Ashley's Advice :]

Hi Juniors!

I’m sure you all had a wonderful and relaxing winter break. However, now we’re trying to get back in the swing of things which means it’s time for you to start actually thinking about college. My second semester junior year was complete confusion for me. I was asking myself questions like: How am I supposed to find out what I want to do for the rest of my life? What if I go to college and I hate the school I decided to go to? How do I even decide what school I want to go to?

All of these questions are ones that I eventually realized in the grand scheme of things but don’t really matter at the moment. I don’t need to find out what I’m going to do RIGHT NOW (though everyone you ever meet will ask you and you will say, “I don’t know,” and they will kind of just look at you). You’ll probably change your major at least 2 times anyway. You’re also not even applying to school yet, you’re trying to figure out why you want to apply to a school. The two key words there are “YOU” and “WHY.” Because really, the next year and a half or so when you’re thinking about college and the rest of your life is one of the only times in your life (unless you suffer from only child syndrome) when most of the things you’re doing and thinking about are all about YOU! YOU! YOU! The college process is all about you, and finding what you want.

Now I know a lot of you, if not all of you, will probably apply to at least one school that one or both of your parents really, really, really want you to go to. Even I did that, and it made my mom so happy when I got into that school, but I have absolutely no urge to go to. Going to that school is like my back up plan to my back up plan. I’m sure applying to and going to whatever school would make your parents very happy, and if you really want to go to that school then that’s awesome to whoever you are, but most of you I’m assuming as angst ridden teens have no urge to please your parents at the moment. And I’m sure applying to Harvard and Yale will impress soooo many people, but who really cares if you went to Yale and were miserable, when you could’ve gone to a school that most people haven’t heard of, where you would’ve had an awesome time and education. Note: Just because the college is supposedly spectacular doesn’t mean it’s for you. College is FOUR YEARS of your life, that’s 1,460 days. Do you really want to have 1,460 days of miserable? You should spend those four years somewhere you love and will really be happy, and not someplace someone else thinks you should be. So there are some questions you need to ask yourself.

TOP QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:

1. Where do I need to be to be happy? Close to home, east coast, west coast, north, south etc. Maybe even overseas.

2. Do I actually want to go to college immediately after high school or do I want to consider taking a gap year?

3. Do I want to live in a place about the size of Champaign-Urbana? Bigger? Smaller?

4. How big does the school I go to need to be? Less than 5,000 students? More than 10,000?

5. Do I care if I live in a co-ed dorm or not? Do I even want to go to a co-ed school?

6. Would I learn and do my best in a class size of about 20? Or would there not really be a difference between 20 students and 300 in a lecture hall for me?

7. Do I need a college that serves vegetarian friendly meals in its dining halls?

8. Do I want to play a sport in college?

9. What kinds of clubs and extracurricular activities am I involved in now that I want to continue, and which ones do I want to try?

And now for the biggest question of all that will really affect where you go to college and why:

For me, is college just a way to get a job? Or is college four years of my life where I want to have an awesome time, try new things, take weird classes, meet new people, develop as a person, and “find myself”?

That’s the most important question because people will keep telling you that you’ll have a blast and that these are the “best years of your life.” Right now is the time to make your own coming of age story and you should make it great, at a school you’ll love. It’s okay to make mistakes right now, make LOTS, but be sure you’re not mistaking the right school.

Best Tools to Help You Use the Information You Should Have From Answering the Questions Above:

1. LISA!!! (When she’s done with seniors of course)

2. College Board. Go to collegeboard.com and take the “College MatchMaker” survey where they will match you with colleges they think you’ll like based on answers you provide to questions similar and more specific than the ones I provided. Use that survey to really think about YOU(!!!) and research colleges that might make the next four years almost bearable.

I hope this information was more helpful than it was overwhelming. The best of luck to you.

Your PCC,

Ashley