Why I Chose BYU-Idaho

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the differences between BYU Provo and BYU-Idaho (not to say BYU-Hawaii isn't just as awesome, I just never had any interest in going there at all so for the sake of this blog post, let's focus on Provo and Idaho). Growing up, I never thought much about going off to college. There are some kids who know where they want to go since before the womb. I was never really dressed up in memorabilia as a baby or grew up knowing a specific college's fight song or anything close to that. Not that there is any problem with people who grew up with that; sometimes I wish I did, but I'm glad where I ended up.

In high school, I realized "Oh, I guess I should figure out what I'm going to do after high school..." because that's what everyone else was doing. Everyone seemed to know exactly what they wanted, what they wanted to do, where they wanted to go. Then there was me, kind of stuck with not too many options. I guess deep down, I always assumed I would go to a BYU school because of how cheap it is and it would be such a NEW experience to be surrounded by Mormons instead of how I grew up: in the east with mostly all nonmembers.

At this point, it was just between BYU Provo and BYU-Idaho. I had a slew of friends who had gone to both schools and I could tell they were both different! I pretty much knew about 100% that I wouldn't get into BYU Provo - my grades and ACT score were NOT up to par for the school. I did decently well in high school, but I never pushed my potential like other kids did. I wanted to have fun and experience high school to its fullest, not stay home worrying about homework. So I didn't get straight A's in high school. Knowing this, I was never expecting to get into BYU Provo.

I never planned on even trying to get into BYU Provo. After I realized I didn't have the grades that were required, I didn't want to even try. I was just focusing on BYU-Idaho. I had such a good feeling about the school (despite the weird location) that I was just putting my trust in fate. It was cheap, a lot of my good friends were there/going there, and it was the perfect size!

But then, right around the time I was applying for BYU-Idaho, I was talking to some of my friends that went to BYU Provo. They talked up the school (as one hopefully does for their college) and pointed out the good aspects of it: I knew a lot more people there, I had a possible in for a job there, and I had a sibling at the school! I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe I could get in...despite the fact that I knew deep down that I was never meant to go there.

I applied to both! It wasn't hard, just another $35 to put the same info and send it to a different school. Then came the waiting...it was almost unbearable. Just waiting to see if you got accepted or rejected is literally one of the worst feelings! You know you shouldn't let yourself get caught up in it because then if you get rejected, it will only hurt more. But you do it anyway because it's college, you know?

Then the day came - I got into Idaho! I was so happy because this is the college I really wanted to go to!! But everyone else telling me how awesome it would be to go to Provo got me thinking that maybe I wanted to go there...until I got rejected. I cried for hours! People brought me ice cream and cards. Why was I so upset if I didn't even want to go to that school? Because rejection is probably the general public's worst fear. I lied before, getting rejected in any way, shape, or form when it's such a major stepping stone in your life is one of the worst feelings.

Eventually, the sting of rejection became less so. I realized how lucky I was to be going to college anywhere, especially BYU-Idaho. People pitied me, saying how awesome it was that I was "at least" going to BYU-Idaho. But I didn't pity myself, I was excited. If I had gotten into Provo, I would have most likely decided on going there. I always knew that I would end up in Idaho and getting rejected from Provo was just the world's way of making sure I didn't get caught up in something and make a decision that I would regret later.

That's the thing about my story though. Sure, I applied to BYU Provo, got rejected, and ended up going to BYU-Idaho. That's one of the cliches people believe about BYU-Idaho, that's it is just BYU Provo's rejection pool. But it is the furthest thing from it. I actually know a lot of people that did not even apply to Provo because they knew they wanted to go to Idaho.

 I am actually grateful that I ended up applying to (and then getting rejected from) BYU Provo. I never have to wonder, "Would I have gotten in there if I had applied?" because now I know. I know that I'm meant to go to BYU-Idaho. I'm proud! That school is AMAZING. The campus emanates such a feeling of fun, love, and peace. That school is where I discovered my true passion. It has helped me make so many memories already with so many amazing people and I'm not even halfway done.

So if you ever hear someone talking about how BYU-Idaho is just where people who got rejected from BYU Provo go, tell them they are mistaken. Sure, we won't deny that those people exist. But they come to Idaho and fall in love with the school and then are so happy they are there, it doesn't matter! BYU-IDAHO RULES. Aw yeah.


***Also, here's a shameless plug of a video I made...but don't fret, it goes along with the theme of the blog***

check out "Stuff BYU-I Students Say" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tge00i_CKP8