For an international student, coming to college in America can be an exciting yet challenging experience. Stuti, a rising junior at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is from Kuwait, and is very interested in a career in finance and accounting. She shared her views on visiting schools and how it can shape your decision to go to a particular school, or not. Here’s her story!
Coming to college in America after having lived in Kuwait all my life was a big decision, and visiting college campuses before even applying to them seemed like the best way to find the perfect fit for me. So, as a junior in high school, I visited a number of college campuses- namely Stanford University, New York University and the University of Michigan.
When I first step foot on Stanford’s campus, I was both excited and anxious. The warm California sunshine along with the overwhelmingly huge but gorgeous buildings made me fall in love with the place in an instant. As we walked around and took a tour of the university, I was disheartened to realize that the Stanford Business School does not offer a BBA program for undergraduates. Since I knew that I wanted to major in Business, I left Stanford that day not disappointed, instead hopeful that I would pursue my dream and be able to go to Stanford for graduate school
Next stop: NYU. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU represented New York in the best possible way. I really loved their campus but realized that I actually wanted to live in a college town, and New York’s busy life was not what I wanted as my fresh-out-of-high-school college experience; it would be a wonderful city to work in instead
My visit to UofM was an absolutely delightful experience. Not only is the Ross School of Business world-renowned, the University as a whole is known for its world-class faculty and prides itself on its diverse student body and thousands of student organizations on campus, apart from insane school spirit during football games and love for sports and athletics. The city of Ann Arbor seemed like a very welcoming and happy place, a place I could call home for four years of my life.
So, visiting college campuses played a key role in my college decisions. In fact, it helped me get an idea of what I’d like to do after graduating college as well. Even though college rankings and many other things factor into college decisions, it is absolutely essential to get a sense of belonging and a feeling of ‘fitting in’ on campus, and the city as a whole too.
Read more of Stuti’s college advice on her AdmitSee Profile!
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