Hey reader, probably a class of 2029 admit, in which case– congrats! It’s crazy to think that my class was in your same shoes only a year ago, although maybe not literally since I doubt you were in dress shoes dancing at prom like I was when I opened my decision. (Yeah, for some reason we had prom in March, it was weird). Anyways, if you’re like me, and need some confirmation bias before committing — trust me, I was on these blogs last year too– know that you can’t go wrong, I’ll explain what I mean at the end.
To just show you that you might not be alone in agonizing over your decision, I’ll tell you a bit about my experience and why I made my decision last year. College commitment season was tough last year– and has been, and always will be– financial aid packages weren’t released until April so most schools extended their deadline, although that just gave me more time to agonize. I narrowed it down to two options, Amherst (obviously) and my dream College since Freshman year of high school. Everyone who thought they knew the schools told me to go to the other school, they were the best ranked and best located school for Political Science, they were mid-sized and their graduates went on to be extremely successful in politics– their basketball team also played in a NBA arena, which for me, was awesome. (I’m not exactly keeping this mystery school very well hidden, but I’m just trying to show you, there was A LOT pulling me in the other direction). But something kept pulling me back toward Amherst. I remember one day I went to practice telling my coach I had my mind made up on the other school, and then by the next day I had already committed to Amherst. I told you that everyone who thought they knew the schools told me to go to the other school, but everyone who knew ME told me to come here to Amherst. My guidance counselor who I was close with, my coach in high school, even my Dad eventually admitted they preferred Amherst for me. On paper, both schools were amazing, the other one would just be more specialized in what I thought I wanted to do. That’s the thing though, just because more people know a school’s name for a subject doesn’t mean that it is better for you, or your education. People that knew me, myself included, knew that Amherst was where I would thrive, where I would make the most of the opportunities given to me. Even if the name looked better on paper for Political Science– although Amherst should be ranked right behind them– I genuinely knew Amherst would be where I would personally get the best Political Science education, regardless of ranking. Amherst has a community of professors, staff, and everyone else on campus who are entirely dedicated to you and your education. You’ll get opportunities to make close relationships with your peers, and a real connection to your campus. But you probably know all this and just needed a little confirmation bias, I get it, so I’ll leave it there.
Part of what helped me was that I had a close friend, he was someone I also looked up to who happened to go to the other school. We had a solid hour long phone call. He gave me candid, honest perspectives, advice, and thoughts. I didn’t know anyone who went to Amherst though, so if that is something you think you need, feel free to reach out to me. My email is jdesmond28@amherst.edu
Like I said at the beginning though, you really can’t go wrong though. If you are even considering another school against Amherst, or Amherst against another school, either choice is completely valid. I think I’d have just as many reasons to have chosen the other school– or even another 3rd option I had at one point– and be fine with that decision. If you are genuinely considering two schools, there is no wrong option, but there might (but not definitely) be a better option between the two if you contemplate and discern your feelings and motivations to find what you truly want.
Thanks for reading, and seriously, congrats! To those hesitant few, I genuinely meant it when I said to reach out if you think that’d help.
P.S. Shout out to my girlfriend who made the cover photo for this blog!