2. Get You In

If you want to go to college, I think it’s safe to say the first step is getting in. Sure it is, but how do you get accepted? How do you decide where you want to go before it’s too late? I narrowed down my options right off the bat. As tempting as it might sound to head to Coral Gables, Florida or Washington, D.C. for college, options like this never appealed to me much.

I hate being in a car for more than a couple hours, and my family doesn’t really have the money to shuttle me back and forth from a distant school several times a year with plane tickets costing a few hundred bucks a pop. Plus, someone might ‘bust a cap’ in me if I went to school in a big city…and I bet sooner or later, Florida people get sick of perfect weather.

Complement the distance factor with the fact that it costs anywhere between twenty and fifty dollars just to apply at most schools, and it made sense I should only consider a few universities. I live relatively near the western border of my state, but since out-of-state enrollment is much more expensive I decided to look at in-state schools. The limit this put on my options was minor.

No matter where you are from, there are bound to be a number of colleges in your state (unless you live in Rhode Island where there’s only physical space for three and a half buildings…or in Montana, home of approximately 42 residents). And a majority of the contiguous United States – my home state included – have more respectable universities than one would even have time to consider.

Because I’m blessed with a considerable amount of intelligence (sorry, don’t know how to keep this from sounding arrogant), I didn’t have to worry about being accepted to whatever school I might choose. I got good grades in high school without all that much effort, and have always tested well. Thanks to a GPA near 3.9, strong ACT and SAT scores, and a class rank in the top 2%, I probably could have applied to Yale or Harvard with some confidence. I’m absolutely not brilliant though, so I never considered the ivy leagues. I’d much rather enjoy studying at a great school than torture myself studying at a REALLY great school.

Despite my grades, supportive parents, and planning, I fumbled the ball on the big decision. I’d narrowed my options down to two schools – both in my home state, similar in cost. College Number 1 was an hour and a half from home; College Number 2 was twice as far. I planned to study management information systems, which is basically “business for internet geeks,” and College 1 had a great business school.

Easy choice, right? But I received my scholarship packet from Number 2 first. They offered me around $3500 a year in scholarships and, because I’d heard College 1 was stingy, I sent in the housing agreement. I was set to go, prepared to settle for my second choice. Uh-oh…my housing deposit was in the mail…my future was headed for the ground.

The scholarship offer from College 1 arrived just in time. To my amazement, the University would give me $5000 a year to attend! I opened my eyes, realized how stupid it was choosing a school that was almost what I wanted, and felt God sweep away any doubts as to where I belonged. The deadline was not past, so my parents called College 2 for a refund and I sent in the acceptance forms for Number 1.

Fumble recovered by the offense! Some of the better advice I’ve received came from my high school government teacher, who told us to figure out where we wanted to go to college and then go there – no matter what. I guess I kind of ignored him…thank God the University is not as cheap with scholarships as I’d thought!

This, then, is the advice I pass on to anyone preparing for college: don’t settle. Don’t settle for decent grades if you know you could get better ones. Don’t settle for an average score on a standardized test if you think taking it again might yield better results. Most importantly, when it comes time to decide where you want to go to school DO NOT settle for your second choice.

If it means taking out $20,000 in loans, you’re better off going somewhere you’ll be happy and paying your debts later than you would be wondering how much sweeter things could have been. These are four big years we’re talking about – that’s a long time to be only semi-content. Look to God for direction, ask adults for help, and do everything in your power to make the right choice the first time around.