I spent all of my teenage years in a suburb of Oklahoma City, and all throughout middle and high school, I figured I would be staying in that area for college. Oklahoma City is basically one giant college town. OU, OSU, and UCO (University of Central Oklahoma) are both in that area, plus they have all these private schools like Oklahoma Christian and Oklahoma City University. OU and OSU were both an hour away from my house, and UCO was only 20 minutes away. I knew that pretty much most of my friend group would be going to one of those three schools. Most of my graduating class went to one of those three schools.

They are all so close by and I think Greek life had something to do with that too since so many girls from my high school are part of sororities at OU and OSU. For basically most of high school, I had my sights set on either UCO or OSU, so I could still be with my friends. However, that all changed when I toured the University of Arkansas during the summer before my senior year. Some people ask me why I decided to leave Oklahoma since I had so many amazing schools right here close by. Well, here are the reasons why I decided to move to Fayetteville.

I immediately fell in love with Fayetteville and the atmosphere of that town. There was so much to do there and everything is close by. Back at home, I have to drive 20 or more minutes to get anywhere, but in Fayetteville, everything is right there. There is something for everyone in Northwest Arkansas, from Dickson Street, to Devil’s Den, to the Crystal Bridges museum, to Razorback football, to all the amazing coffee shops and thrift shops all over town! I fell in love with the community at the U of A, for everyone was so nice and friendly.

One awesome thing that the U of A does that most schools don’t, is that they waive a high percentage of out-of-state tuition for students in surrounding states. I have 80% of my out-of-state tuition waived, which is pretty awesome. I do have to maintain a certain GPA to keep that, but it is not that difficult. It is basically almost the same price for me to go out of to state to the U of A as it is to go in-state to OU. That definitely played a major factor in my decision to go out of state.

The reason why I wanted to be a Razorback the most, was because I wanted to be a part of the Razorback Marching Band. When I watched their halftime shows on Youtube for the first time, I knew that I wanted to be a part of this. It was always my dream to do marching band in college and perform at all the bowl games in front of massive audiences.

I love the U of A’s campus! It is so pretty and fall is my favorite season because the trees are so colorful. I am definitely looking forward to taking my senior pictures in front of them! I enjoy taking walks around Old Main and hanging out with my friends in at the Greek Theatre. Plus, when you graduate, your name gets engraved on the Senior Walk, which is the sidewalk that runs all across campus.

Overall, I am so glad I decided to attend the University of Arkansas. I love getting to take part in the traditions that keep this campus alive! Although it did take me a little while to adjust to a new home, especially since not many from my high school came here, once I did finally adjust, I did end up finding my home here.