Searching... For the Perfect College

Trying to find a good college is like trying to find a good person to date. Colleges try to “woo” you by broadcasting their good qualities, and why a student would be a good match for them. Some colleges may take the “stalker” approach, sending endless emails and letters almost every day, trying to convince you to commit to a visit. The whole process can be very overwhelming. In the great deluge of college mail, emails and recommendations, I have finally been able to narrow down my search to two or three colleges. The college I find to be most suited to me is Towson University.

Last Friday, my mom and I went to the open house at Towson University. There must’ve been over 300 students there, not including the tag-along parents. It was very intimidating, especially since the first thing they did was separate the students from their parents and put them in separate rooms. At first I felt lost without my mom, but fortunately my fears began to fall away when they played the song “Don’t Stop Believing” over the sound system. What also succeeded in making me feel more comfortable was the jokes of the admissions counselor, who did a wonderful job of making everyone feel more at ease. Then the admissions counselors went into the boring speech of the technicalities of the admissions process, such as required GPA and SAT scores.

Next came a question and answer session with students that already attend the school, to give us the real “dirt” about what goes on there. The only complaint I have against this session was that it was much too long; they cannot expect over 300 teenagers to give them their full attention for more than an hour; I mean come on, no one focuses that long even in class.

After the Q and A was over, we were reunited with our parents and able to go and talk to the heads of the academic departments that we were interested in. I went and had a nice chat with the head of Towson’s English department. He was very helpful and answered all the questions I had about my expected major, and how Towson can help me find an internship and eventually, a career. He even gave me his business card if I had any more questions for him later!

What I like most about Towson is its location. It is only 40-45 minutes from Arnold, making it easy for me to come home on weekends when I want (if I want). Towson is also very close to Baltimore, where I can easily get an internship when the time comes. Towson also has something very important to me, a marching band. I am a strong believer that if you do an activity all four years of high school, continue it through college! It will make the transition into college so much easier for me if I have marching band, where I am sure to meet lots of freshmen just as nervous as me about the new experience. 

Now all that’s left for me is to make a decision and have my application in by February 15th! Oh gosh.