Decision Day is here! Hear from a successful college student on his factors to choose his college.
How did you know your college was the "right fit"?
To be honest, Washington University was never the school I thought of as the school I would go to, and it was at the bottom of my college list. Realizing that WashU was the right fit for me took months of debating between different colleges and it wasn’t until one day after arguing with my family, that I finally realized that WashU was the college that was the right fit for me. The main reason why I initially didn’t want to apply or go to WashU was because my sister went there and I didn’t want people to think of my sister as an exact reflection of who I am. However, when my parents would ask me, “Would WashU be your top choice if your sister didn’t go there?” The answer would always be “absolutely yes!” Every time I visited WashU to see my sister, I would marvel at the beauty of the campus and notice how friendly the students were. I realized that my thoughts were quite foolish and ended up applying Early Decision 2 to WashU and was ecstatic to find out I had gotten in! After visiting WashU’s campus again on an admitted student day, I knew I had made the right choice. I ended up meeting and instantly connecting with another admitted student whom I became friends with, and I got to network with a couple of professors who encouraged me to apply to some programs that I am now a part of! Seeing how friendly and open the students and professors were at WashU made me realize that I had a sea of opportunities ready for me to grab at my disposal, and build long-lasting relationships that I could carry for the rest of my life.
How important is the opinion of families and friends in making my final decision?
My family was one of the most important opinions in making my final decision. My family and I have a very close relationship with each other and knew what I was looking for in a college. They helped me out so much during the process, staying up with me late at night to go over my essays and driving me to my interviews and the airport when I had the opportunity to participate in multiple fly-in programs. They gave me the advice to go ahead and apply Early Decision to WashU since I would always talk about how much I loved the school. However, they also constantly told me that it was always my decision and that I shouldn’t let their advice define my final college decision. This is something every applicant should know when making their final decision. College isn’t about your parent’s future- it’s about your future and it’s extremely important that you choose a place that you really want to be at for the next four years.
I didn't get into my dream school and now I feel like I'm attending the next best thing. How can I grow to love the school I am attending?
Get to know the people at your school! Whether it is the professors, staff, or your peers, a major part of the college experience is building meaningful relationships. This is an important life skill that’s going to pay off wherever you go and attending your college is a great place to start it! Another piece of advice I have is to find friends that have similar interests to yours. Clubs are a great way to achieve this! Be open to trying new things, such as a new hobby or sport that you would have never considered in the first place. If your college has unique traditions, don’t be afraid to participate in them! This is an excellent opportunity to hang out with your friends, meet new people, and fall in love with your school. My last piece of advice is to explore the campus as much as possible! Whether it’s going into a new building to study or finding a cute outdoor area, colleges have a ton of hidden gems that make them unique.
What are the top 3 reasons you decided to attend this school?
My top three reasons are the location, financial aid, and the environment. WashU was the closest prestigious college to my home and I knew that I wanted to be close to home so I wouldn’t have to worry about the cost of transportation and if there was a family emergency, I could be there. WashU is extremely generous with their financial aid and gave me a full ride to their school. Knowing that WashU was able to make a college education possible and affordable for me relieved the financial pressures I would have faced, had I chosen a different school. The environment of the college was what initially attracted me to WashU. I knew I wanted to go to a well-known college, but I didn’t want to be somewhere where I was constantly competing with my peers. WashU perfectly matched this! Every person I talked to when I visited the campus was super friendly and willing to tell me everything they knew about the school. When I would finish my conversation with them, they would always share their email or phone number so I could contact them if I had any questions. After considering these three factors, I knew WashU was the right place for me.
What resources did you use to help you make your final decision?
While my parents were extremely influential, there were plenty of other tools that helped me make my final decision. I used Collegeboard’s BigFuture website to help me find colleges that were a good fit for me by using specific filters, such as schools that meet 100% of my demonstrated financial need and schools that have excellent reputations in the majors I wanted to pursue. I also looked on Reddit to get an idea of what the environment was like at each of the colleges I was considering applying to, especially WashU. When I decided to take the step to apply Early Decision to a school, I created a list of colleges I was really interested in and made a pros and cons list for each of them. This helped me narrow down my choices to two schools (WashU being one of them). Then, I went over each of the pros and cons of the two choices with my family before I made WashU my final choice.
How did Matriculate help you with this?
As a High School Fellow alumn, Matriculate helped me with this by introducing me to college search websites, including BigFuture. My Advising Fellow gave me very insightful advice that helped me build my college list, and he also helped me realize that WashU was the right choice for me.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Felix Guo
Felix is from Lawrence, Kansas and is an Advising Fellow and High School Fellow Recruitment Ambassador at Matriculate. He is currently studying biology and music at Washington University in St. Louis. In his free time, he loves playing the clarinet, going on runs, and gardening.