cafe-aulait wrote: I chose Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University for several different reasons. I NEVER thought I would attend an HBCU, but here I am... and I love it. I applied to 15 different schools, and three were HBCUs (Xavier, Spelman, and FAMU). The other twelve.... well we are not going to list all of those, but Univ. of Iowa, Univ. of Illinois, Michigan State, and Univ. of Maryland-College Park were my TOP choices.
I planned to go to U of Maryland since my junior year. I drove down there and everything, BUT unfortunately I was not awarded any type of scholarship. Univ. of Iowa gave me a scholarship and Michigan State, but not enough to make my decision for me.
In March 2004, I was getting nervous, because I had not chosen which college I would attend in the fall. One day, I received a letter from FAMU (a school I hadn't even applied to) offering me a full-ride. My mother's coworker had a dream about me receiving a scholarship the week before! So my mother was convinced that this was a blessing sent from God. My cousin graduated from FAMU in 2003, so I knew quite a bit about FAMU prior to receiving the letter.
I had not visited the campus, though. In April 2004, my mother and I drove from Nashville (we flew there) to Tallahassee, Florida. We did not know what to expect. My mother didn't really want me to go to an HBCU, she was hooked on Univ. of Iowa. When we drove into Tally-Ho I was stunned by the lack of a "real" downtown, the dirt roads, as well as the "country" feel. I was thinking, "This isn't anything like Orlando..." I tried to make myself like the city, the campus, the dorms, the library... everything... All because I received the scholarship, BUT my mother wasn't impressed. It definitely was a culture shock.
Well let's speed things up. August 2004, I arrive in Tally-Ho to begin the fall semester, and during the first week I met SOOO many cool, interesting, and DOWN-TO-EARTH people. Everyone at FAMU, though it is a rather large school, is friendly. We are all family. Once I realized this, I felt that the scholarship I received really was a blessing from God. He really wanted me to be here. Even though I couldn't see myself on FAMU's campus when I visited in March, it didn't matter because God placed me on FAMU's campus for a reason.
I LOVE MY SCHOOL. Yea I really had to do a lot of adjusting to cultural differences during my first semester, but it was all worth the struggle. Being so far from home, has really made me grow as a person. I am in the 5-year MBA program, and I am confident that my business school will prepare me for the corporate world. What I loves most about FAMU is the FAMILY VIBE we have going on, and I probably would find that at Univ. of Iowa or Univ. of Maryland. Some of the COOLEST people attend FAMU. And rarely will you meet anyone who thinks their sh*t doesn't stink. I love Florida, and the weather..lol
Moral of this story, everything that looks great on the outside to you... Is not for you. Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find what God has for you, because ultimately, he is going to put you where he wants you to be!
I know that was way too long. :???:
You never told me that story Brett....
anywho...I had every intention of going out of state for my schooling. But when my mom started attending Mercer University(it ain't cheap), I was limited to which schools I could go to. So I knew that I pretty much had to stay in state so that I could recieve the HOPE Scholarship. Well, I applied to Fort Valley, Albany State, West Ga., and Savannah State.
I toured FVSU and it just wasn't my fit, and I didn't want to attend West Ga, so that limited me to Albany State and Savannah State....FAST FOWARD...
I chose SSU because of the Southern Hospitality, the friendliness of the faculty, staff, and students. And because I got on my knees and prayed that God would send me in the right direction. Most of the buildings are new on campus, and there's a family atomosphere on the campus also. Plus it's 4 hours away from home, so if something were to happen to my family, I know I could be back home.