WOODBURY — With the college application process bringing anxiety and excitement. It is truly the surface of the mixed feelings that are yet to come.
Your application is just the very tip of the iceberg. If and when you are accepted to a university, there are a million more things to worry about. Housing and enrollment deposits, the dreaded roommate situation, signing up for classes, etc. can be overwhelming, and I know this from experience.
I was over the moon when I found out that I was accepted to the colleges of my dreams. One of the things that you may not realize, though, is that the excitement can overpower your logical mind and you could accidentally agree to taking out $100,000 of loans over four years for a private school.
That was the first mistake I made: I’d put down a $600 deposit for a school I really loved and thought would be a good fit for me. I thought that after visiting the campus and seeing how happy the students were (besides the normal college unhappiness), the great resources, as well as the opportunities to bond with other students.
I ended up getting a refund of that deposit after I got admitted into UConn, which is a better fit for me. But like I said, there’s so much more after that.
Right now, I’m trying to fulfill all of my pre-orientation requirements, like sending in my photo for a student ID and finding a new computer that meets university requirements, while simultaneously trying to find a roommate that will put up with snoring – which is very hard by the way! – and so much more.
What color scheme will my room be? Do I bring a storage ottoman or not? What if I can’t figure out my tuition payments and they don’t let me go to school? What if my roommate is a morning person? What if she’s secretly an axe murderer? How do I pick the right shower shoes?
My screen-time on the Amazon app has gone up to unsafe and uneconomical levels. I’m committing to hundreds of dollars in bedding, storage bins, and extension cords. I certainly don’t have enough savings to decorate a whole new room.
Speaking of money, tuition is insanely high. FAFSA isn’t going to cut it for this one. Besides scholarships and grants, I will have to take out $40,000 for the course of four years in private loans, and that’s just for my bachelor’s in social work. Graduate school is a whole other story. I didn’t find out until fairly recently that for the profession I want to go into, a master’s degree is pretty much required. When social workers tell you that they aren’t in it for the money, they aren’t lying.
Most people with a BSW will have to go to grad school, and if they want to be a clinical social worker, you have to study and take this huge test involving the ethics and boundaries in becoming a therapist, called the Licensed Clinical Social Worker exam. But before that, there’s another test you have to take, called the ASWB (Association of Social Work Boards), just to be able to practice. These tests also tack on a hefty price tag, and that’s not to mention the insane amount of intern hours you need to even graduate.
By the time I’m finished with all my schooling, and after the multiple tests, I’ll be making a whopping average of $58,000 a year.
If I could go on the anxieties and the pressures of college this article would be 1,200 pages long. I hope this didn’t end up as a sign of discouragement for going to college because college is amazing and worth the money, but it can also be a really crazy thing to deal with.
It’s 100% doable, but keeping calm and understanding the process is incredibly important. Keep up with your school’s presentations about post-secondary planning, go to college visits, and take advantage of local scholarships. It also helps to plan out what you’re doing, just to keep record and ease your transition.
I tried my best to go to college fairs, keep my options open, and pick the most equitable option for me, and I still ended up making the wrong decision too fast. Don’t feel rushed to make a decision; pick what’s best for you now and for you in the future.
This is the opinion of Sophia Lingley, a senior reporter for the Chief Advocate who will attend UConn at Storrs in the fall.
