Yay job offer, meara! I hope it all works out, money-wise.

I applied to one college (a very good local, private school...but only because I was dating a guy there...@@), got in early decision, realized I couldn't afford it in late April (and had broken up with the guy), and so applied last second to the state university. I hated the state university even though I got a lot for my money.

I hate that I had such a suck-ass college application experience, but my parents separated the summer before my senior year and were going through a divorce for the entire year. So, um. Yeah. Not a lot of help there, and I was a wreck myself. I will always wonder what would have happened and where I might have gone had I had a little support.

And wow. That comes off as really bitter and pathetic. Sorry. You'd think that 13 years later I'd be over it.

Our school kept a record of all of our applications (we had to give them the packet, and they added the recommendation and mailed it). I remember trying to protest because I didn't want my essays (which were critical of the school) to affect my recommendations.

Also, speaking of privacy... My school sent out unsolicited (that is, unsolicited by you) references along with your chosen ones. In other words, at a faculty meeting they might say "By the way, megan walker is applying to XYZ University, if you want to say something about it, go ahead and we'll send it).

I always feel so sorry for folks who had disappointing college experiences.

My school wound up being a great match for me. It really pushed me and I got more out of my education than I could've possibly expected. I really had the ideal small, liberal arts college experience. Small classes - almost all seminars after Freshman year. Full professors always - no graduate school, so no TAs. Lots of office hours by Profs that you learned to exploit. Beautiful old campus. Close friendships. Beer pong.

David is me. Except I didn't drink beer.

I loved college, too. Of course, my small town high school experience was so stifling that almost any college probably would've been an improvement, but going to a fairly big college in a great big city was heavenly for me--a whole new world at my fingertips.

Of course, if I had it to do over again, I would've majored in history rather than marketing, taken French instead of Spanish for my language requirement, and spent a bit less time in my Christian fellowship group and instead done something like band or an a cappella group, but I can't blame Penn for the fact I didn't know I was going to grow up to be a mainline rather than a fundamentalist Christian or an aspiring historical novelist who'd find proficiency in French handy for research.

David is me. Except I didn't drink beer.

Megan is me. Except she's way prettier and she doesn't drink beer.

I applied to four colleges and got into two (the other two being, honestly, sort of out of reach for me), one of which was my top choice, NYU. But it wasn't very ... college-y. It was a decent school, but most of the freshman I knew were excited about being the city and finding so many bars that served minor. I grew up twenty miles from NYC and had been hanging out in the Village (and drinking) since high school, so it was sort of a letdown.

Later I went to Hunter, also in the city, but I was living with Stephen by then and not really looking for the whole "college" experience. I mostly feel like I didn't have one in the traditional sense.

::blushes::

1987. Applied to 5, got into 4, probably for the best that I didn't get into the 5th because I would've gone and it wouldn't have been nearly as good as the place I ended up. Had "college experience" in spades, including beer.

I had the same type of college Hec describes, but I despised most of my fellow students and the tiny town we were in and the culture shock was so great that I didn't get as much out of it as I could have. On the other hand, I got a very well-rounded theater education, which was what I wanted.

If I did it again, I would have tried to go to a college in a big city, so interning and seeing theater would have not been so difficult, as well as cutting down on the spoiled suburban legacy kids.