To My Friends Still Choosing A College─I Want You To Know It's Okay.

To my friends still choosing a college─I want you to know it's okay.

It's a big decision, I know. It can be stressful and complicated and maybe you'll even cry, but listen to this: the college you pick does not dictate your future. Your future is what you make of it.

I think it's safe to say that for most people, when considering college options, there is quite a bit of apprehension. Am I picking the right school? Is this where I belong? What if I mess up? What if I choose the wrong place?

But here's the thing─I don't think you can make a "wrong" choice. You're looking at these schools because they interest you. Something about these schools caught your eye, I don't think any of them could possibly be that bad.


I think it's often easy in weighing college options to focus on key aspects that we set as our deal breakers, but the difficulty comes when you narrow in on a deal breaker and let that guide your whole decision. Even more difficult is when you realize that all three of your options contain that one thing you consider to be your deal breaker.

You may pick a college with outstanding academic quality.

But that doesn't necessarily mean your grades will reflect that. If you work hard, if you put in the time, then there's potential. But the amount of work you put forth is on you.

You may pick a college because you have friends there. 

(Which is great, I'm not discouraging that.) But that doesn't guarantee those friendships will flourish. You may live in different buildings, you may have conflicting schedules, you may just plain and simple never see each other. And if that's the one reason in your choosing, how will you respond if not everything goes as expected?

You may pick a college because it's close to home. You may pick a college because it's FAR AWAY from home. 

You may want to get away─you may really want to get away. But don't let that be the reason you miss what's right in front of you. Someone once reminded me of the story of Jonah, in which he continually ran from where God was calling him─he did not want to go to Nineveh. What my friend reminded me was that we too have our own little Ninevehs. And sometimes they're not as far away as we think.

You may pick a college because your parents went there. 

Or because your cousin went there. Or because your neighbor's grandson's nephew's dog went there. Just because they had a good experience does not mean sparks will fly when you arrive on campus. And with that said, an individual's bad experience (whether you know them or not) does not mean you will have a bad experience. This is your life, not theirs. This is your experience.

You may pick a college because their food tastes the best. 

I have no disagreements with this. Moving on. (Just kidding.)

The point I'm trying to make is that college is what you make of it.

You won't have the "perfect" experience because you picked the "perfect" college. You won't make lifelong friends because you chose option A over option B. You'll make friends if you choose to invest. You'll meet people if you gather the courage to just say hello, or to tell the random girl across the room that you really like her hair. (True story my friends. That's the first memory I have with one of my best friends.)

When it comes to making a college decision, I really don't think you can go wrong. You may pick one and three months in realize it's not working out. And that's okay. It's okay to start fresh. It's okay to try again. And you may pick one and realize four years later that picking that college was by far the best decision of your life (thus far).

The decision may seem stressful. If you're still deciding, I'm guessing it is stressful. But don't place too much emphasis on your decision. As I said before, the college you pick does not dictate your future. Your future is what you make of it. It's how you choose to take advantage of the opportunities you're provided. It's how you choose to interact with those you come into contact with. It's the effort you choose to give in your classes, the amount of time you're willing to invest. It's your willingness to try something new.

Don't stress over choosing the "right" college. Focus on choosing the right attitude with wherever you decide to go. You will get out of your college experience what you put in to it. Choosing is the first step. But it's not a one and done decision. Choosing to grow in your experience, wherever you're at, is a daily choice.

Choosing a college is just the beginning. You have so much to look forward to my friends. Don't let the stress of this decision dictate your experience.



(P.S. If it makes you feel any better, my roommate didn't decide until April 22. Better late than never, amiright?)





[Interested in reading more? Check out the Blog Archive to the right to find links to my other posts.]


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