Cornfield Phobia by Ava Byrne

The thought of going to a small college, in a small town, surrounded by cornfields makes me shudder. I am adamantly against colleges with an undergrad population less than the amount of students at the high school. My college shouldn’t be an island in a sea of corn and small towns.

My Dad always yells at me when I say this. He says that I’ll “rarely go off campus” but even if that’s true, I want the option of having a city close by if I ever choose to leave. I’m afraid I’ll feel isolated if I’m confined to a campus. I know that if I went to a small college they’d make sure they have some activities and host events on campus. But even then, I feel like I’d become antsy with the lack of connection with the outside world.

I work at a sleep-away camp that’s way out in the sticks. Our nights off consist of driving 40 minutes to the Walmart in Erie and stopping at Sheetz for some mac and cheese bites on the way back. Camp is my happy place but even there I notice myself getting antsy.  At camp, the remoteness is something I’m able to laugh about, but I’m not sure I want that same experience for college.

Despite my distaste for small, rural universities, I have fallen in love with Dickinson College. Dickinson is a liberal arts college located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania with an undergrad population of 2381. I am fully aware that I just discussed my extreme dislike for colleges in the middle of nowhere, but my love of Dickinson goes against all of that. But truth be told, I have no idea where I want to go to college. I thought the one thing I was sure about was the size and the location. Yet my love of Dickinson goes against my supposedly concrete opinions. The only thing I am 100% sure about: no cornfields.

 

 

 

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