I am a freshman at Robert Morris University, and this school was not my first choice. This may come as a shock to anyone who has ever met me, as it seems I bleed our university colors of red, white, and blue. I am involved in multiple organizations on campus, take part in all of the school-sponsored events I can, strive to be an excellent student, and am proud to call myself a Colonial. However, I never imagined when I began my college search that I would be attending a medium-sized, primarily business school in western Pennsylvania that could not quite boast it was in Pittsburgh.

I distinctly remember receiving an email in my inbox, an inbox overflowing with emails from other colleges vying for my parents’ money, from a school called Robert Morris University. I had never even heard of the school before, but decided that it would be foolish to pass up on the free application. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to possibly get another acceptance letter. I somewhat sloppily filled out the application, exhausted from applying to so many other schools. All of my personal details and essays felt trite, as I had completed this process so many times before. When I finished the application, I decided that this was the last school I was going to apply to, even though there were no circumstances that would result in me going there.

I had in mind, after all, my Dream Schools. These were the schools that when I left the visits of, I felt enchanted. My Dream Schools were elitist, prestigious, snobby, and outlandishly expensive, but that did not seem to matter to me at the time. I was enticed by the humble charm and beauty of their campuses, the atmosphere of intellectual advancement, and the possibilities these schools offered me. These schools and their admissions departments whispered promises of academic fame and distinguishment into my ear. At these schools I saw myself taking ridiculously philosophical and erudite courses, engaging in hearty and engaging debates with my equally strong-minded classmates, and evolving into the scholar that I always dreamed I could be.

But circumstances changed. I realized that in order to make my delusion of attending one of my Dream Schools a reality, I would have to drown in an ocean of loans, and even then my parents would struggle to pay for the part of my education that loans could not cover. It would be selfish and pointless to pursue an education at a school that truly only satisfied my needs for academic and intellectual affirmation.

So, I began to look at the other schools, the ones that paled and shrank in the shadows of my first choices. After being lost in my search, I chose Robert Morris University. I did not pick this school because of its exceptional programs, academics, professors, or amenities. I picked this school because of a scholarship. When I decided to actually pay a visit to the university I had pledged myself to, I did not experience any overwhelming emotions of feeling ‘at home.’ Everything the school had to offer was nice, surely, but nothing swept me off my feet.

Today, I am so happy that I am privileged enough to be going to RMU. From the first day of classes, I have seamlessly folded myself into campus life and classes, and would not know what my life would look like at a different school. I have no intention of undermining the simultaneously grueling and exciting process of choosing a college, but it is not the most important decision you will make in your life.College is simply a stepping stone between adolescence and embracing your life as an adult. Though picking a school that you like is important, you do not need to find the ‘perfect’ school. Finding a college or university that checks off all the boxes on your list of of requirements is impossible.Consider picking a school to be one of the first large decisions you make as an independent young person: it should be an informed decision based on what enables you to be successful, not one inspired by the chasing of an untenable dream.