Do you wish you attended a different type of college or university?

[Anonymous]

Nope. Spent a ton of energy and went to the school I chose. It was the wrong one, which I realized quickly. Got some good grades and transferred to an ivy. That is where I belonged.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I went to a Top 10 private university. Wish I would have gone to a lower-ranked school, or a state school. I wanted to be a doctor, and I see on FB etc. that many of my high school classmates who went to Easy U are doctors now while I barely passed freshman year and ended up with a so-so job. I'm glad for the education and I'm glad I am more well-rounded because I was pretty backwards, but we are taking a good look at state schools for our kids esp because kids around here are much more cosmopolitan than we were.

[Anonymous]

Nope. I absolutely made the most of my college experience. I knew I was interested in my "useless" major, yet here I am almost 20 years later in a career I love that is everything to do with that "useless" major and making a decent living at it. No complaints at all.

[Anonymous]

I wish I had gone to Bennington instead of Harvard. Yeah, my "day job" is fine, but I spend a LOT of time outside of work writing, and am still obsessed with having a novel traditionally published. I know several published novelists who went through Bennington's writing program, and the connections they made in the industry, as well as the instruction they received, were superior to what I got.

But, again, my day job is "fine", and though I enjoy it, it isn't my passion. And I think my grad degrees would have meant the same employment opportunities even I hadn't gone to "an Ivy" undergrad.

[Anonymous]

eh. not really a regret. but i was a bit terrified by our big, well-regarded state school; i was from a rural area and i just seemed guaranteed to get lost in the big lecture classes and the cacophony of what seemed like a "big city". so, i went to a smaller, private institution, still well-regarded. and found myself a bit of an odd fit there too among the largely conservative, wealthy, religious, greek-dominant student body. ultimately, i adjusted and thrived and found my people. i don't regret it, certainly. i do kind of wonder how different my life would be if i had just cowboyed up a little sooner, and dived into the big pool. i did later! i think perhaps the smaller school was what i needed at 17. and i gained confidence that served me well later.

[Anonymous]

I went to a highly regarded SLAC in the Midwest. It was a culture shock at the time but I think it was ultimately a good thing. When college visiting with my kids I thought some of the NE schools would have been a better fit for me but in the end that would have been more of the same.

[Anonymous]

Yes, very much so. I went to a well regarded private university. I chose it because of a boy. Bad move. Worst move ever. I graduated from a huge impersonal FCPS. I should have gone somewhere smaller for college. I did not and I had a terrible experience so much so that I am beginning to have anxiety over my kid going away to school in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Nope. I'm 25 years into my career. No one gives a hoot where I went to school. FWIW, mid-sized, expensive private urban school in the Northeast. I could afford it, but also could've spent less money and still got a great education.

[Anonymous]

Made the perfect choice - picked Notre Dame over Michigan.

Only child whose parents dropped out of school in the 10th grade. No cousins or aunts or uncles attended college either. Needed a small personalized religious-based experience. Michigan would have rolled over me.

[Anonymous]

Nope. I went to a large SEC school and has a blast! I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely. I went to a tiny liberal arts college in the most rural, remote location imaginable. I should have done the exact opposite. I later earned graduate degrees from two leading universities and it only served to reinforce my mistake. I'm hyper-sensitive to it as my DC starts looking.

[Anonymous]

Not a bit. Went to what's regarded in DCUM-landia as a middling state school and loved every minute of it.

[Anonymous]

I'm jealous of people who went to state u with their childhood friends. They have a tight group till death,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm jealous of people who went to state u with their childhood friends. They have a tight group till death,

State U is really the worst.

[Anonymous]

Nope. I've thought about this before. I went to a medium-sized, academically strong public state flagship. I'm a naturally shy person that enjoys a close knit community, so there were many points before and briefly, during my college career that I thought a small LAC would've been a better fit. But my school ended up being the perfect fit for me. Though I struggled to make friends for the first semester, I eventually found my niche and absolutely thrived. I was able to take the perfect balance of largish and small classes. The resources that came with a thriving research university helped me so much. And though I'm not a particularly sporty person, I came to really love the school spirit and energy around the sports teams. Yes, there were instances in which I had to advocate for myself (as opposed to perhaps being "coddled" at a tiny school), but I can assuredly saw that they forced me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow as a person.

Also - from a location standpoint - the school was in the perfect location for then 18 year old me. In-state, far enough from my parents to enjoy abundant freedom, but reasonably close enough that it was nice to have that security blanket of home for when I needed it. I would've adjusted, but I don't think I would've enjoyed an incredibly far or close school.