Garton - U chic: the college girls guide to everything

Copyright 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 by Christie Garton

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Garton, Christie.

U chic : the college girls guide to everything / Christie Garton. 3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

1. College student orientationUnited States. 2. Women college studentsUnited StatesLife skills guides. I. Title.

LB2343.32.G39 2013

378.198dc23

2012046645

To the women of UChic.com,

the true inspiration behind this book.

From Christie Garton, founder and publisher, UChic.com

Without an older sister growing up, I occasionally had to learn things the hard way. There are advantages to not having to stand in anyones shadow, but there were many times when a little tried-and-true advice could have helped, especially during my first few years in college. I definitely would have not registered for 18 credit hours my first semester in school! After a few detours, roundabouts, and restarts, I eventually found my way through college and into the real world, but things would have been a whole lot easier with the right advice.

This was the inspiration behind this book and UChic.com. I wanted to create a place where college women could come together to find support and advice during one of the most important times of a girls life. We worked tirelessly to recruit a group of contributors with a diverse range of experience for the book that you now hold in your hands. I want to thank all of the contributors for being completely open and honest in sharing their personal stories. It is my sincere hope that what you will discover in reading U Chic is that we are all sisters in the end.

Whether youre headed to college or are already there, one thing is certain: college is the time to expand your horizons. You need to experience college in your own way, and our guide is here to help you discover it!

With the endless choices youll face in college, youll often have questions and find yourself in need of a little advice. Our hope is that you find your answers here. We asked college women across the country to dish about their collegiate experiences, challenges, and successes. The result? A guide that provides you with exclusive advice that could only come from those who have experienced it for themselves. From preparing to move, to dating advice, to balancing that all-important budget, to finding the right balance of school and fun, you will find answers and insights to your important questions in these shared experiences from college women around the country. This is a book that you can turn to throughout your entire college career. In that spirit, dont feel like you need to sit down and read the book cover-to-cover (though that certainly wont hurt anything!). Each of our contributors has answered specific questions, so you can turn right to the section you need, when you need it.

With U Chic, the conversation doesnt stop at the last page. Lets say you have a specific question that is not directly addressed. Weve created an online chat area at UChic.com exclusively for readers, where you can comment on things that youve read in the guide, seek further advice, or read more about or even contact the guides writers. This guide is truly the start of a conversation that can last throughout your entire college career.

So what are you waiting for? Turn the page and be on your way to your own fabulous college experience!

xoxo,
Christie Garton
Founder, UChic.com

Starting to get serious about where youd like to go to college? Or maybe you were already accepted and are packing for your new home now. Either way, this chapter has you covered. You probably are already well aware that the transition to college is a major stress. Besides maybe summer camp, when else have you packed up your entire lifes belongings into several boxes and suitcases to head off to an unknown place to live with some random stranger? To help smooth your path, this chapter is filled with insider advice on making this transition with confidence and style. As Carrie Bradshaw might say, we wish we were in your Choos, starting the college experience all over again!

I had known from the age of 12 that I was destined to attend Brown University. This had been decided before I had even visited the campus. Id just read about it in one of my brothers college brochures, but regardless, I knew I was going to Brown to study theater and to be a free spirit under a requirement-free curriculum. And maybe join a naked protest or two.

Six years and a $70 application fee later, my hopes were dashed. I didnt get in. When I received that thin, impersonal rejection letter, I went through the Kbler-Ross cycle of grief faster than you can say safety school. First there was denial. No way, I totally got in; they got the wrong Allison Davis. Then anger. Those jerkswhat do they know about college admissions?! Followed by bargaining. Ill retake my SATs, do 600 more hours of community serviceanything! Next, depression. My world has ended. And, finally, acceptance.

Did You Know?

The schools with the lowest acceptance rates are actually music schoolsPhiladelphias Curtis Institute of Music and New Yorks Juilliard School have acceptance rates less than 8 percent. Harvard comes in next at 9 percent.

Honestly, the rejection letter stung. A lot. You spend 4+ years slaving over SATs, GPAs, APs, extracurriculars, and enough community service to be on par with a Peace Corps member just to qualify for consideration at your dream schoolthe only university or college that you fervently believe matches who you are and, more importantly, who you want to become. Its almost like an unhealthy romantic relationship; your whole self-worth becomes involved in impressing the one. It is disappointing to be so brusquely rejected by what was your collegiate soul mate.

HOW TO COPE

So you did not get a fat acceptance package from your first choice school. Disappointing? Absolutely. But devastating? No. If you get rejected from your first (or second or third) choice school, give yourself some time to be upset, but remember there are about 6 billion different possible reasons for an admission decision. There is almost no way to understand the why, which is really frustrating. Rather than wallow over the unanswerable why by tearing yourself and your application apart, focus on what you do haveother college choices.