My experience this week was pretty great overall. I got to see many new colleges which helped me develop a better understanding of what I want out of a college. I also got to see first-hand how a student functions on a normal college day. There are many benefits to physically seeing a college which play a factor in your driven perspective of that college. Besides the colleges, the bus rides were quite long but very relaxing. I also enjoyed spending time with friends at the hotel and at the pool. The food throughout the trip was also very good. The only downside was that I lost my voice halfway throughout the trip, hindering my communication abilities. Overall, I am very grateful to have gone on this trip and would do it again.
I liked all of the colleges we went to for different reasons. They each looked different and felt different. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was big and lively, focusing a lot on the sciences and agriculture. UCSB was very big and extremely lively. They were also an environmentally friendly school and focused a lot on STEM. UC Merced was small and personalized. They also seemed very modern and focused a lot on most subjects. Lastly, Chapman University was situated in the middle of a city, which had lots of culture and social factors. They mainly focused on business and liberal arts majors. All of these colleges helped shape my newfound opinion on my ideal college.
This experience has really showed me that I really want to experience my own independence. My parents have taught me so much, but to really be successful in life, I need to rely on myself to keep on going and succeed. I want to be able to start my own life where I can grow from the world around me. I’m not one for long drives, especially if I have to drive myself. Even though I wouldn’t want to make a long drive, its worth it in the end so I’ve gotta do it. I could be so far though, that I have to fly, thus solving my long driving. I would much rather sit in a plane than in a car. I am so curious when it comes to different cultures and places, that I am very excited when it comes to this aspect of college. I want to be able to experience the best things from different cities and meet many different types of people. I strive for good experiences, and new places in the world is where I can find those good experiences. Overall, I am very confident when it comes to taking care of myself. I would say I am a pretty independent person already, so I am willing to officially cut reliance and embark on my own journey. In college though, I hope to meet many friends in which I will be able to rely on to have my back. This way, I can live a balanced lifestyle.
I am looking forward to learning much more about my major, studying abroad, gaining new connections, being active in the community, and growing in the process. I am also looking forward to being independent. I am essentially excited for so many things in college that I hope for the best at this point. I also hope I can keep in touch with old friends from high school which helped me become the person I am today. I am most concerned about letting my extroverted self hinder me from having the best possible experience I can have in college. I want to grow my social life but I will have to break out of comfort zone to do that. If I can do that, the possibilities in college are endless.
I am very interested in studying abroad in college. I want to study along the lines of journalism, so being able to study media globally would be amazing. I could see how my future career impacts the world while also experiencing a new culture first hand. There weren’t to many clubs I heard which sounded interesting, but a few stood out to me. These included the campus newspaper, which provides hands on editorial experience. I also heard of other clubs which suited my hobbies such as playing video games and playing soccer. These are some clubs I found interesting at the campuses we saw.
I am interested in attending a smaller school, which focuses on media and communications. I also hope the school has a great journalism program which could take me far in the career I hope to pursue. I also want the community at the college to be calming and very welcoming. I want to also be able to do many fun things with the new people I hopefully befriend. To be honest, I can be very flexible as I am perfectly fine with going out of state or staying in state. I am open to both options as I know I can do well in both scenarios. Depending on what happens though, I will definitely want to be in certain locations, whether that be in California on not.