I've talked a lot about all of the important decisions that you'll make once you're in college, but I realized that I neglected to talk about the biggest decision of all: deciding which school to even go to! There are so many factors that go into making that choice: money, location, what you want to major in, etc! If you're having a hard time choosing between IU and another school, or if you're just unsure about IU in general, hopefully this will help.
IU is a very big campus.Now, it's not so big that you don't know where everything is or where campus ends, but it's a lot bigger than most college campuses! Just to give you an idea of how big it is, to walk from Assembly Hall, which is on 17th Street, to 3rd Street (these are basically the borders of campus), it takes between 20-30 minutes. To walk from Kirkwood to Eigenmann probably takes about the same amount of time. IU is so big because they admit so many students. There are 40,000 some of us! I personally love the idea of going to school with so many people because of how many people you can meet and learn from, among other things! But if you're uncomfortable with going to school with tons of people, or you hate the idea of everything being so spread out, IU may not be the place for you.
Because there are so many people, things can get pretty competitive.For example, Megan was telling me that out of the (I think) approximately 1,600 girls who made it to 3 party during sorority recruitment (basically the end of recruitment), only (I think) 500 or 600 actually were picked to be in a chapter. That's crazy. Another example would be admission into the Kelley Business School. If you aren't a direct admin (and congrats if you are!), you have to pass all of your classes with at least a B+, and you can't drop any classes past the drop deadline. If you like competition, then you will love this. If not, a smaller school may be something to consider.
Does IU even have your major?!Depending on what you want to major in, you might not even be able to come to IU! If you want to major in business, then this is exactly where you should be! We also have a great psychology program. If you want to major in engineering though, IU doesn't offer that! But God forbid you go to Purdue. Don't do that. Go to another school that has an engineering program. Don't become a Purdouche. (All fun and games here, you can go to Purdue if you want to and feel like that's the best thing for you to do! Just prepare for a little hate from all of your IU friends (: ) In my experience this year, no matter what area it's been in, every one of my classes has been interesting and enjoyable, and all the professors are amazing (except for finite, I hated finite so hard). You can bank on getting a quality education from IU no matter what you decide to major in.
The most important factor is probably money.If this isn't a problem for you, then appreciate how lucky you are! It's awesome to make your decisions without having to worry about finances. If this is a problem for you, IU is, for a university, pretty "cheap." Tuition runs around $20,000 per year, room and board included, for an in-state student. This can be compared to another great university, Notre Dame, who's tuition is around $60,000 now. That's a LOT of money! Heck, $20k is a LOT of money! But then again, $20k is a lot less money than $60k. So if you're looking for a university experience for a "reasonable" cost, IU is a great choice! You can refer to an earlier post of mine about financial aid for more info on costs and scholarships here: http://www.weareiu.com/blog/alyssa-modos/scholarships%3A-the-college-version-of-treasure
If you love extracurriculars, IU is the place for you.We have 750+ student led organizations. That is SO many! These range from intramural sports teams, IU Dance Marathon, Quidditch and so many more. You can go to the Student Involvement Fair at the beginning of the school year to learn about a lot of the organizations and potentially join one or more!
Do you love basketball?Because Hoosiers love basketball. Like a lot. 'Nough said.
Actually, you need to watch this student made video to understand how much Hoosiers love basketball. Believe me, it's worth the watch and you'll love it, and probably be singing the song for the rest of EVER. They play this at every single home game. We love it.
Do you love football?If you do... we are really bad at football. It's really disappointing, I know. I LOVE football. It's my favorite sport to watch. IU is not my favorite football team to watch. Tailgating here is pretty fun though! Most people just don't go to the games. So if you're really set on going to a school that is big on football... we are not. Refer to the above "Do you love basketball." We're pretty good at that. Okay, moving on.
IU is an extremely culturally diverse school.I love this. Not only do we have students from all over the world, we also have 4th Street, which is an entire street of ethnic restaurants. I've only been to one of the restaurants, Siam House, but it was SO good.
Is health really important to you?If it is, IU is a great school for you. With campus being HUGE, you definitely get a lot of exercise just walking to and from class. We also have two great gyms, the Student Recreational Sports Center (SRSC), and the Wildermuth Intramural Center (WIC). I've never actually been to the WIC, but I walk past it everyday... Haha (: I go to the SRSC because it's a lot closer to where I live. I love it too.
The SRSC has:
- multiple strength and cardio rooms,
- racquetball/wallyball,
- squash,
- table tennis,
- badminton,
- futsal,
- basketball/volleyball courts,
- a pool and
- an indoor track.
There is literally NOTHING that I can think of that I wish the SRSC had that they don't. It's a really great facility, and you pay an activity fee for it in tuition, so you might as well go! For more info on health, you can go here: http://www.weareiu.com/blog/alyssa-modos/the-terrors-of-the-infamous-freshman-15
IU is the perfect school for that "university" feel & experience.You FEEL like you're in college just being on campus. The presence of it is so strong. Kirkwood and the downtown square, which is where tons of amazing restaurants and shops are, gives you that small town university pride feeling. I don't know how to explain it. When you go to Buffa Louie's, you just FEEL like a Hoosier from the atmosphere! I guess you'd have to experience it. When you see Sample Gates in person you get butterflies. When you go tailgating, especially the first time you go, you feel such a strong bond with your school and your fellow students. When you're at Assembly Hall for a basketball game, you feel so connected with everyone there. I've found myself thinking "this is what college is supposed to feel like" SO SO SO many times whenever I've done these things. If that's a really important thing for you to get out of your college experience, this is exactly where you should be.
I think I've covered the most important aspects, at least the ones that I heavily considered when I was making my college decision! It's a very big, very important decision. You'll be tied to whichever school you choose for the rest of your life, you'll meet so many people and experience so many things, and you'll make so many great memories. So, make sure you really think about where you want to go! If there's anything else you want to know about IU, don't hesitate to leave a comment and ask!
Here's a random funny picture of me and my best friend, Shelby (SHE'S TRANSFERRING TO IU NEXT SEMESTER AND WE'RE GOING TO LIVE TOGETHER AND I AM SO EXCITED WHICH YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL FROM THE CAPITALS), at Cloud Gate, more commonly known as The Bean, in Chicago! We spent a weekend in the Windy City during spring break. (:
