As stated in my previous blog post, I applied to 21 schools and was accepted at 19 and waitlisted at 2. I was not 100% sure about any school, which is why my indecisiveness led to me applying to so many. Deciding where to spend the next four years of my life was going to take a lot of commitment, which definitely was not my strong suit.  

I decided to narrow down my college list by first removing the schools that I knew I didn’t want to go to – the smaller schools that I had applied to after receiving offers for volleyball. Though playing volleyball in college seemed like a cool idea during my junior year and the beginning of senior year, I soon realized that although I enjoyed the sport, I didn’t want to be committed to it. Furthermore, many of these schools were smaller (less than 10,000 people) or Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Because of my personality, I knew that I wanted to attend a larger school with lots of people and lots of opportunities. Additionally, I didn’t want to attend an HBCU because the world isn’t all black, and I wanted to ensure that I would be socially prepared for worldly endeavors after college (although schools lacking diversity, such as Penn State, often have the same problems, as noted in my first Civic Issues blog). However, after cutting down those schools I was left with about 10 schools. 

These schools were UVA, Duke, Cornell, Penn State, University of Pennsylvania, University of South Carolina, University of Tampa, Emory University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Johns Hopkins University. The first two schools out of all of these that I cut out were University of Tampa and Emory University. Though these schools Florida and Georgia, respectively, were in great states with fantastic weather, they were both ways too far from my Virginia home for my liking. Next up, I cut out the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins. Though both of these schools are intensely prestigious, I cannot deal with urban environments, so clearly neither Philidelphia nor Baltimore would have been ideal locations for me to spend four years of my life.  

After these I removed these schools from my potential list, I was still left with several amazing schools. However, there were still many issues that stopped me from committing to one. First off – the University of Virginia, my “target” school. It’s a great school, not too far from home, and decently affordable because I would be an in-state student. It had been my number 1 choice since seventh grade until I visited it and realized that I absolutely hated it. Honestly, it may have been the day that I chose to visit, but the campus seemed absolutely dead, dry, and dreary. Next – Duke. Duke had been my “reach” school. Along with UVA, Duke is not too far from home and is a very amazing school. However, when staying for an overnight visit, the separation of the “freshman campus” from “main campus” caused me to lose interest rapidly, and the expense didn’t make it any better. $70,000 to stay on a crusty freshmen campus the size of Pollock Residence Area? No thanks. Third – University of South Carolina. Though USC is a bit far from home, I have family nearby. I was accepted into their honors college, the top-ranked in the nation, and received a scholarship that would cover all of my tuition for the four years except for room and board. I never actually ended up visiting, but it’s possible that if I wasn’t here, I would be there. Next – UNC-Chapel Hill. Great school, but again I didn’t really like the campus when I visited. Additionally, I would have had to pay out of state tuition, and they literally only offered me a $700 scholarship…. $700…. That’s approximately a textbook and a half. So, no. Finally- Cornell. As mentioned in my prior blog post, I found out I was accepted to Cornell when they sent me an invitation to stay overnight at the school for a special “Diversity Hosting” program. They paid for my flight to Ithaca and I was hosted by a current student. However, about 5 hours in I called my mom and told her that there was no way in HECK that I could spend the next four years there. That place was straight up depressing. It was very beautiful, but between the suicide nets above the gorges and my host telling me “um I’m not sure” when I asked her if she enjoyed Cornell, it was a big no from me (also tuition was a bit pricy (as is expected)).

Last but obviously not least – Penn State. When initially applying to college, I hadn’t even considered Penn State as an option. I knew my parents had both went there, but I had only been once when I was about 4 and didn’t ever really think about ever applying. I eventually decided to apply to Penn State as a “safety” school, still not seriously contemplating attending. However, after visited in the summer of 2017, I fell in love. Penn State was the only school that I visited that I truly felt comfortable on campus and was energized by the people and the environment. I later decided to apply to Schreyer, and upon acceptance was even more excited about a potential future there. The main issue was that since the government practically laughed at my FAFSA and gave me nothing, my parents would have preferred if I would’ve gone to an Ivy for basically the same price. Luckily for me, on March 27th while I was getting ready for travel volleyball practice, I received a phone call from State College that pretty much changed my life. I was offered a full-tuition scholarship dependent upon my participation in Fellowship program during my four years here. Once I got off of the phone, I ran downstairs, told my parents, and proceeded to jump with joy as my mom cried happy tears and my dad held his back (barely). After this moment, I knew that everything happens for a reason and Penn State is where I belong. A few weeks later, I committed to Penn State while I was in Georgia for volleyball Nationals. The funniest part was that literally 12 hours after committing to Penn State, UVA emailed me, offering me a full-tuition academic scholarship (too little too late, right?).  

 

To this day, I can’t imagine myself spending the next four years anywhere but the Happy (yet cold) Valley. However, I will admit that on days like today (when it’s 6 degrees outside and feels like –17 and we STILL HAVE CLASSES), I do contemplate what my life would be like if I had just gone to Tampa. 

 

Tune in next week! 

Madison (: