My cousin Laura is just about to board a plane after visiting us for a week. She (and her younger sister) came primarily to visit colleges in the area; she will be a high school senior next year and is hoping to attend a college/university out of her home state of Maine. During her stay, she seemed overwhelmed by the whole college-selection experience and I truly felt for her; I remember being that shy, unassuming teenager, wondering how to make the biggest decision of my life to that point.
After some consideration, I decided to go to Albion College. It is a small liberal arts college about an hour and a half away from my parents' home in Grand Rapids. I am not entirely certain why I chose it, but I knew I wanted to go to a small school that was relatively close to home, and since my aunt and uncle both went there I felt more reassured that it would be the right fit for me.
I got horribly homesick for most of the first semester and had a decent roommate with an awful boyfriend (who tried to choke me ... twice). I got a single for the second semester and realized I was struggling with a severe case of depression, on top of the homesickness. And I did homework ... all the time. But I made some great friends (Katie, Kristin, Martha, etc.) and learned a lot. That first year I switched my major from English to Psychology and really enjoyed what I learned in my psych classes.
My second year, I got another single and started to really enjoy living on my own. The classes were still really difficult, and I spent almost all of my time studying and writing papers. After an entire year of almost no social life, I started to wonder if I had really found the right fit.
So that second summer, I spent time really figuring out if psychology was right for me. My therapist guided me through the career search process, and I determined that I was not cut out for being a psychologist. I was, however, interested in interior design, so a week before school was going to start, I went to my parents and told them I didn't want to go back to Albion. They didn't have an interior design program, and I didn't want to continue pursuing psychology if it wasn't really for me. Michigan State, however, did have an excellent interior design program, both my parents went there, I had visited it a million times, and I wanted to go there. Being the awesome parents that they are, they agreed and I spent a semester at home going to CC and working (I had decided too late that I wanted to transfer so I had to wait a semester).
My time at MSU was amazing! I had been so shy in high school that I never thought I would like being a small fish in an ENORMOUS pond, but I loved it. I liked how diverse the student population was. I liked that I got a lot of exercise just walking to class. I liked that my mind AND social skills were stimulated, that I wasn't just doing homework. And while I did really well in my interior design classes, I decided that that major wasn't for me either; I am not a strong enough artist for that particular profession.
I switched my major one final time to interpersonal communication and finally found the right fit. I had no clue what I wanted to do with it, but I think I use it a lot being a wife and mother so it worked out well for me. Plus, I loved my classes and felt like I really excelled in them. I graduated MSU with a 4.0 and loved every minute of my time there (except getting maced, but that is a whole different story).
Every person's college experience is different, and what made one person happy can make another totally miserable. But I am looking to you, my wonderful readers, to help my cousin out.
What college/university/trade school did you go to?
How did you decide?
What did you major in?
Any other advice for Laura?
Thank you so much for all your help, guys! I really appreciate it!
2 comments:
I'm one of the lucky ones who's known what I've wanted to do since middle school!
My first two years I went to college close to home, 3 hours away, and I LOVED it. It was hard being in a long-distance relationship but I had some amazing experiences my first two years of college.
Since I knew I wanted to be a journalism major I had a choice of two universities to transfer to in my third year. Both were far from home, but only one was in the same province so I decided to stay in B.C. and move across the province to Kamloops. The last year has been a crazy one for me, my first time living so far from home, but I feel like I've grown more in the past year than I have my whole life. I know I've made the right choices since I'm at an internship that I ADORE and I am fully looking forward to my future career!
My only advice to your cousin would be to go with her gut. You did, rather than forcing yourself through a degree that was not right for you you switched to something that was and that's the way to do it. There's no point spending a whole bunch of time and money on something that is not the right fit!
My college process was pretty easy. From all of the brochures and information I could find I narrowed the selection down to three choices, Michigan State, Western, and Grand Valley.
I went to visit Michigan State first. My sister was there so even though it was three hours from home it wasn't like being completely away from family, plus there was a big group on high school friends going there. Another big draw for me was the sporMUts. I am a Big Ten fan and that was hard to resist. However, on my college visit I walked into the admissions office, they saw my last name and said "Oh you must be Abby's sister." Well I love my sister, but I had been Abby's sister all my life and really wanted my own identity. So I finished the tour knowing that I was not going to go there.
I then toured Western and Grand Valley on the same trip. The way we got appointments set up we met with GV in the morning, WMU in the afternoon, WMU the next morning and GV in the afternoon. Lots of time on the S curve. Anyway...
I was impressed with GV the first morning. The campus just seemed to feel right to me. I actually went there thinking that it would be too small. I wanted a big school. Then we went to Western. I did not like that. If you went there please don't take offense at this, but the campus was dirty. That and the art department was in the basement of the education building.
We went back to GV that afternoon and toured the brand new art department and my decision was made. My dad always teased me that I picked my college based on what was prettiest. And yes GV has won all sorts of awards for their campus, but I picked the place where I was most comfortable and had the best program for my field.
I did change majors after my first year and kept art as my minor. I decided that I wanted to enjoy my art for myself and not do it for someone else. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at that point so I sat down with the course catalog and just started looking at all of the different options. I didn't consider transferring because I loved Grand Valley and there were some very good options to choose from. I switched my major to Public Relations and was still able to graduate in four years.
One thing I will recommend is co-ed dorms. Freshman year my roommate started dating the guy across the hall, they've been married six years, sophomore year I started dating the guy across the hall, we've been married for four years, and at MSU my sister started dating the guy down the hall and they have been married for six years. Just my little tidbit of fun advice.
Overall my main comment about picking a college is to visit all of your top choices and go to the place where you feel comfortable.
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