Dream School or Safety School - It All Works Out for the Best

The college application process can be pretty intense and in the moment, can sometimes feel like life or death. When I was a 17 year-old senior, I thought I wanted to study math or computer science at University of Virginia – so when I found out that I only got into my safety schools (even after years of SAT tutoring), I remember feeling like the reality of my “college dream” was very different from what I had months to imagine it becoming. It seemed brutal at the time, but I can tell you from my experience and the experiences of many friends – everything generally works out for the best.

As luck would have it, it turned out that I was most interested in studying business, and the school I ended up attending (Michigan) had the best business program of any school that I applied to. I ended up having an amazing college experience that I wouldn’t have changed for the world (Go Blue!).

A lot of life happens between the age of 17 (when you pick a college) and the age of 22 (when you graduate from college). As it turned out, some of my friends who got to go to their “dream school” (i.e. the highest ranking school they got into) ended up transferring after a year to their real dream school. Others went to a big school, only to realize that they wanted to be at a small school. Some went to school to study history, only to realize they wanted to study medicine. Some went to school to study business only to realize that they wanted to teach and travel the world. You get the point – choosing a college is not the final decision – it’s the first of many choices. Once in school the opportunity to make that decision feel like it reflects who you are will present itself over and over again. My advice:

1) Get a college counselor. A good college counselor can really help a high school student find a school that is truly the right fit for them and then help them get in. (I didn’t have one – but I wish I did.) The best counselors understand how much students change after they leave high school and help students select schools that can grow and change with them.

2) Have an open mind and a positive attitude. Not everyone has the college experience that they imagined when they were 17, but everyone who has an open mind and a positive attitude will have a great college experience. Like many things in life, things work out for the best when you’re willing to be flexible and approach new situations with optimism.