‘Tis the season all over again. Only four years ago I found myself in the same position, sending in applications in the early winter and playing the long waiting game for decisions. It felt like ages waiting for an email with an update. Even emails that were sent because I suddenly was on the school’s email list were looked at with dismay. But now, at the beginning of March, the decisions are starting to roll in and my anxiety towards choosing the right school is growing.
I did not make the same mistake I did when applying to schools in high school. This time around, I am in a more financially stable place and am able to go to schools at a farther distance. I applied to schools in New York, Pennsylvania, Boston, and D.C. as well as schools in my home state, good old New Jersey. I even took a leap and applied to more competitive schools such as Boston University and American University because, well, you never know if you don’t try.
At this point in March, I have received a majority of responses. Some with acceptance, others with financial aid and, sadly, some without. At this point it is more about where I live and if I am able to pay for rent, tuition, and everything needed to actually live. While I am certainly glad I decided to apply to places that are more than a 40-minute drive, the anxiety I am getting from having to leave on of my two jobs makes me weary to choose the university’s that are out of state.
I have planned to make my decision by the end of March and to take time to actually plan out the pros and cons of each school and living situations with each. And yes, weather is definitely something I am considering because I absolutely abhor the winter. The more south I go might be better than another Jersey winter. This is something that I picked up on as an undergraduate, the planning of course, not so much the weather. Especially now, it is not just me going to move, but also my boyfriend. It’s the first time I am going to need to consider sacrifices to make sure that we will both be okay and in a stable position economically.
While this anxiety may never fully go away, I am hoping that with enough planning (and the help of a lot of faith, trust, and pixie dust, Tink) that’ll I’ll be able to make the right decision.