When I tell other students here where I am from, I get one of two responses: a simple 'ew' or "why didn't you go to Tech?" I usually only respond to the latter. Most importantly, I wanted to leave home for college, which has always been an important factor for my parents and I. The best answer I can give is just a general statement that UVA was a better fit for me. I always wanted a smaller school and Virginia Tech has roughly 40,000 students. There is not much outside of the school in Blacksburg, but there is always something to do outside of UVA. I hope to do pre-law here, and we have one of the best law schools in the country. Also, is UVA not the prettiest place you've ever seen???

At the beginning of my junior year at Giles High School, I still had no idea where I wanted to go. I toured many schools, I even applied to ten universities (I would NOT recommend doing that, it is very stressful and expensive). I thought about out of state schools, small schools, big schools, and everything else you could imagine. but the only school that felt meant to be as I walked around imagining myself as a student was not Virginia Tech. It was their rival school's grounds. The reaction I got when I told most people at home where I wanted to go was always the same confused look and sometimes a laugh because Virginia Tech always beats us in football (little did they know, I would get the last laugh because they lost to ODU and we beat Louisville). I always felt like I wasn't going to get in here; I was a student from Southwest Virginia where many people don't go to school at all. Many people just simply said to me "it is really hard to get into" or "don't get your hopes up". While I had doubts of my own at times, academics were always my top priority and in that respect, UVA was the obvious decision when I found out I got in. I know now that I chose the right school- there is nowhere better than Charlottesville.

One of the biggest questions I had in my mind when I decided to go to school 3 hours away was whether I would be missing out on being in my hometown at Virginia Tech where all of my friends decided to go. I was the only person in my high school class to attend UVA this fall and 40% of my class at Southwest Virginia Governor's School chose to also go to Virginia Tech. Fortunately, everyone supported me in my decision, even my dad who is reluctant to wear any UVA gear.

I always miss my friends, family, football games that show up on the earthquake detector, and most importantly the cutest three dogs that I, unfortunately, had to leave behind (believe me, I would have brought them if I could have). However, there is no better experience than college and missing home was just something I had to risk. Here, I got a fresh, clean slate, my best friends, amazing classes, and a real community that I have never felt before.