college news!

So, this is probably going to be called a "self-indulgent" piece of writing in class. But it's what's on my mind now so I'm going to write about college decisions anyway! Apologies if it is too selfish a bit of writing. A general and impersonal reflection on the college decision process might be more smiled upon, but that is not what I have a mind to write about presently.

I have "the list" down to two colleges now. All the college letters have come in. Among them were four acceptances (Wheaton, URI, Roger Williams, Quinnipiac) and one wait-list (Connecticut College). The only two that I really, really wanted to go to were Wheaton and Connecticut, and since I got wait-listed at Connecticut it's pretty much off the list... So it is down to two choices: Wheaton, or URI.

When it comes down to it, it is not really my choice which one it will be. It depends on just one thing: money. I never thought about money before this year beyond wondering how much it would cost to buy the three novels I'd been dying to read, but senior year the thought of it has been hanging about all the time. Wheaton is private and very, very expensive. URI, on the other hand, is inexpensive to begin with - and I got scholarships and grants that cover almost all the tuition.

I do want to go to Wheaton. I really, really like it. It was my first choice college and I was ecstatic that I was accepted, and that they gave me a scholarship. They gave me a really nifty scholarship too - some of the money goes toward paying tuition, but later on in college I'd also get money in the summer to pursue an independent project or use as a salary for a would-be unpaid internship or basically whatever kind of academic project-thing I want. Wheaton is small, and a small school was one of my top desires when choosing colleges to apply to. Everyone there, students and professors, when I sat in on a class (Anglo-Saxon Literature, definitely a class I would want to take!) seemed so enthusiastic about what they were doing. But, the scholarships still don't cover nearly all the tuition.

Then there is URI. The basic thing I don't like about URI is its size - it's so big! I spent a day there with a very good friend who is a freshman, and felt like I could get lost because there were so many students. And I wouldn't like it at all if my professors didn't know who I was. But I've met some professors at URI in my subject areas, English, History, and Journalism, who seemed really excited about their subjects.

I don't want to take out student loans and be in debt for years after college. Because - I'm not going into a big money-making career. Writers, journalists, artsy types don't have the most financially stable careers! And I want to have money to do things I want to do and not have to wait years and years because I'm held back by debt to my college. I want to have money to travel, to fund the art projects that wander into my head, and I don't want to have to be stuck working in a job I don't like just to pay the rent.

And I also don't want my parents to pay a lot for college. They've already made sacrifices to pay for my private schools since the first grade, and they also have dreams and ambitions, they also want to travel and undertake new projects and ideas and it wouldn't be at all fair for me to ask them to pay a lot of money for my college.

I applied for another scholarship (from a non-academic source) and if I get it or not will determine where I go to college. I'll just have to wait and see.