CCK Goes To College: Part 1

You said “Let’s start at the very beginning” and I sang outloud “a very good place to staaaart” and then I read the rest of the sentence. Haha!

I *know* how you felt! The embarrassment! I went to a performing arts high school and I was kind of the “star singer.” Everyone and their mom expected me to go to Julliard (even though I honestly didn’t want to!!) … so I sent my CD in for a premliminary audition, and they didn’t even ask to see me in person! So embarrassing. Then I didn’t get into my #1 school either (NYU), and sudden;y all my friends were being accepted to college and all I had left were the state schools I’d applied to. I got in for music performance and music education, and chose music performance. Apparently it didn’t matter, though … by the end of the first semester I’d dropped the music program (loathed it!), picked up an English major, and decided to transfer back to the city. I went to Queens College, a public school, and now I think i have developed “reverse snobbery.” I’m the only person in my family who goes to a public school (now I’m studying towards grad school) – all seven of my brothers/step siblings go to private schools and their tuition all costs at least 10x mine, if not 20x, so I’m proud not only of my fiscally responsible education choice but also the fact that I have received a FANTASTIC education and will continue to receive it, in the hallowed halls of public ed.

omg katie you better finish that story!!!! i loved it so far. you wrote it so well and i’m curious for more! 🙂

I wasn’t picky with schools. I ended up going to Weber State, which is in my hometown. It wasn’t my first choice. I had a bunch of theater scholarships to other schools, but it didn’t feel right, so I dumped them to study art at Weber because it was close to home, so I stayed with my parents while I worked to pay tuition. I changed my major a year later to study English Creative Writing, because I’ve wanted to be a novelist since I was four years old.
I’m a first-generation college student, so I didn’t feel the need to get into an “impressive” school, I just wanted a Bachelor’s from an accredited school. Also, the schools out here are much cheaper, only a few hundred per course.
I graduated with my Bachelor’s in May, and I just turned 22! One big life goal down!

I thought I had to go to prestigious, private, liberal arts schools, too. 😉 I got into Hamilton and Ithaca in NY, got rejected by Skidmore, Middlebury, etc. Went to Ithaca because of scholarship… and there were a lot of nice things about the school, but I just wasn’t super happy and I missed my bf and family terribly. Now I go to a LOT less prestigious school here in Texas, but I’m happier. 🙂

I know what you mean though, about being irrationally embarrassed or disappointed… I KNOW I’m happier here, but there’s some personal/social/cultural expectation that I should be at some really high-up school, doing “great things”– whatever those things are! 😛

What a story. I think things are different in Canada. Everyone I know went to local university or technical school based on which one offered the career path you desired. Simple. Two or three (of 300) went abroad for a gap year. I think one moved to the coast to do marine biology.

However, I had some misfortunes in my last year of secondary school. I wanted to join the Canadian Forces. Badly. I did a lot of research and came up with the two positions I wanted to apply for. After months of tests (physical and mental/written) I got a call that broke my heart: I had an eye condition (that 50% of people have) which disqualified me for the two jobs I wanted. They offered me any other job except communications or PR (my English scores sucked). I didn’t want any other job… I wanted to be a flight navigator. A friend of mine got turned down for the same two positions for the same reason. Bummer. Looking back, there were many other good jobs I could have taken and still been happy with, but oh well. (I think my parents tried to tell me this back then, but I refused to listen. Typical 16 year old.) Star student couldn’t get her dream job. That stage of my life was over.

Next chapter… Engineering at the University of Alberta. I loved building things and what not, and all my teachers said I should do it, so I did. I was good at some parts but hated it. Way too much theory, too many student, huge classes, and the cut-throat competition killed me. For my job shadow to determine which type of Engineering I would go into the following year, I went somewhere and saw models and drawings of buildings and such. I wanted to do that. Close that chapter. I was done with University. That shattered my next dream of becoming a science teacher. (After my Engineering degree I wanted to take the fast-track education degree.)

Final chapter… I transferred to a local technical school to become someone who makes those models and drafting drawings. It was the best course ever! We got to draw, play with models, solve problems, go on field trips, build things, and everything I like. It was heaps fun!

Now, that’s my job, and has been for 7 years now. (Has it really been that long?) Inside my head, I still want to be a flight navigator (or an astronaut) and be a teacher, but you never know where life will lead you.

Wow… that was a novel!

I can totally relate to being embarrassed by a rejection like that, despite having succeeding at so many other things (in all areas of life, not necessarily getting into college). In high school, I always heard that I could go anywhere I wanted (despite going to an extremely small public high school without even AP classes). However, I only applied to one place – a small, public university only a couple hours from my house. I didn’t even really think about it, I just knew I wanted to go there. I heard lots of comments about “oh that’s just a party school” yada yada yada. Well I had the most incredible experience of my life. I learned so much, met so many amazing people, had countless wonderful experiences, and I could go on and on. No, it wasn’t the best school in the country, or even in the state for that matter. But I received attention and opportunities I wouldn’t have had at a bigger school. A professor told me that people who are motivated and enthusiastic will “bloom wherever they are planted”. It’s not about prestige or reputation of a school (or job), it’s what you make of it and what’s best for you.

I can’t wait to hear the rest of the story!

I got into every school I applied to EXCEPT for Stanford where my mom went (back in ’55 when it had to be a LOT easier to get into). It was a hard choice after that…did I want to go where my two best friends were going (yes!), but did I really want to go to a girls’ school after a small private (read: no dating) high school (no!). I ended up going to Santa Clara University because it meant a lot to my dad (it was a BIG deal among his cronies, though he didn’t go there). I knew right away I didn’t belong there but, frankly, I made the best of it and it seemed harder to transfer than to just tough it out. I do not keep in touch with one person I went to school with. Many of them got married at 22 or 23 and just started to pump out the kids. Not for me.

I don’t spend a lot of time regretting it, but I do wish I had put a little more thought into it and didn’t settle for what was comfortable (I’m sure if I’d stayed in the Silicon Valley and become a gazilionaire I’d be singing a different tune altogether).

Isn’t it funny how things look when you look back? Gosh, if I just had a little bit of the wisdom then that I have now. Well, not sure if it is wisdom or that reality kicks in? As for schools, I went to culinary school at The Art Institute. I wanted to study nutrition, but my parents thought that having a chef in the family sounded better. My parents are more of how things look. Me, I really just wanted to do something I was interested in. Oh well, I enjoy healthy food and going to school there has taught me how to deal with our food restrictions now.

Have a great weekend!

I loved reading about your college story! I found it very interesting considering I’ll be applying for University in a few short years. I’m actually going to start online courses this next semester – eek! I’m nervous, to say the least.

Aww, you are so sweet! Thank you for the shout-out, and thank you for zooming in on the appetizing part of the bowl. The messy edges certainly were not pretty. 😛 You’re the best! <3

Stepped onto the grounds at UVA and knew that was it for me…luckily my early decision deferral turned into an acceptance. 🙂

It’s too bad you got rejected from your first choice. I think everything happens for a reason though. I know what you mean about just feeling like something is not right with the school you’re in…I went to culinary school for 3 years before switching schools and majors. I had fun in culinary school and learned a lot, but deep down I knew that it wasn’t right for me. It was also a very small (and snooty) school and I really couldn’t stand the people there. I started at UNC last fall and I absolutely love it. I am not sorry that I went to another school first though, because if I didn’t I don’t think I would have ended up where I am right now.

Great story, Katie! When I was graduating, my fellow classmates were pretty much split between going to the two major colleges in Alabama. I didn’t want to, I refused to go to a common school! I wanted to go to Florida Univ., somewhere in SC, back to TN..anywhere but Alabama. Ultimately, I ended up choosing Auburn (in AL) on a whim ’cause freshmen didn’t have to live on campus. It turned out to be a fantastic choice and I’ve loved it. They have a program perfect for what I’m going into so everything worked out. 🙂 Glad it worked out for you, too!

I picked my undergrad and (as of this fall!) grad schools based on their programs. My undergrad is in French Literature so a really great study abroad program was important to me. I loved my undergrad but at the same time I felt that it could have been a bit more openminded and intellectual. My department was great by the rest of the school-eh. For grad school I’m studying Literature and Gender Studies so I really had to be carefully in choosing what type of philosophy was involved with the department. I wanted to find good matches for my memoir. I hope it goes well! And I cant wait for part 2!

Thanks for stopping by also! I’m such a sucker for black cats too. 🙂

Though I don’t comment as often as I should, I’ve been an avid reader of your blog since I discovered it a few weeks ago (l’ve even gone back and read some of your older post and have plans to make fudge babies super soon). Anyway, I really love what you’re doing with your blog! The new being real stuff is great! Though all your recipes look amazing, it’s great learning about the girl behind the recipes. I appreciate your honestly and willingness to share even your rejections! Keep rocking the blogging world Chocolate Covered Katie!

It’s funny our college dreams change when reality kicks in. I dreamed of going to San Francisco State. As a writer, I NEEDED to be close to the spirits of my beatnik muses — Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. My mom and I even planned a trip to SF to see the school my senior year, but then I found out that having perfect grades (I was valedictorian) meant getting a free pass to the university in my hometown. At the same time, we were turned down for a Pell Grant because my parents made too much money (ironically though, not enough to actually pay for me to go through San Francisco State without me getting loans….the curse of the middle class, right?). So, I ended up taking the free ride at Arkansas State, living in the same town as my parents throughout college….looking back, I’m kinda glad. I got a totally free college education, and while all my friends are paying back loans, I’m practically debt-free.

I loved this post 🙂

When I was a kid, I dreamed of college. I was obsessed. I had a folder of college-related things when I was, like, 11.
My dream college always was, and still would be Evergreen State.
This thing is, as I got older, I just became frustrated and tired of school. I tried to drop out 2 weeks before graduation, I’m not even kidding, I was THAT sick of it. However, my grades were too high, so even in my absence I graduated right on time. Which was a relief.
But I didn’t go on to college. In the year after I finished high school I was hit by a car and, well, it was really bad.
After that, I started to pursue pre-med, but then… I didn’t.
I am naturally a writer and English-obsesser, and I would love to do anything related, but my life situation doesn’t allow me to do that right now. I think that one day I will take writing/English classes and look into becoming a physician’s assistant.

Okay, so Katie….I know this isn’t related to your post (have fun in NY btw!), but I just had to tell you.

I’d been contemplating making some fudge babies for several months now. I’m trying to cut out/hopefully eliminate sugar, but I need something to fall back on when I absolutely MUST have something dessert-y. They looked easy enough, but the dates made me hesitate. I understand why they’re in the recipe and what their purpose is, but my only experience with dates comes from some nasty dried, sugar coated ones I found in some trail mix when I was little. (If you couldn’t tell, I hated them.)

To get to the point: I made them. They are AMAZING!!! Really! I love them! I was ecstatic. Now I have a sugarless, much healthier alternative when I’m craving something fudgy and sweet. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Not to keep beating my point over the head, but WOW. I really thought I wasn’t going to like them. People, try them. You will like. Even if you think dates are gross. 🙂

I loved reading your college story Katie – I was always curious. I ended up Auburn…not sure why (Well, one reason is b/c I didn’t get into Northwestern). It wasn’t a good fit for me, but I stayed. However, I did spend my junior year abroad, and I am so grateful for that experience…may not have happened if I didn’t go to Auburn in the first place.

I chose mine based on location, because I went back to college a little late and my employer paid my tuition (as long as I got all A’s). I ended up at a small private liberal arts college a little outside of Hershey, PA called Lebanon Valley College. I LOVED it! I wouldn’t trade the education I got there for anything. It was tough to work full-time and go to college full-time, but I did it, and got my tuition paid! Woohoo!

I was also rejected from Penn.. which was really frustrating because I was TOTALLY qualified and they only accepted the legacies who applied from my high school. I’m still bitter about it!

I love reading about you!! this is so fun!
my motto- life works out.
I was denied early admission to stanford which broke my heart. i got into my second choice-tufts, but decided to go to BU because they offered me a hefty scholarship. A bawled for days about that decision, but leaving college debt free won out over the tufts name. Now-I’m so glad i went to BU. If i had gone to tufts i would probably still be pre-med and not happy about my courses. I was lucky that BU has an AMAZING nutrition department, and I am loving my new major. Plus, because it’s such an urban campus I get out into the city a lot, and that’s been very important to me!
can’t wait to read part 2.

ahhhhh your outfit in that pic is FANTASTIC! You look amazing in it. GREAT colors on you.

College– I applied early to a tiny liberal arts school in Maine (Bowdoin) because I had good feelings associated with Maine, it had a high ranking, was small enough to make sure I’d never get overlooked, and offered a major in Neuroscience. I got in, thank goodness, as I had no back-up plan! Then for graduate school I ended up at UT Austin, pretty much the opposite of my little Bowdoin, but I love it too.

Sarah –

Just letting you know that everyone hates Ball State, and I promise all of Indiana is not like Muncie. Bloomington is way better. =)

I chose my college because my then (serious) boyfriend went there. I really hate admitting that sometimes, and while we dated for two years of college I definitely made the choice for him. Having said that, I got an excellent degree from a Big 10 school and as it turns out, it later helped me that it was a prestigious engineering school as i now work in a very technical field…though I didn’t take any engineering classes it works to my advantage.

Man, I miss college.

I didn’t really think about college too terribly much in high school. I got good grades and participated in many extracurricular activities because I wanted to, not because I was trying to impress anyone. So, at the end of my junior year, I was shocked when I started getting applications to colleges in the mail. When I received Yale and Harvard’s, I tossed them in the trash. While it was amazing they contacted me in the first place, I had no chance. I was from Alabama and my parents hadn’t even dreamed of college. I knew that I would get enough scholarship money to go to a local state university for free, and be in their honors college, so I wasn’t too terribly worried.

Fast forward to the fall of senior year. College application time. I started researching potential colleges and ended up absolutely and irreconcilably falling in love with Yale. My parents couldn’t afford to take me up and do the campus tours across the Ivies that many students do, but I decided to give it a shot and apply early. Early decisions came in: Deferred until regular action. While a bit upset, I knew that they would reevaluate my application. I sent a letter with updates and a statement of intent. The day for final decisions arrived: Waitlisted. I had been waiting eight months for a decision that continued to string me along. However, about a month after students finally chose their schools, I got the call saying that I had been accepted. I just finished my freshman year, and I am just as in love with my school as the day I first stepped on campus.