My Admissions Experience

It’s embarrassing to admit, but I didn’t get very involved in choosing a college for myself. I had the naïve mentality that my parents would do it for me. I thought, “they know me pretty well, they’re my parents, they’ll pick the perfect school.”

The only colleges I knew existed were those in big bold letters on the back windows of cars driving around the Washington DC area where I grew up. I believed those were the schools that I had to attend. So I waited for my parents to tell me which big school I was supposed to attend, figuring that I would fill out the application, be accepted, and put their bumper sticker on the back of my car.

Thankfully, my parents did not suggest a big school. I was anything but grateful when my father brought up the idea of a smaller school. Did he think that I wasn’t good enough for a bumper sticker college? It was an awful thought in the middle of an exhausting senior year. Reluctantly, I read a guidebook they had given me about a few small schools. I was cynical, as I read each paragraph about student life, laughing about the losers I pictured in a small school.

To my amazement one school caught my eye: Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. It had all the activities I was looking for, but was a community of only 1,050 students. I was interested, and decided it might be worth a visit. The minute I walked on to the campus, I had the most surprising feeling in the pit of my stomach: the feeling of reality. I knew that I could actually spend four years of my life here and thrive mentally, spiritually, and physically.

I’ve discovered that college is a different experience than high school. I have no one to turn to for daily motivation besides myself. I set my own alarm for that early morning study group, and go to sleep early on Friday night because of my Habitat for Humanity project the next morning. I go to two practices a day, three times a week for Varsity swimming. And I love it. I am growing up, I can dabble in anything I desire and I am at a small enough school where people know that. I am not just another ID number passing through the cafeteria.

Centre has given me the mentality that you only live once and you should explore different opportunities. Currently I am a second year cadet in Army R.O.T.C, a varsity swimmer, a member of the Habitat for Humanity club, and a member of the College Republicans club. I volunteer as a member of the “Colonel Corps,” Centre’s tour guides for prospective students, and I am an active member in the Centre Catholic community. I even find time to go out and have a good time.

All in all, I am extremely happy with my choice. The smaller school atmosphere makes me feel challenged, respected, and valued. I feel as if I am contributing as much as anyone else on campus. I guess my parents were right. I now give Centre College my highest rating; it has become a “bumper sticker school,” a college whose sticker I’m proud to have on my car.