College decisions
I'm seriously... blah. I am trying to figure out what college to go to and it is driving me nuts.
My story:
I have been accepted to Bard, Earlham, Pitzer and Scripps colleges (all small liberal arts schools) and waitlisted at my first choice, Carleton College. I'm very happy that there were no rejections. Anyway, I have to choose a school to send a deposit to before May 1st and I can't figure out which one.
On the one hand, I'm feeling really crappy because I just wanted to get into Carleton and have that be it. It's like, "I figured out where I want to go!" I don't want to do it again! None of the other schools seem right. I mean, I could be happy at any of them, but I don't know which one is second best.
I have visited all of them. Bard is in upstate New York, Earlham (which is kindof off the list at this point) is in Richmond, Indiana and Pitzer and Scripps are in southern California (they are Claremont Colleges). The logical choice at this point would be Pitzer because it's... well, it's really awesome, the weather is good, they have large dorms, student art all over campus, student involvement on all committees (and their opinions are given the same weight as faculty and staff), it is really easy to create your own major (and encouraged), you can take classes at the other colleges (including Pomona and Scripps), the people seemed pretty nice, they have a garden that students can plant stuff in, there are lots of cool classes, and basically they encourage you to get involved in everything and affect change. They really want you to leave your mark. That kind of thing.
Scripps is (quite literally) right across a _very_ small street from Pitzer. A really small street. Tiny street. The Scripps campus is beautiful--I don't think there could possibly be another campus in this country where they make such an effort to keep the environment so beautiful and serene. There is a -carob tree-. A CAROB TREE! How amazing is that?! It is older than the school (pre 1926). Even if I ended up at Pitzer, I would sit under that carob tree on the Scripps campus. Oh, and Scripps is a women's college. It's not isolated--you can even do a room swap and live somewhere else if you want to. Their food is pretty awesome and they have nice dorms. They also (get this) encourage the students to pick the flowers growing on campus. The gardeners show them how to cut them (there is a rose garden, so these are the ones primarily picked) and they end up in dorms and stuff. I think that's great. But... it's not enough. Their food, administrative staff, campus and dorms are beautiful and wonderful, but they have terrible core requirements and the people... the people I met were exceptionally friendly, but they felt slightly... not shallow, but that... like I could tolerate them for four years, and not have many arguments in four years, but I wouldn't be very good (close) friends with them the whole time. That's just my gut.
Then there's Bard. Bard College was my top choice for ages. Their course catalog is... amazing. I mean really, if you have any kind of academic spirit whatsoever, or even if you don't think you do, check out this catalog because it is beyond belief. I found myself circling courses in areas that I would never have been interested in otherwise. Plus, they have wonderful courses in the things I already know that I'm interested in. Seriously, check it out, though. It is fantastic.
Besides the course catalog, the campus is really big a pretty. We visited in the fall, and all of the leaves were turning, it was sunny with a slight breeze--absolutely perfect. It is right on the Hudson River. I like that there are deciduous trees at Bard. I'm not a _big_ east coast person (well, I guess I just don't like New York City very much, except for the theater district) but the trees are a huge bonus. There is a good health food store in Red Hook (the nearest town). I would have to have a car. At any of these places I would have to have a car. A lot of people ride bikes but still, I'd have to have a car. Bard... has a real reputation for being a stoner school (though I don't like calling it that) and there is a lot of drinking. There are people who do drugs, there are a ton of cigarette smokers, and there is drinking, but it seems like not everybody does it. I think I'd be able to find friends. They have a crazy performing arts center, more than one student newspaper, a _good_ freshman seminar (I think they might have even originated the freshman seminar), I know two people there already (though one is going abroad next year), ummmm... I've never heard anything bad about the academics... I've heard they're hard, there are some o.k. professors, but I've never heard anything bad. They require senior projects, which I love (even though I just finished up mine I still love them). The people there are really... opinionated, which isn't bad, and politically involved (also definitely not bad). When I visited, a guy came up to me in the health food store and asked if I was a prospective Bard student and told me that he really loved it there, and that was really cool. I guess I don't really want to go to Bard. I've written more about it here than any of the other schools, but I don't like the idea of going there. I don't want to go there. It's not even that I know why. But the idea of not going there, or eliminating it without knowing why I don't want it is troubling to me.
Pitzer is the logical choice. But something isn't right about that, too. I don't really know what I want to do. I would like to be able to figure out where I'm going next year, I REALLY would like to know where I'm going next year. But I don't know. I want to go somewhere, I want to start working on the transition, but it's tricky when I don't know if I'll be on the west coast, the east coast or in the midwest (which is where Carleton is). I won't find out about Carleton until after May 1st. I need to make a decision. I know I'd be happy anywhere. But I don't know which is the best of the happy anywheres. I need to know where to go, but I almost just don't care anymore. I want to be done with this!!!!!!
I just want to know where I'm going.
My story:
I have been accepted to Bard, Earlham, Pitzer and Scripps colleges (all small liberal arts schools) and waitlisted at my first choice, Carleton College. I'm very happy that there were no rejections. Anyway, I have to choose a school to send a deposit to before May 1st and I can't figure out which one.
On the one hand, I'm feeling really crappy because I just wanted to get into Carleton and have that be it. It's like, "I figured out where I want to go!" I don't want to do it again! None of the other schools seem right. I mean, I could be happy at any of them, but I don't know which one is second best.
I have visited all of them. Bard is in upstate New York, Earlham (which is kindof off the list at this point) is in Richmond, Indiana and Pitzer and Scripps are in southern California (they are Claremont Colleges). The logical choice at this point would be Pitzer because it's... well, it's really awesome, the weather is good, they have large dorms, student art all over campus, student involvement on all committees (and their opinions are given the same weight as faculty and staff), it is really easy to create your own major (and encouraged), you can take classes at the other colleges (including Pomona and Scripps), the people seemed pretty nice, they have a garden that students can plant stuff in, there are lots of cool classes, and basically they encourage you to get involved in everything and affect change. They really want you to leave your mark. That kind of thing.
Scripps is (quite literally) right across a _very_ small street from Pitzer. A really small street. Tiny street. The Scripps campus is beautiful--I don't think there could possibly be another campus in this country where they make such an effort to keep the environment so beautiful and serene. There is a -carob tree-. A CAROB TREE! How amazing is that?! It is older than the school (pre 1926). Even if I ended up at Pitzer, I would sit under that carob tree on the Scripps campus. Oh, and Scripps is a women's college. It's not isolated--you can even do a room swap and live somewhere else if you want to. Their food is pretty awesome and they have nice dorms. They also (get this) encourage the students to pick the flowers growing on campus. The gardeners show them how to cut them (there is a rose garden, so these are the ones primarily picked) and they end up in dorms and stuff. I think that's great. But... it's not enough. Their food, administrative staff, campus and dorms are beautiful and wonderful, but they have terrible core requirements and the people... the people I met were exceptionally friendly, but they felt slightly... not shallow, but that... like I could tolerate them for four years, and not have many arguments in four years, but I wouldn't be very good (close) friends with them the whole time. That's just my gut.
Then there's Bard. Bard College was my top choice for ages. Their course catalog is... amazing. I mean really, if you have any kind of academic spirit whatsoever, or even if you don't think you do, check out this catalog because it is beyond belief. I found myself circling courses in areas that I would never have been interested in otherwise. Plus, they have wonderful courses in the things I already know that I'm interested in. Seriously, check it out, though. It is fantastic.
Besides the course catalog, the campus is really big a pretty. We visited in the fall, and all of the leaves were turning, it was sunny with a slight breeze--absolutely perfect. It is right on the Hudson River. I like that there are deciduous trees at Bard. I'm not a _big_ east coast person (well, I guess I just don't like New York City very much, except for the theater district) but the trees are a huge bonus. There is a good health food store in Red Hook (the nearest town). I would have to have a car. At any of these places I would have to have a car. A lot of people ride bikes but still, I'd have to have a car. Bard... has a real reputation for being a stoner school (though I don't like calling it that) and there is a lot of drinking. There are people who do drugs, there are a ton of cigarette smokers, and there is drinking, but it seems like not everybody does it. I think I'd be able to find friends. They have a crazy performing arts center, more than one student newspaper, a _good_ freshman seminar (I think they might have even originated the freshman seminar), I know two people there already (though one is going abroad next year), ummmm... I've never heard anything bad about the academics... I've heard they're hard, there are some o.k. professors, but I've never heard anything bad. They require senior projects, which I love (even though I just finished up mine I still love them). The people there are really... opinionated, which isn't bad, and politically involved (also definitely not bad). When I visited, a guy came up to me in the health food store and asked if I was a prospective Bard student and told me that he really loved it there, and that was really cool. I guess I don't really want to go to Bard. I've written more about it here than any of the other schools, but I don't like the idea of going there. I don't want to go there. It's not even that I know why. But the idea of not going there, or eliminating it without knowing why I don't want it is troubling to me.
Pitzer is the logical choice. But something isn't right about that, too. I don't really know what I want to do. I would like to be able to figure out where I'm going next year, I REALLY would like to know where I'm going next year. But I don't know. I want to go somewhere, I want to start working on the transition, but it's tricky when I don't know if I'll be on the west coast, the east coast or in the midwest (which is where Carleton is). I won't find out about Carleton until after May 1st. I need to make a decision. I know I'd be happy anywhere. But I don't know which is the best of the happy anywheres. I need to know where to go, but I almost just don't care anymore. I want to be done with this!!!!!!
I just want to know where I'm going.