When you don’t get your first choice, or second, or even your third…

So. We're talking about our colleges this week. A lot of my time applying for U of T was spent trying to figure out how I should rank the colleges. I was too far away from Toronto to actually visit the campus ahead of time. For whatever reason, I didn't sleuth around on the interwebs for the skinny (omg did I just use that?) on them. Really, I made my decision based on a nifty pdf version of a guide from the Art & Sci website that doesn't exist anymore. Let me tell you that the current online info on colleges is much easier to read.

The biggest worry I had was that I wouldn't get into the college I wanted. In my head there was this melodramatic reenactment of my 18-year-old big-city-fresh self slowly being suffocated in the confines of an undesirable college for four years. It was especially worrying at the time because I was going to be staying in res. I was even ready to give up some dorm luxuries and share bathrooms with the rest of the floor *gasp* AND not cook in my own kitchen. What I looked for was simple: I wanted to be in a college where I can "fit in" with the people there. I was very close to my class back in high school, so having that kind of camaraderie in university was very important to me. I also wanted a place that really engaged in interdisciplinary learning. That was something that my teachers really drilled into us.

So let me tell you how I ranked my colleges:

1. Shall remain nameless
2. To be honest, I don't remember what order the first two were in
3. My classes are in here
4. Woodsworth College
5. Don't remember
6. Umm...
7. I think ranking it up to the 7th place is merely a formality

Guess which one I got placed in? My 4th choice. I know. It's unheard of.

I remember having one of those "Gotta make the best of-- lets call the other colleges and ask if I can switch" moments. As happy as I was to get accepted, it wasn't until had to make the residence deposits that I accepted that I was, officially, a Woodsworth Student. By then I had convinced myself that Woodsworth wasn't so bad after all. The best thing was the fact that Woodsworth Res is the newest residence on campus. I may not be close to any of my classes, but at least I get to live in a spiffy building. Fast forward three years, and I can safely say that I have not yet suffocated in the confines of Woodsworth. If anything, this encouraged me to get out more, and find my own place on campus. You see, your college, while important, doesn't necessarily define you. At its most basic, it's the place you go to when you have questions about student loans and degree/graduation requirements. At its best, it can be the place where you find everything you've ever hoped for in a college, but that's not a requirement. You don't have you stick to your college every waking second. I usually go there to visit my registrar and have meetings, if Rotman doesn't have Kruger Hall booked out. Once in a while, I use the computers there when I forget to bring my laptop.  We've got nice new study spaces, and pretty clean washrooms (+10 points). But other than that, my college, to me, is like any other building and office on campus. I'm sure Woodsworth is amazing. It's just more amazing for others than it is for me. That means that I found things to do outside of my college. Am I any less involved than my first year neighbors who have gone on to run for WCSA council? Am I any less successful? I don't think so. So say you don't get into your first choice. Or your second. Or, heaven forbid, your third. That's okay. Our campus is pretty big, you know. - Crystal

By the way, has anyone ever noticed...