My College Search Experience

It was not until the end of junior year that I started to look into different colleges. At that time, I still never went to a college to tour the campus, shadow a student, or even look up info online. I was scared about college and I kept procrastinating my college search. As a first generation, my family did not know how to help me through these times. They encouraged me and supported me, but they did not know what the college application process was like nor did they know what exactly to do on their part.

Through my high school college “coach”, he was able to explain to me what I had to do to successfully find a college I was satisfied in attending. Loyola was the second college I visited and I took a campus tour by myself. From the very beginning, entering the Undergrad Amissions office in Sullivan center, I was blown away by the view of Lake Michigan through the glass windows. As we started the tour, I felt so comfortable- the people were not intimidating as I thought, LUC has state-of-the-art facilities, and the Jesuit, Catholic tradition could be seen everywhere. As a whole, LUC really impressed me; other universities did not have a welcoming ‘vibe’.

LUC was one of my choices to attend college because of a couple of reasons:

(1) I want to be able to commute to school to save money

(2) I want to find a Catholic school

(3) I want a school with a good reputation

Visibly, LUC was my #1 choice. I was happy to be admitted into this school. When I got my acceptance letter in the mail, LUC welcomed me with open arms with a unique card and acceptance packet. (If you just got one of these, you should know what I mean! 🙂 )

If I could give any advice to incoming freshman, it would be:

• Visit at least 2 in-state colleges and 2 out-of-state colleges. (Religiously affiliated, private, public, etc…)
• Understand (or experience) what dorming is like.
• Know people who have been to college already and ask for their do’s and do-not’s of college.
• Do scholarship applications!
• If you have a college coach, visit them frequently and keep them up-to-date with what you have done and what you need to do.
• Have a mentor
• Be optimistic about going to college!