On Sunday 9th November, just before the Monday deadline, I sent off my final choices for my year abroad! We had to choose 5 universities and rank them in order of preference and it was so so hard to choose- I have struggled with this list since May last year when we had the first meeting! So it seemed like a really big step to finally have sent it off. My choices were:
1. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
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Lehigh is a gorgeous private university in Bethlehem, less than two hours away from New York City! I put it as my first choice because the campus is absolutely gorgeous, it looks like the social scene is pretty vibrant and the course options are varied and interesting! Unfortunately there are limited places so I have no idea how likely I am to get it. But if I did I would be really happy!
2. University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
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I was attracted to South Carolina because of its slightly milder temperature, its huge college football stadiums (South Carolina call themselves the "Gamecocks" which is amazing) and its all-american feel. The campus is really lovely and they have an impressive outside swimming pool and an active sailing team- one of the things I'd like to continue in the states. I read an old Kent student's blog about her time in South Carolina and it seemed to be a great all-round all-american experience which is what I want out of my year abroad!
3. Penn State University, University Park, PA
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I really wanted to put Penn State down for many reasons; its classically american campus, its great range of courses, its busy sport and social life. It was originally slightly out of budget, but I couldn't quite let it go! It's another one with limited places so the chances of me getting Penn State are pretty low.
4. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
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One of the girls who is part of the same creative writing society as I am is from IU and she absolutely raves about it! The fact that it is a dry campus is irrelevant for me as I will be old enough to drink in bars! It is a huge university with loads of students and loads of things to do, so hopefully it would really deliver on the all-american college experience. I just don't think I could go wrong if I got IU!
5. University of Maryland, College Park, MD
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Maryland's campus is so nice! I overlooked Maryland slightly when I sent off my list because by the point of sending it off I had seen so many universities and read so much that I could hardly remember what was good about each one! When Adam finalised his list the next day, he was looking at Maryland and I realised exactly how gorgeous it is! The chances of me getting Maryland are almost none because its also got limited places, but it would have been nice!
So there you have it, the wildly exciting, or perhaps entirely uninteresting list I submitted last week! I wanted to choose my list so that there was no university that I would be disappointed with if I got given it, and that is what I have achieved. As much as I loved Lehigh and South Carolina, I would be equally happy with any of the others! I'm slightly jealous that Adam's top choice is San Diego because that would have been absolutely amazing- it was just a little out of my price range! Now I just can't wait until I hear where Kent has placed me! Hopefully they'll get back to us before Christmas and I can start planning and dreaming of my year abroad :)
