Deciding where to go to college was a bit of a struggle. As I mentioned, I went to a small high school. I graduated with about 65 people. After my experience with high school, I was looking forward to going somewhere bigger. I wanted a place that offered a wide range of experiences and some more diversity than where I grew up. I had a scholarship that would pay full tuition to any school in Indiana, so I really couldn’t pass that up. Indiana University was my target. I wanted to go to a large University.
My guidance counselor had a different opinion. The feeling was that I had done well in a small classroom setting, and I should continue that. I was told a horror story about another student who went to a larger university and didn’t succeed. The concern was that I’d never be able to achieve my dreams at a larger university because I would be a number, and I’d get lost in the crowd. My guidance counselor’s heart was in the right place. They wanted to see me be successful.
I visited a couple of smaller schools. It felt, to me, like I was visiting another high school. When I visited IU and spoke with one of their biology advisors, we attacked the concept that I couldn’t succeed in a larger university head-on. I received some excellent advice from that advisor. They recommended that I work to shrink the size of the University: go and talk with my professors, visit office hours, speak up in class, and ask questions. I was comforted by their advice and spoke with other students who had been successful.