There were three criteria I knew my future university needed to have: It needed to have outstanding academics, to have superb athletic teams, and more importantly, to be really far away from home! I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and knew that I wanted a completely different experience for the next four years of my life. UVA happened to meet all of my criteria. Interestingly enough, I didn’t even know UVA had an undergraduate business school. I always knew that I wanted to study business, but failed to realize that UVA had one of the best undergraduate business schools in the world! By chance, I enrolled in COMM 1800 (a prerequisite for the B.S. in Commerce Program). This is where my journey to McIntire “started,” or rather fortuitously began.
After taking COMM 1800, I took my path to McIntire more seriously. I started to go to advising sessions at the McIntire Office of Undergraduate Admission. At this time, I started to fulfill all the requirements but failed to do one thing: I did not have a backup major. I put all my eggs in the Commerce basket. This was obviously a huge mistake, and now, I would definitely recommend having a backup major! This mistake was highlighted after I received my admission decision during spring break.
My heart was pounding as I opened the email. I knew that I would accept whatever outcome came my way, but I also felt the fear of committing an enormous mistake. Applying to McIntire with no backup plan now seemed like a very irrational decision. Nevertheless, I was deferred admission until after the spring semester, as the committee wanted to see more of my academic performance. The fate of my admission lay solely in my hands. I knew exactly what to do and now; I just needed to do it.
Thankfully, all the hard work paid off! I was offered admission to McIntire in the summer and could not have imagined the journey it took me to get there. After speaking to my fellow classmates in Comm, I realized no two paths to McIntire are ever the same. Students truly chart their own journey to McIntire, and that’s what makes this school such an amazing community. So if you are considering UVA or McIntire, please know that you are in charge of your own education and extracurricular activities. Whatever decision you end up making, make sure it is the right one for you! Good luck in your endeavors and the next phase of your educational path.
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