Through the experience of applying to college, I have discovered that I care a lot about what other people think. My entire family went to Mizzou and for a long time I was excited to carry on the tradition. But as I got older I started to hear things about Mizzou that made me feel less proud of the school.

“It’s just going to be high school all over again.”

“I guess I’ll just go to Mizzou because I don’t really care where I end up.”

“I’d rather go to any other state school than Mizzou.”

To some people college is just a step they have to take to get to the next part of their life. To others, it’s a choice that they believe will change their entire future. Sometimes when we as seniors discuss college decisions with each other we forget the weight of the decision. It’s true that for some people their state school is their fallback, it’s a guarantee for an education. But for most, their state school is their dream, or their best option. When we walk through the halls and claim that Mizzou is just a fallback or an option for seniors who are just going to college because they think they need to, we don’t realize how these words can hurt someone who wants to go to Mizzou.

Over the years I have jumped at the opportunity to look down on Mizzou. I took the words of my peers and I made them my own because at the end of the day I’m a teenage girl who wants to impress the people around me. In my mind, going to another state school was more impressive than going to my own state school. Now that I have committed to Mizzou and decided that I am happy with that choice, I am realizing how stupid my logic was.

Some state schools are objectively “better” than others, but when you make your college decision based on just “I don’t want to stay in my state” instead of “I am looking to study something that my in-state school doesn’t offer” that’s just immature. But I get it. I once fully believed that I was destined to be out of state and I was very resistant to the idea of staying in Missouri. I understand the feeling of believing you belong somewhere else. But, putting a school down simply because it doesn’t align with your beliefs of what you feel is best for you, is wrong.

According to showme.missouri.edu, “Among public national universities, MU ranked No. 12 as a best value and No. 1 among public national universities in neighboring states.” Just because Mizzou is in Missouri, does not mean that it’s just a fallback school. To every other state in the country, Mizzou is a respected state school. For many seniors at our school, Mizzou is the most financially responsible choice with regard to college decisions. To some who may be first in their families to go to college, Mizzou is a huge accomplishment and honor. Our privilege as Central students blinds us from seeing the remarkable opportunity of receiving an affordable education from a highly respected state school. I am not here to preach that everyone should go to Mizzou. I am just writing this to remind our senior class that Mizzou is not just a fallback for every student, for most people it’s their only opportunity to further their education.

Walking out of college as a 22 year-old with no debt is worth the cost of possibly running into someone you knew from high school, or living in a college town in Missouri. It’s silly to connect a person’s ability to succeed and their level of intelligence to their college decision. I’m attending Mizzou next fall. How does my choice to stay in state diminish my ability to reach my full potential? Why do we assume that affordable education is a fallback, rather than an incredible opportunity?

A lot of the time when seniors discuss college decisions, a lot of assumptions come into play. Senior Natalie Schaefer has dealt with this herself.

“I have taken a good amount of AP classes and put a good amount of effort into my school work the past few years, so many of my classmates assumed I was going to a more competitive out-of-state school,” Schaefer said. It can be difficult overcoming social pressures, but when it comes to a decision as important as college, Schaefer has found a way to move past any judgments surrounding her choice of Mizzou.

“I don’t think I really cared about others’ opinions when choosing my college because everyone chooses the college best for them. Personally, Mizzou works best for me, and so I’m pretty excited,” Schaefer said.

There are many reasons students fight against going to Mizzou. Makayla Morton, a junior at Mizzou, knows a little bit about the stigma high school seniors spread around.

“I wish high school seniors knew that Mizzou is a really big school, so the fear of seeing everyone you know from high school at college is unrealistic,” said Morton. A lot of people fear that college will be like a ‘second high school experience,’ but this idea is entirely dependent on each individual’s attitude.

“I also hope that they know that college is special regardless of where they go. It is a time to become fully independent, have more control over your day-to-day life, and study something you are interested in,” Morton said. There is more to the college experience than just the college itself. Some students have completely valid reasons for not considering Mizzou, like senior Zoe Snitzer.

“A big thing for me is that Mizzou doesn’t offer the degree that I am pursuing so that’s obviously a big factor,” Snitzer said. Sometimes an in-state school doesn’t offer exactly what a student needs to succeed. But Snitzer’s reasons for going out of state are very different from those of a student who claims they just don’t want to run into someone they know from high school, or they simply hate Missouri.

“I think the biggest misconception surrounding Mizzou, at least for people during my high school experience in St. Louis, is that it is not impressive or couldn’t be someone’s “first choice”, simply because it is located in-state, only 2 hours away,” Morton said. It’s important to remember that just because someone is staying in the state they grew up in, this does not mean that they are not reaching their greatest potential. Many students see Mizzou as a backup, but to some, like senior Zach Zuber, it’s a great opportunity.

“I applied to Mizzou because it was a lot cheaper than out-of-state colleges, it’s also a great size and has great facilities,” Zuber said. Mizzou’s ability to offer students scholarships was a big factor in Zuber’s decision to attend the school. The opportunities that Mizzou offers for students should not be diminished based on its location. People also often forget that Mizzou is in a pretty great college town.

“I love downtown Columbia, which is small enough to feel homey but big enough to have many new places to discover,” Morton said, “Advice I’d give to future Mizzou students is to explore Columbia as much as you can, taking advantage of all of the cool parks, shops, and restaurants surrounding Mizzou’s campus.” Overall, college is a unique experience despite where one chooses to go. Like any other part of life, it’s what you make it.

“Just because you are closer to home than someone who is going to college in a faraway city does not mean you won’t have as great an experience as they might have,” Morton said.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that college is the most important decision of your life. Right now, as high school seniors, it kind of is. But there is value in remembering that college is four years of a lifetime. Where you go to school will only truly change your life if you let it. Mizzou is a great school and it provides students from all social classes and backgrounds with opportunities for affordable education. The grass is not always greener across state lines. But regardless of where you go, you have accomplished something amazing. This story is not for the purpose of encouraging people to go to Mizzou, or to make people feel bad for choosing an out-of-state school. This story’s purpose is to remind those of you going to Mizzou that just because your choice was someone else’s back up, doesn’t mean that you didn’t make the right choice for yourself. The quality of your college experience is entirely what you make it to be, whether you’re going to Harvard, Mizzou or Bobo’s Clown College.