It’s no secret that over 70% of undergraduate students at UConn are Connecticut residents, and it’s made pretty clear when seeing basically your entire graduating class is a weekly occurrence. For me, the first weekend of freshman year was just choruses of “Oh my God! Caroline!” and having to explain to my out-of-state roommate that I already knew all these people because I’ve had to see them for the last 13 years of my life. I was fully prepared to jump into the bushes at anytime just to avoid the awkward interaction with some people, and I’m sure many other in-state kids have seen a familiar face and shamefully pivoted around right then and there to avoid the fake smiles and the polite-but-not-sincere ‘We should totally hang out again sometime!’ that would surely come out of their mouth. So if you’re an in-state student you’ll recognize these scenarios all too well, but you’ll soon know, as I do now, that it’s all worth it in the end. So stay tuned.
5 Not-So-Great Things:
1. The stigma around going to an in-state school: you’re just doing what everyone else is doing and it isn’t as “cool” as going to an out-of-state school.
I don’t know about every town in Connecticut, but the one I’m from had over 60 kids come to UConn. So when people were revealing the colleges they were committing to, those that chose UConn seemed to muddle together and it didn’t feel as special as the 5 kids that chose Penn State, the 2 kids that went to Ivies, and the numerous others that chose far away places. I’ve finally realized that UConn is a dope school, and it’s so unique in so many ways, so coming here as a CT resident doesn’t mean any less as going somewhere else.
2. Being 1 of 18,000 kids from Connecticut, you’re really not all that interesting here.
(Photo Credit: Twitter @UConn)
There’s only a few things worse than meeting someone from California or some other fancy, far-away state and then being asked where you’re from. Not to crap on the motherland, but it’s just not very exciting when everyone here is from the same area. It’s much more of a conversation starter when someone is from some random state and they have an elaborate story as to how they ended up in the boonies of central CT.
3. Not being able to put something like “CT → ~state you go to school in~” in your Instagram bio.
I may be being a little dramatic. I suppose it’s not really that bad, but you can’t deny the fact that when your friends from high school have crap like “Connecticut *red pin emoji* Happy Valley” or “CT & Boston” in their bios it looks more rounded and exciting than a CT resident with UConn in their bio. What are you supposed to put “CT → CT” in it? That’s just ridiculous.
4. That comfort bubble that you really shouldn’t stay in when making new friends, but it’s just so much easier to keep being friends with the same people.
Branch out. I’m telling you this and I mean it. It’s not easy, but do it. Join a club, a sports team, a sorority. Do something that keeps you busy and allows you to meet some people. You’ll meet more people, all of which who have had so many cool experiences and lived completely different lives than you. Don’t stay in the hometown bubble. That’s not to say you shouldn’t keep friends you already know from school, do what makes you happy and what allows you to get the most out of college. You’re not paying tuition to hang with your highschool friends.
5. You’re probably more likely to go home, which can keep you from experiencing life like a college student should.
My first semester here I went home way too many times just because I could, and I ended up missing out on things. Going home is a treat and can be very convenient, but it shouldn’t keep you from doing what you came to college to do. I used going home as an excuse to keep me in my hometown bubble and it kept me from branching out. The best thing I did for myself was when I started going home only when necessary and forcing myself to do things out of my comfort zone.
5 Great Things:
1. In-State Tuition Babyyyyyyy!
This one speaks for itself. You are doing the smartest thing by going here for your undergrad and saving loads of money. A college degree is a college degree. UMass is great and all, but if you can get the same degree here for less money, why waste the trip up I-91?
2. Having lots in common with other in-staters.
(Photo Credit: uconnhuskies.com)
Odds are you’ve all been to Lake Compounce, vacationed on Cape Cod, and probably took a couple thousand museum field trips as a kid. And since CT doesn’t seem to be cool enough for professional sports you grew up watching UConn Basketball and arguing over the age-old Boston vs. New York debate. Go Sox! Deal with it, Boston is better. Regardless, us Connecticut kids stick together.
3. Not having to stress (as much) for move-in because it’s really not that far from home. Plus if you forget something, Mom can always drive it up (she’ll want to see you anyway).
Being close to home also has its advantages. Oh, you have too much stuff to cram all of it into the back of your Volkswagen Passat? Take two trips. Oh crap, you forgot your contacts? *Knock, knock* It’s Mom with your contacts, plus she brought snacks.
4. Not having to miss ye olde Connecticut because you never left.
Connecticut, although small and fairly irrelevant in comparison to just about every other state, is pretty great. There’s nothing quite like autumn in Storrs, running into members of the women’s basketball team, and still getting the radio station HOT 93.7 with Jenny Boom Boom. Connecticut is a treasure, there’s a reason it’s where Gilmore Girls takes place.
5. And number five. The one… the only… Jonathan the Freaking Husky.
(Photo Credit: IG @jonathanthehusky14)
There is not a college out there that has a better mascot. In my “expert” opinion, all your friends from high school that went out-of-state are wasting their money because they overlooked the one thing that makes UConn a thousand times better than any other school. Jonathan the Husky is a national treasure.
Honorable Mention: Putnam Quesadilla Bar, Sitting on the Union Lawn on a 75 degree day, Freshens Chicken Avocado Wrap, and The West Campus Gazebo.
I can’t speak for everyone at UConn, but I can at least speak from my own experiences. Being from Connecticut doesn’t make a UConn student any less interesting or cool. The thing I learned that helped me rationalize this was that at the end of the day we’re all just students. We come from different backgrounds and lead different lives, but the one thing that we all have in common, regardless of where we grew up, is where we decided to go to college. And we’ll all go into the world doing different things, and be different people, but we’ll all have a connection to UConn. We’ll always be UConn Alum. It’s a cliche, but the best things in life are cliches. And you know what they say: Students today, Huskies forever.