Important Decision Made

Last week was the week when I made the most important decision of the year so far: where to go next fall. The decision should not have been so stressful to make but I somehow managed to do it while thinking about my options over and over again. The last two schools I had to pick between were Cal Poly and UC San Diego. I'd visited both campuses and felt that I'd be happy at either college. That was the problem. I like both colleges almost equally and I almost couldn't pick between the two. My parents were exasperated with the amount of time I was taking to choose a college and as the deadline to submit my SIR came along they constantly asked me if I'd made a choice yet. But I could never say yes because whenever I made up my mind, I almost had the question in the back of my head of whether I would regret this decision years from now. This nagging thought persisted for several days before the deadline.


In the end however, I had to make a choice. I finally decided on UC San Diego. There were a few factors that made me choose UCSD. I felt as though I was more comfortable on the campus. I don't know exactly why but looking back, UCSD felt more like home. There was also the question of academics. While I knew that I'd get a great education at both schools, both my parents as well as some family friends felt that UCSD was the academically stronger school. While I couldn't say for sure, I definitely liked what I saw and heard at the UCSD admit day. When I visited Cal Poly, I was only able to get a glimpse of the computer engineering program so my view of the entirety of Cal Poly's academic programs was limited. This was particularly important for me because I know that I'll probably change majors multiple times before finding the one that's for me. The financial situation also held sway in my decision. While I was only offered loans by Cal Poly, UCSD offered me a sizable grant. This was important for me because it'd be a lot easier on my parents seeing as my sister is also in college at the moment. After considering all of these factors, I decided that UCSD was the best play for me to go. I'm happy with the decision I've made and I'm really looking forward to going there next fall.