Hey hey heyyyyyy! It’s Mack again. Read on to find out my final college choice and the whys behind it! A lot of people already know but I wanted to inform those whom I don’t regularly see.

So to start off, let me take you on my college search journey. As an underclassmen I always envisioned myself attending a large university to escape the claustrophobic life that comes with attending a small JR-SR high school. Don’t get me wrong, I think my school is the best evaaa but you kinda outgrow it after so many years with the same 80 kids. Ready to move on to bigger and better things, I pictured myself attending a Purdue or an IU to get the real college vibe. As a junior, I visited Purdue-Northwest because I wanted to play volleyball at the time. I loved PNW when I visited (hello because it was my first visit I thought it was where I’d end up). Then I visited Purdue in the spring and I realized PNW had nothing on a place like Purdue. I seriously was considering Purdue, it’s such a great place (I still really like Purdue, just not a place I could see myself thriving). In the summer, my mom and I succumbed to stumbling around IU’s vast campus and getting lost several times when I realized that I just didn’t have the tiniest inkling of a desire to go there except for Bloomington Bagels-seriously the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had! Stop in if you’re near B-Town.

During my senior year, the real question is not where did I visit. Perhaps where DIDN’T I visit would be more suitable! Let me rack my brain real quick. Ball State. Hanover. Butler. DePauw. The first school I applied to – and was accepted, with a substantial scholarship- was Ball State. I remember I had had an AWFUL day! I was exhausted from our Live United Day, I locked my keys in my car with all of my volleyball stuff inside and we were leaving for the Leo tournament in a few hours! I was so upset, but as I was leaving my house, my mom peeked inside the mailbox and pulled out a huge envelope from Ball State! My first acceptance letter relieved me because at least I had someplace to go even if it didn’t turn out to be my first choice!

Next stop: Butler! After leaving Butler, I was convinced that I’d end up going there, no doubt. I loved it! The campus was beautiful, everyone was very friendly, and hello they have the cutest mascot ever!

I don’t even remember why I decided to visit DePauw. Maybe because one of my friends played volleyball there and had great things to say about the program? Mmmm, don’t know, doesn’t matter. I remember I visited on a day designated for the Honor Scholar and Fellows Program. I had applied for both the Honors Scholar Program and the Environmental Fellows Program prior to my visit so I interviewed early for these programs (I say early because the deadline for the application wasn’t until Feb 1).

Though the weather was dreary and I only saw like a small portion of campus, I was intrigued by the advanced intellectual level of everyone around me on campus. During my interview with the director of the Honor Scholar Program, I felt challenged but so stimulated because the program forces students to look at situations from different perspectives. At a sample Honors course, one girl asked a question that was phrased so eloquently that I wasn’t even sure what she was asking or what the words she used meant! Nonetheless, I was impressed.

As I continued on my college search, I found myself comparing every school to DePauw. DePauw really seemed to have everything I was looking for. Every other school always had one or two downsides – crappy rec facility, deteriorated dorms, too-large, too-small. You name it and I didn’t like it at some school. BUT DePauw was the first school that exceeded my expectations. I love it!!! Campus is so beautiful. It’s located in a small, but very nice town (with lots of local restaurants and shops – Myers Market is deeelish). It is unmatched in my eyes. Which is why I submitted my deposit today woot woot!!!

Opportunities. The major deciding factor in my college decision. At DePauw, I know I’ll thrive compared to at a large state school where, cliche, I know, but I’d be a nobody. I’ve already encountered amazing opportunities before even attending school! I have the chance to belong to honors programs based on my passions, build relationships with professors and friends (shoutout Reagan!), and even apply for an intensive Spanish study abroad trip this summer! Seriously, even having the opportunity to apply for Servicio en las Americas (a 4 week Spanish study abroad trip to Panama-for free!) just screams success to me. Stay tuned to see if I make the cut, mi espanol es un poco mal ahora. Anyways, DePauw is set up on a regular fall and spring term but it also includes January term and May term. During Jan term and May term, students can choose to study abroad with a professor, take a course at DePauw or another school, intern, or stay home. Okay I’m trying my best to explain how cool this is, but it isn’t really working out, but I promise it’s ~so totally rad, dude~

Anywho, I’m SO excited for my future at DePauw. I cannot wait to get back to campus for the Honors & Fellows Programs Weekend! AND I’m staying in my friend’s dorm parrrtayyyy! Can’t wait for all that fun college stuff like decorating my dorm with my roomie, meeting new friends, and finding my niche and my passions while living the dream – or that’s the goal anyways! GO TIGERS! ALSO – GIMME THE LOOT

Advice to younger kiddos:

1. Keep an open mind

Whether you’re in middle school or an underclassmen in high school, you may have a picture in your head of your ideal college. Drawing from previous experience, it’s probably a big school far away or moderately far away from home. Don’t go into the college search looking for one specific school. Visit as many schools as possible-within reason. I’m not saying go ham and drive all over the country, but my #1 tip is to keep your options open. Visit a few large schools, a few medium, and a few small. And remember- just because you visit school of that size and hate it doesn’t mean that all the other schools are just as bad. Even though you may love the first school you visit, keep visiting. Don’t settle.

2. Don’t procrastinate

Seriously, this will help so much as you enter senior year. Actually, start this tip as early as possible to break the habit. Take your SATs and ACTs twice in your junior year. Then, you don’t have that stress looming over you as applications flood in as you enter senior year. Ask for recommendation letters as early as possible, a couple weeks before school starts is great so teachers can get those to you when school starts and you can get the ball rollin’. Finish allllll homework and studying first. Then, devote some time to working on those apps – you’ll thank yourself later! It feels so good to relax knowing that you don’t have to worry about deadlines. Also, finish the FAFSA ASAP (children of divorced parents stay with me till tip #6!:( )

3. Work super duper hard in school=$$$

Alright, let me just say this: stop slacking off in school. Do your absolute best because good grades bring the dough! You don’t want to be paying off $100,000+ in student loans when you’re 50 when you could’ve only been paying $30,000, am I right or am I right?

4. Scholarships!

With that being said, apply for scholarships! Even if you’re college doesn’t give you a scholarship, you can still earn money! I know my guidance counselors are GREAT at supplying us with plenty of scholarships! Check with your guidance office to see what scholarships you qualify for. Also, before you sit down to work on your apps, gather all of your materials. Make a resume of all extracurriculars, work experience, awards, leadership roles, allllldat. Super duper helpful. Get some copies of transcripts and acceptance letters if possible, too!

5. FAFSA

Alright, everyone that I have talked to about the FAFSA immediately goes into a rage about it. Let me just vouch from personal experience and say that the FAFSA – as with many financial aid forms- is not particularly divorced parent friendly. It’s can get really confusing when figuring out which house to file. I was told to file with the household with the lowest income by a woman who apparently does this kind of stuff everyday- however, that is not the case. You need to file with your custodial parent’s household information. Even if you try to hack the system and say that your parent with the lower household income is custodial, the devils have other ways to determine that for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 and come and go at each house as you please, they will find out and make that decision for you 😦 ~based on my experience, let’s hope the feds don’t come after me~