Binghamton University, located in Binghamton, New York. This was my dream school. I applied early decision in the fall of 2014, hoping that applying early would help me get the edge up on the other applicants. I had visited BU a few months early and instantly fell in love.

I had been looking at Binghamton University since the end of my junior year. The school had close to 17,000 students, and with a well-known School of Management, I couldn’t think of a more perfect school. With BU being a few hours from my hometown, I saw it as an opportunity to gain independence. I couldn’t find anything wrong with Binghamton, well maybe besides the fact that I was denied acceptance.

“Dear Emily,

Thank you for your application to Binghamton University. We regret to inform you that we are unable to offer you admission for fall 2015…”

You always hear of people getting into the school of their dreams, going off to the college that they were basically born to go to. Everyone around me, all my friends, all my classmates, they were all getting into the schools they wanted to go to. So why was I not getting what I wanted? Why didn’t I get into my dream school? What was I going to do now?

At this point, I only had one other option, I would have to be accepted my second choice school. University at Buffalo located in Buffalo, New York. With only a 20-minuet commute, this seemed verrry close to home. With close to 30,000 people attending, the thought of going to UB was intimidating.

Now currently finishing up my first semester, I realize getting rejected from my once dream school is possibly the best thing to ever happen to me.

I like being reasonably close to home, its nice to have your mom there when you’ve had a bad day. I love my roommates, who knew that they would ever become some of my closest friends. I was afraid of UB being too big for me, that there would simply be too many people. I quickly learned how small of a world it really is. I mean, what are the chances of running into someone you randomly met at orientation? Apparently… these chances are higher than I imagined, considering I still see this person almost everyday.

I’m a big believer in fate. I think things work out the way they do for a reason. I got rejected from the college I pictured myself spending at least four years of my life at, looking back, I couldn’t be more wrong. I’m proud to say that I’m attending the University at Buffalo. Coming from a family of entirely UB alumni, its safe to say that they were pretty proud too. #GoBulls