My visit to GMC

On Friday my family and I drove up to Poultney,Vermont to visit my new school, Green Mountain College. It was a beautiful summer day and the drive through Vermont was rather pleasant. The sky was bright blue and the mountains greener than ever. We drove through Woodstock, past the Brew Pub where we go every mothers day, through Rutland and then upon the small town of Poultney. There was something so calming about the small country roads leading to the college. I wasn't suffering from an my of my traditional "thinking about going to college" symptoms. No uncontrollable nervousness or feelings of being completely overwhelmed. In fact it was quite the opposite; I was feeling excited. Mostly because I am so relieved and grateful for GMC saving us from taking out all those loans...

Anyway, we pulled through the front gate and parked in the shade of a large pine. And because we are the most organized family in the world, we had forgotten the parking pass, and thus had no idea which building we were supposed to go to. So we checked out the main building (pictured below) to no avail. Luckily the campus is small so we quickly found where we were supposed to be.

  

 We new we were in the right spot because there was a sign board the said "Green Mountain welcomes" and a few names listed, including me own. How cool is that? It really feels like you're a person there- not just a number. The whole tour I just got the sense that you're dealing with people rather than some large institution.

So our guide took us around campus giving the standard college tour; showing buildings and explaing what the school has to offer. It's a sweet little campus, very compact and easily manageable. And the best part? Right behind the library is the school farm. As one who spends a large amount of time at farmers markets, this is such an amazing perk. I always wanted to be a farm kid...maybe this is my chance. Also there was a cute fluffy cat lurking in the garden, amoungst the sunflowers. And that there pretty much sealed the deal. This is the school for me. 

Here's the part of the post where I rave about all the cool stuff GMC has to offer and how excited I am about it and how proud I am of myself that I am indeed excited and not a nervous wreck. (Pshh no that's not a run on sentence...) So one thing I really love about GMC is how outdoorsy and hands on the courses seem to be. Just today I was registering for classes ans saw stuff like "back country cooking" and "intensive course on cheese making". Are you kidding me? That's incredible. Of course there are all the main academic classes as well, but most of which are focused on the environment. Which I absolutely love. 

This school represents everything I am passionate about and everything I want to become in life. It's green, it's big into sustainable agriculture, and it's outdoorsy.(you can rent camp stuff for a dollar a day!) 

It is small enough to build my confidence, and I feel I can thrive there.

I will indeed be writing about my college transition (I'm moving in the 1st) on a new blog, the name of which is still TBA. So check back! 

Dollars and Sense: Goodbye UVM...

These past two weeks have been some of the most stressful I have ever experienced. As you may or may not know, I am headed off to college in just a few short days. And these past weeks have been filled highly stressful financial debates and lectures. 

See for me, college was something I never really wanted (until now). Hence one reason why I took a gap year. At the end of senior year when I told UVM I was coming fall 2013, I felt as though I had just jumped out the way of a moving train. During the whole college process, my heart was never really in it. I couldn't get as excited and passionate about that wonderful chemistry program as such and so university. The only time I ever got excited was hearing about a schools exchange program or available outdoors clubs. Adventure and traveling was all I really wanted. During my gap year, I got just that. 

Then after orientation it slowly started to set in that this was all really going to happen. "I'm going to UVM" weren't just words anymore. They actually meant something. 

About two weeks ago the bill for the first semester came in. As we all knew it was going to. Going into it I knew that the ticket price for UVM out-of-state is $50,000. But throughout the college selection process, as I said, college never seemed like something that would ever become real for me. So neither did the money. However these past two weeks, the reality stuck. Hard. After all grants, scholarships and government loans, there was still a $28,000 gap to pay for freshman year. Just take a second to think about that. It's crazy. And the sort of loans you'd have to take out to bridge that gap are even crazier. 

The idea that my first year would cost that much increased my stress about 100 fold. It raised the stakes. It wasn't just worrying if I didn't like it or if I didn't like my roommate. It was knowing by going there, I was committing myself and my parents for 15 years worth of loan repayment. For ONE year. That idea of course stressed me out even more because it cost too much to worry about small things. 

Anyway, we kicked around the idea of just sucking it up and doing the 14 grand for the first semester (seeing as how I was all signed up) and then transerfing somewhere cheaper later. Which raised problems (and stress) as well. Ohio University, Lewis& Clark, University of Maine, University of Iceland...it was like the college search had started all over again.

To keep a long story of emotional woe short(er), yesterday we finally had a break through with this whole debate.

My dad and I decided to give Green Mountain College a call. A school that I had applied and been accepted to way back when during that whole process. I was always genuinely interested in GMC, but ended up saying yes to UVM because I had to choose something, and hey, they were in Vermont and the school is pretty well known. Anyway, we called them up and explained the situation and by noon they had put together a fantastic financial aid package. And we could actually get someone on the phone. AND they remembered me from when I applied. So throughout the course of Tuesday and Wednesday I accepted the package from GMC and officially withdrew from UVM. I have a campus visit tomorrow! 

Honestly, I feel so incredibly relieved. And not just because I saved my self from a life of paying back $200,000 in student loans (you're welcome post college me), but also because GMC is smaller. I am actually more excited now then I was when I was heading off to UVM. So UVM, thanks for it all, but you're too damn expensive.

This all has been so last minute and insane...but it all worked at so very well. So keep faith my friends. Good things do happen.

Take a Gap Year

*NOTE: yes, I do realize that my gap year is basically over by now,but this was something I had intended to share long ago. In fact I typed this months ago but for some reason only got to posting it now. It outlines my reasons for taking a gap year, and maybe will encourage others to give it a try if they so desire. Enjoy!


I remember one day junior year on high school, our guidance councilors came into our advisories and handed out sheets that pertained to “post high school plans.” And I remember thinking “great, they are starting this college stuff already.” They proceeded to talk about how junior year grades weigh heavily a colleges decision to accept or decline an application, and to just do our best this year with that in mind.
“And the pressure is on already”
Then they directed our attention to the blue sheet (blue-how different and exciting!). It had a list of things to keep in mind and think about for senior year when the college application process truly began. Then on that back it had more post high school paths. These included a vocational tech school, the Army, and a gap year. The guidance councilors read through each bullet, explaining further about them. When she began to explain about a gap year, My heart skipped a beat and I thought was “I am doing that.” That thought was my initial gut reaction.
 And you know what they say. Go with your gut.

I did. It was a struggle. My rational mind vs. my instincts. It was a battle of epic proportions. Eventually, instincts won out, by a slim margin. These next posts will explain why I decided to take a gap year.