My senior year of high school I had it all planned out. I was going to apply to the big leagues! I was going to somehow, some way, make my way to the Chicago lights and skyscrapers. Now how I was going to pay for that...I hadn't quite figured that out! But I figured everything would fall in to place. So as the application process began and I, like many of you did, weighed my options and tried to evaluate the pros and cons of each institution.
And like most college students, I realized that I couldn't afford to attend 90% of the universities I wanted to apply to. $50,000-60,000 a year for college was not only out of my price range, but I couldn't afford to even breathe the air on the campuses of the universities I wanted to attend! So I decided to apply to more reasonable places, in this case IU being one of my choices.
This message is for all of you who have gotten into IU but still don’t know if it’s the right fit for you.
So I applied and I was accepted. Congratulations if you are reading this, you too have most likely been accepted! If you don’t already realize it... it’s a BIG DEAL that you have been accepted even though you may not see it right now. I was not really excited when I was accepted because I didn’t want to come to IU even though I knew deep down I would “end up” here. During my application process, I was sent various notifications for something called “Selective Scholarships” and I needed every scholarship there was, so I applied for them. At this time I applied for every and any scholarship, it could have been a scholarship for sun tanning lotion and I would have applied for it, if that clarifies my state of mind at the time!
To make a long story short, I without quite understanding the gravity of it, applied for the Cox Scholarship Program. Uncle Jessie and Aunt Beulah Cox, as I affectionately refer to them, were some pretty cool people who donated a lot of money to pay for hardworking student's college educations. Word of advice please…please…please check your new IU emails, because I missed all the emails for my interview with the program for the scholarship. They called my house and my mom happened to be home. The next week I went for the interview, and the next day I had a full cost of attendance to IUB paid for! Crazy, right?
I tell this story to say that sometimes we don’t know what we need. I needed IU and I couldn’t envision a more PERFECT place for me. I think back to how much I didn’t want to come here and all the surface level things that I thought would stop me from being happy. For instance after my first visit, I thought I was going to hate it because it was predominately white, no one would look like me, it would be country and that I wouldn’t fit in.
Turns out, in my case it has been completely the opposite…aside from the predominately white thing! *So for all my students of color be prepared for that* IU and the Cox Engagement Scholars program have been two of the best things that have ever happened to me and I couldn’t envision my life now without them. I’ve never felt more at home and I’m a true Indiana Hoosier, baby!
To conclude, I want to say that if you have been accepted but you don’t think it is the right fit or you can’t envision yourself at IUB, give it a chance because it will truly blow your mind once you are here!
Sincerely Sid.