How I made my college decision

Pulliam Hall at Southern Illinois University. I loved studying in the library at night and looking at the clock tower.

On Wednesday, a senior asked me how I decided to attend Montana State.It’s a valid question, given that as a senior, this student is probably struggling, or at the least wrestling, with the decision of what to do after high school. She isn’t the only one in the class.

However, the Montana State question is easy. My family all went there (mom, dad, brother, an uncle, cousins). When I went to get my teaching degree, there was little doubt as to where I would go. I lived in Montana just long enough to get in-state tuition, and down to Bozeman I went.

The harder decision was where I would go to get my first degree. I ended up going to Southern Illinois University. But, it was not an easy decision, and I figured I might think back to when I was a senior and explain how I ended up in Carbondale, IL.

The first thing that you need to know about this is that when I began high school, I didn’t even know SIU was a place. And probably, from day one of high school, it was probably a safe bet that I would attend Washington State University. My sister had gone there, I became a huge Cougar fan, I loved Pullman, and since we moved to Lake Stevens, I would get in-state tuition. Even when I was getting information from colleges, I didn’t really think I would go anywhere else. I was, it seemed, destined for Pullman.

My first bit of advice would be to get information. From anywhere. Literally. They’ll send it to you for free. I’d see a commercial that talked about Maine, and the next week I would have received my requested informational packet from the University of Maine. I got stuff from colleges in New Mexico. Iowa, California, probably Alaska. I wanted as much information as I could get. Plus, it is free.

You see, even though I knew I wanted to go to Washington State, I wanted to see what else was out there. I’m the type of person that doesn’t mind shaking things up. Also, by the time I became an upperclassmen, I got a serious case of wanderlust, and I wanted to see someplace new. I probably thought in the back of my mind, I would still go to WSU, but I liked to imagine what else was out there. I didn’t have much direction, more of an all-consuming need for all the information.

And then, the 2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament happened.

I love college basketball. It’s one of my favorite sports to watch. And when March Madness rolls around, I get into it. I mean, I seriously consider calling in sick for the tournaments opening games so that I can watch as much basketball as humanly possible. Like anyone else that loves the tournament, I get hooked on those Cinderella teams, and that year, Cinderella wore maroon.

Out of the Missouri Valley, the eleventh seeded Southern Illinois Salukis got their first upset when they downed Texas Tech 76-68. Two days later, the Salukis proved they weren’t one shot wonders, and they took down three seeded Georgia in a nail-biter, 77-75.

It’s one thing to get an upset in the first round, but to get two in a row is a lot for a program like SIU. You get a week of coverage. The school’s name is all over the news. And for a basketball-crazed junior who was wanting to explore the country, an obscure college town in the Midwest that was nicknamed the Salukis was right up my alley.

It was a rainy day in March or April, I’m going to guess a week after SIU’s two upsets, that I was in the guidance counselor’s office looking for colleges. I wanted to go into journalism, possibly work in radio. So, I searched for radio/television programs. To my surprise, Southern Illinois University was on the list. I said to my friend, “Oh, they’re like the Saluskis or something.” Using my “Ask everyone for information” policy, I asked them for information. A week later, I got a packet in the mail.

SIU had a top ten program for radio-television. It was in a small college town (something I was looking for). It was far away, which for me was a plus at the time. I arranged a college visit. My mom and I flew out to Carbondale, I think in May. I toured around campus, met some people in the R/TV program, and honestly, it just felt right.

Campus visits are important. I had been on a few. I remember touring the University of Wyoming (who, if they had kept their journalism program, probably would have gotten me, because I fell in love with Laramie and its scenery). I toured Oregon State University, and didn’t feel the same connection. I toured Washington State and I liked it, but it felt overly familiar. So, that’s my next bit of advice. Go to the college. Sit in on a class if you can. Talk with people. Spend the night. Find a local restaurant. Take in a sporting event. Try to imagine yourself on the campus, going through the campus bookstore, chatting with friends on the quad. I think the college that is right for you will literally grab you and say, “Here, you’ll be home.”

It was a lesson I didn’t fully learn until halfway through my freshman year at SIU. I was going through a serious bout of homesickness, and missing my family. One of my friends said, “We’re your family too.” And it was absolutely true. The bonds you make on a college campus are incredible. You will meet the most interesting people, you will have the most amazing experiences. You should want all of this to happen in a place that feels right to you.

I didn’t make my decision fully until December of my senior year. I had applied to five schools gotten into all of them, and then weighed my options. It is not an easy decision. But, I thought about the places I could go, the opportunities I had at each one, and ultimately decided on SIU. It was the best fit for what I wanted at the time. It was a small college town, it was far away, it had a great program for what I was looking for, and the basketball program was good. It checked all the boxes. Also, and again, this is probably the biggest thing: it felt right being on campus. One night in December I pretended to fall asleep on the couch and listened to my parents. They talked about where I was going to go. My dad guessed SIU. They seemed to agree. I think I told them a week later.

And so, then I got to go through the rigmarole of filling out housing applications, deciding on meal plans, registering for courses and what not. In August, my Dad and I set off for Carbondale, driving cross-country. I got their a week early for band camp, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Quick side note: when you go to college, JOIN SOMETHING. A fraternity or sorority, a group, the marching band, a club, something. College is massive and you will be around more people than you’ve ever known before, and you don’t know how good it feels to be walking through this sea of people, not knowing where you’re going, starting to miss home, wondering if you can cut it at college, when suddenly someone says, “Hey, what’s up!” It means the world. No joke, I took marching band and I had 100 friends before school even started. Be involved in the campus community.

This doesn’t mean, as you might have gleaned, that you won’t miss home. Going off on your own is a huge step. At SIU, at times, I was so homesick that I thought about transferring. But, ultimately, I had made some great friends and had some great opportunities at SIU and I decided to stay. I’m glad I did. Carbondale and SIU has worked its way into my heart. I recently read a column in The Southern Illinoisan titled, “Embrace SIU like the magical place that it is". And Carbondale and SIU truly were a magical place for me. I think back at my favorite study spot (top floor of the library, overlooking Pulliam Hall’s clocktower), the times at Quatro’s with my fraternity brothers, the long nights in the Comm Building putting together a radio show, the absolute insanity of SIU Arena when we hit a lay-up with 0.5 seconds left to beat Bradley, the times hanging out in the SUB, the week of band camp in the heat and humidity, going on wine trails, catching a baseball game on ‘The Hill’, studying the night sky on top of the sciences building, getting to know people from all walks of life in the Residence Halls, running around Campus Lake, camping out all night in front of the new Buffalo Wild Wings, staying up late and having those BS philosophical discussions that can only really happen in your twenties, learning that I did actually like biscuits and gravy from Mary Lou’s, and so much more.

See, while SIU and Carbondale are magical places for me, you have to think about what place is going to be magical for you. College is where you become you. You round out interests, make friends, have experiences (some good, some bad. It’s called being a human). It is the place where you will undergo a transformation into a new type of person.

Maybe that magical place is nearby. Maybe it’s the place that you have always dreamed of going to. Maybe it’s a place that you’ve never heard of. Wherever that is, I hope the college you decide is a great fit for you, and you find that place that you can call home. I hope this helps you in your decision making, at least seeing how I came to my decision. But really, choosing a college is a personal decision. What worked for me, might not work for you, and your criteria for what you want in a school may be different from the person sitting next to you. In a sense, it’s almost like choosing a serious boyfriend or girlfriend. Your criteria is your criteria. And maybe your friend will ask, “What do you see in that place/him/her,” and as long as you’re happy, it works.

Unless you go to Montana. Or Creighton. Who could ever stand those places?