No one dreams of starting their college experience from their childhood bedroom. Since we were little kids, we’ve dream of moving away from home. We couldn’t wait to live side by side with our new closest friends, to cheer at sports games with temporary tattoos accenting our cheekbones, and to spend time with the opposite gender without our parents interrogating our every move. I was devastated when the most reasonable option for me was to delay the stereotypical college experience and start college at the branch campus in my hometown. Now, a year later I wouldn’t change a thing. Here’s why.
1. The advantage of the smaller scale. Almost everyone immediately assumes going to the branch will put you at an academic disadvantage. In fact, the opposite is true. The smaller branch campuses provide access to the same resources, opportunities, and connections Storrs students have. But your classes are one third of the size, making you more than just a face in the crowd to your professors. They actually know you and have time for you.
2. Social life might just be better. Of course, you can’t walk 3 steps down the hall to your friend’s room, but depending on where your campus is (I was in bustling West Hartford) you do have a whole world of fun with interesting places to meet up and spend time together. Unlike Storrs, most students have cars with them, so your social world isn’t limited to what’s on campus. Plus, when you’ve spent a little too much time together, you have your respective homes to go to. No drama – a serious perk for me.
3. You can keep your high school job. There is nothing worse than frantically rushing to beat out all the other students looking for jobs in Storrs. And since you already know what you’re doing, you avoid the stress of a learning curve at work on top of all your new classes.
4. All the comforts of home, literally. Let’s face it, most of our homes are pretty luxurious compared to dorm living. There’s no ancient twin XL mattress you have to pole vault onto, and baked ziti that tastes just like mom’s because it is mom’s.
Graduating high school and starting college is an exciting time in all of our lives, but it doesn’t need to feel like jumping off a cliff. Ignore the hype, a branch campus might be just what you need to start college off on the right foot. It was for me.