With college admission season quickly approaching, I’ve been reminiscing about the stressful time and how easy it is to feel like a failure after not getting into what you thought was your dream school. My college admissions process was anything but easy, but I believe everything that happened was for a reason and I couldn’t be happier with where I ended up.
When I first applied to FSU, it was kind of random. Being from out of state, I had never really heard much about the school and was just looking for a big school in a warm state. Eventually the decisions for all the colleges I had applied to started to roll in and I was lost. I didn’t really love any of the schools I had gotten into. After doing a lot of research, I was really hoping to go to FSU.
I nervously opened my FSU decision email and felt my heart sink when I read the word “deferred.” In my head, deferred pretty much meant “denied.” I was heartbroken. I ended up submitting some additional essays and hoping for the best. A few months later I got an email that I had been accepted — kind of.
I read the first line of the email explaining I had been accepted into the FSU Pathways Program and shut my computer with disappointment. In my mind, Pathways wasn’t a good option. I felt like I’d been rejected, so I instantly began looking at my other choices for school. My dad ended up reading more into the program and sat me down so we could look into the options they offered.
It can be so disappointing to not immediately get accepted into your dream school, but programs like FSU’s Pathways offer so much to students that they might not see at first.
The Pathways program offers four options for FSU students to gain admission onto the main campus. You could do either FSU Panama City Pathway, FSU International Programs First Semester Abroad Pathway, FSU International Programs First Year Abroad Pathway, or Spring Transfer Pathway. Every one of these different options has its benefits for students and could be a great choice for making your way onto the Tallahassee campus.
When I was looking through all my options, I saw that the first-year abroad pathway gave students in-state tuition for the three years following their abroad program. This immediately sparked my interest. Having the opportunity to go to my dream school, spend that much time abroad, and get in-state tuition for myself was too perfect to pass up.
I ended up doing my first year abroad in Valencia, Spain, and Florence, Italy. It was the best year of my life! Now being back at the Tallahassee campus, I’m so eternally grateful for what the Pathways program allowed me to do. Without Pathways, I’d have never known about the first-year abroad program at all.
Programs like Pathways can be daunting for students. It’s hard to not get full admission to a college you love, and it can definitely hurt your ego. But take it from me that these programs have a lot more to offer than you may initially think. If you or anyone you know is going through the college admissions process right now, just know that everything will work out the way it’s supposed to, and remember to evaluate all of your options.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Pinterest!