Location

Wow, OK. So. The word is...and of course we'll see if said word is right or not...that I might actually get some more readers on this blog. Such as...maybe the kind of people it's aimed at, as opposed to family and friends. See, this week I contributed to an e-newsletter that UM's Admissions department sends out to loads and loads of prospective students, parents, counselors, etc. And when I say contributed to, I mean wrote. Included in the newsletter are two links to my blog. So...as I said I'll believe it when I see it, but at the very least it's getting some more exposure.

In honor of this, I've been asked to write a blog post that speaks to the topic of and kind of works in concert with the newsletter. So, I'm going to try to do so today. The topic was the importance of location in choosing a college. Those of you who have been reading my blog might want to skip this post, as it will probably seem repetitive.

As you may know, UM is not the first stop on my collegiate journey. I graduated from high school in 2004 and this is my fifth semester of college, so do the math. When I was first considering colleges, I looked at a lot of different things to make my decision, but location really wasn't one of them. I was of the camp that would suggest that a school's location is completely secondary to its academic reputation, class size, strength of programs, facilities, etc. My mother was (and still is to some extent) actually of the opinion that the college visit is a monumental waste of time. After visiting a bunch of schools the summer before my senior year, I agreed with her. I really didn't pick anything up then that I hadn't already judged from reading about the schools.

By a long shot, my top choice ended up being Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Now, almost four years later, the reasons behind the decision are kind of foggy to me. All I know is I fell in love with the school. Questions were asked, of course. "Isn't it really cold up there?" "Can you handle living in as small a town as Middletown?" Well, I had never really been bothered by the cold and expected to spend the majority of my time on campus anyway, so these questions didn't bother me whatsoever. I applied early decision and was accepted.

To make a long (and painful to recollect for me) story short, my time at Wesleyan was a disaster. Along with many personal issues that I won't go into, I hated Connecticut, and I hated Middletown. Sure, I'd never been bothered by the cold before. I'd never experienced real cold before. Not to mention the fact that in Middletown it's a rare event to see the sun between November and February. And people were right, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, to do in Middletown. I was absolutely miserable. I stayed for three lackluster semesters before taking an "extended leave of absence." That's a nice term for dropping out.

Cut to this past summer. After a period spent working horrifically dull jobs, I decided it was time to give the college thing a second try. This time, location was a large consideration. My list of important things went pretty much like this: 1. Nice weather, 2. Near a city. The school that seemed to best fit the bill was UM. And despite my poor college record, I got in. So here I am. Now, there are good things and bad things about any school. But let me tell you, the location of UM really could not be better. To wake up every morning in January and not have to put on boots, or a coat, or any of that stuff is a gift. I mean, during the cold part of the year, it's in the high 50's in the morning. It was rare to ever see high 50's during the winter in Connecticut. And Miami, needless to say, has plenty to offer.

The moral of the story? Take location into consideration. Take it from me, please, don't make the same mistake I did. Visit the schools you are thinking about. More importantly, visit them in the winter. If a school seems like a good fit in November or January, most likely it will be an even better fit in September and April.

OK, that's about it for this post. Later.