My College Search + Why I Chose USC

If you'd rather watch a video on this topic instead of reading the post, check out my IGTV @asunnystateofmind!

I'll be real with ya: I do not miss my college search one bit. It was long, labor-intensive, confusing, and emotional. So if you're a junior or senior in high school and feel the same way: I totally get it and am right there with you. AND - I'm serious - it WILL get better! I absolutely promise you that. 

During my college search, I looked into hundreds of schools, toured eight, and applied to six. After my fifth college visit, in September of my senior year, I started panicking. I didn't even like any of the places I toured. I couldn't see myself on any of the campuses I had been to so far and I felt deeply unsettled. I told my mom I felt like a dramatic Goldilocks: every school I visited was too big, too small, or not quite right in some way. And it exhausted me. After the fifth tour, with tears streaming down my face, I resolved that I was simply being too picky. I told myself that I should just choose a school and move on, that I was asking for too much and the perfect place for me just didn't exist. With this mindset, I applied to schools I didn't much care for and hoped that at some point it would become clear to me which to choose.

But then I realized something. Never in my life had I ever settled, so why start now? Why should I choose a college that was anything less than my expectations? So the search went on. I booked more tours at Wisconsin, South Carolina, and Georgia.

When I arrived at USC, I did not have that "feeling" that people talk about, where you step on to a campus and "know" it's your home. In fact, I'd challenge that the "feeling" actually doesn't exist and that some people think they feel that way because it's how society, movies, and their parents tell them they're supposed to feel. So let's just take away that pressure right now.

Making a college decision is so much more than a feeling. It's a special balance of mental analyzation, forward-thinking, and yes, going with your gut. In hopes of giving some clarity to those making their tough college decisions, I thought I'd share a bit on how I made mine.

I distinguished between nostalgia and wanting to call a place home.

When it came down to it, my top two colleges were Wisconsin and South Carolina. When I thought back to the tours of each, I had two different types of positive feelings. With my Wisconsin tour, I had a memory similar to a vacation. I thought more about the fun times I had with my dad and Fran at UW than I did about the actual university. I felt nostalgic but didn't love how my life would be if I went to school there. I had positive feelings about USC because I knew it would support me, my needs, and my goals for the next four years.

It was a career choice...

Ultimately, you go to college to prepare yourself for the workforce. For me, USC had the program that was most tailored to my career goals. Sounds simple, I know, but this is hard to define! I knew I wanted a program that had an even balance of business and fashion, and that's what USC could give me. I needed to be able to combine my love for fashion and mind for business in order to be satisfied.

It was a lifestyle choice...

What really helped me narrow down my decision was imagining how I would be living my day-to-day life at each college. I considered things like clubs, the city itself, things to do, and other opportunities. I also felt out the overall personality of the campus. USC is very sunny, somewhat quaint, but still big enough to explore. And I loved that!

Repping at the World War II Memorial in DC! :-)

I hope this post helps all you college-decision-makers with your choices. I know it's a stressful time, so take a deep breath and try not to overanalyze!

Good luck & stay sunny

Meg