has a nicer campus. This one is closer to home, but this one gave me a scholarship. This one is bigger, but then again, this one seems more intimate. Every significant detail you’ve probably already thought of and several times over.
It’s probable that your friends and family have given you their two-cents whether you asked for it or not. It’s imperative that you make the decision you feel is best for you. Next year, it’s not your great-aunt or your high school friend that lives with your decision. If you have a sibling, parent, or some alumni in the family, there’s likely additional pressure from those around you, too.
So when you find yourself staring down two or more admissions letters with a mental pros and cons list scrolling through your mind on an endless loop, be selfish. And no, I don’t mean bury your parents in debt, but I mean base your decision predominantly on you. When you find yourself leaning in one direction, hone in on that instinct. Make your decision and mentally commit. Once you do, don’t waver. Whichever school you gravitate toward is where you’re meant to be.
In retrospect, when I found myself staring down the computer screen and counting down the hours until admissions decisions, there was only one school I was absolutely ecstatic to hear back from. There was only one day etched into my mental calendar that I could rattle off-hand at any minute and there was only one that made me almost wish to press the fast forward button. I picked University of Florida.
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