I came to UVA without a single clue as to what I wanted to study. I barely knew anything about the other schools at UVA outside of the College of Arts & Sciences. I had heard of the School of Architecture and the Engineering School but didn’t realize there were schools that I would have the option to apply to as a student. Needless to say, my eventual desire to come to McIntire was not a factor in my decision to attend UVA.
I’ve lived in Northern Virginia since I was five years old and didn’t have much desire to go out of state for financial reasons. The decision was a stressful one, though. I had toured all the campuses, visited all the dining halls, and sat in on info sessions with all the campus representatives. I had all the information I thought I needed to make my decision but still felt like I couldn’t. I eventually chose UVA because it was the school my parents wanted me to attend. At that point in my life, they knew what was best for me, and I trusted that they could more objectively make this decision for me while keeping my well-being and desires in mind. Plus, I enjoyed the time I had spent visiting Grounds, and was excited about the things other people had said about UVA and the clubs I would have the opportunity to join. I also have an uncle who lives in Charlottesville, and I liked the idea of being near family. I’ve never regretted my decision to come to UVA. I’ve found a community here and grown more than I could have ever anticipated, so thanks, Mother and Father!
The fact that I didn’t know what I wanted to study was something that bothered me for most of my first semester at UVA. I spent countless hours online looking through the list of majors the College of Arts & Sciences offered. After taking numerous online quizzes to help guide my decision process, I briefly settled on a career in marketing. I went back to the College’s list of undergraduate majors and found that the school didn’t offer a marketing major. I felt disappointed.
Instead of reaching out to someone at career services or continuing to do more research on the different programs available at UVA, I wallowed in this disappointment for weeks. Until one late night, I googled “UVA Marketing Major,” and the first link sent me directly to McIntire’s webpage for the Marketing concentration. At that moment, I felt a wave of emotions. Joy. Relief. Surprise. Confusion. I had never heard of McIntire. A whole new field of study opened up to me. I spent hours on the website studying the different programs McIntire offers and what I had to do to apply. That night, I decided to pursue McIntire and never looked back.