By Daniela Santos

This choice was not an easy one, admittedly.

Picking a college feels like the entire world is on your shoulders and there will never a correct decision. The day before my deposit due date my mom had me evaluate my options, which then led me to breakdown. I second guessed myself and it lead to unnecessary stress. To my fellow procrastinators, trust me when I say that you will want to finish your senior year with ease. This is my college decision story.

My summer consisted of me believing that I was not good enough for college. For a while it did not enter my brain that a 23 on the ACT was not the end of the world. I kept comparing my ACT scores with my friends’ scores and always felt unsatisfied with myself. Whenever I heard that another classmate wanted to be an engineer or study pre-med, I felt that my desire to be a journalist was miniscule and insignificant.

Once the school year began, I choose to apply to only three colleges: one private, one public, and one out-of-state. Luckily, all three of those colleges accepted me, and my test score worries never really mattered afterwards. Being accepted to all three schools did not make my choice any easier. In a way, I wanted at least one of them to reject me—that way I did not have to make the rejection myself. This led to the big debate: should I choose a public or private college? There is this stigma that public schools are not as great as private schools. But I’d like to make the claim that what you choose to accomplish with your education and how you strive to fulfill your goals are what make the best of your college experience, regardless of where you go.

I want to major in Communications, but I cannot just take the classes and expect to be the next Oprah Winfrey or Jon Stewart after four years. This relieved a little bit of stress for picking a college. Joining clubs, like the school paper, and interning at places that may potentially hire me in the future are some of the many important components besides just taking a class for my major.

The college I ultimately choose was the University of Denver in the Mile High City. I believe the area pushes me to adapt to the city life, which will come in handy if I want to be a journalist. The wide array of majors and minors offered was another decision-making component. The school also runs under a quarter system instead of a semester schedule, so it will be nice to be able to take media classes while also being able to take classes on politics and marketing. With this system, I will be able to personalize my education.

But it would be ignorant of me to not include discuss money. This was the cause of my breakdown. Going to this school will require many sacrifices. I will have to live under my parents’ roof for four more years, and after graduation I will have four years’ worth of debt to look forward to.  I did acknowledge that this private school did offer a more generous amount of financial aid than an in-state school, as it is for many other schools. But it did look appealing that if I go in-state, I would have already saved about 50% of what a student from out of state may have to pay.

College is an investment. What I learned is that money should not be the dilemma that prevents me from going to my dream school. To you future seniors, if you have found a school that contains all the characteristics you look for in a college, then talk with your parents and see to it that you make it possible to attend the college you want. Do you work? Are you applying for scholarships? Have you been a consistently good academically standing student? All of these questions are things that you should be considering when discussing finances. I know that I have to work during the school year in order to pay for my basic necessities.

In 2014, 65.9% of seniors chose to go to college; so it’s not as mandatory a decision as many make it out to be. I mention this statistic because in the end, it’s your choice—so long as it’s your choice—will be the right choice and you shouldn’t feel obligated to base your decisions on what the majority of people are doing.

I felt that all the odds were against me. I come from a family of fast food workers, and I live in a small apartment. But I knew that this was not the life I intended to have for myself and that going to school was my only way of making my dreams come to life. Despite the debt and the urge to leave my parents’ roof, I do not regret choosing DU. College was never meant to be a garden of roses; it’s supposed to be the dry weed-filled trail that leads you to the garden.