Summary

Ashley Broadwater reflects on her gratitude for attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) instead of her first choice, Clemson University, due to financial constraints and the unexpected enriching experiences UNC-CH provided.

Abstract

Despite her initial dream of attending Clemson University, Ashley Broadwater found herself at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) after considering the financial implications of out-of-state tuition. Although initially disappointed, she discovered that UNC-CH offered her unique opportunities that aligned with her evolving interests in social media, graphic design, writing, and advocacy. Broadwater's involvement in the Media and Journalism School, particularly its highly regarded public relations program, and her participation in Embody Carolina, an organization dedicated to eating disorder and mental health advocacy, played pivotal roles in her personal and academic growth. The connections she made, the education she received, and the experiences she had, such as celebrating UNC-CH's basketball championship, led her to feel profound gratitude for the path she took, recognizing UNC-CH as a place where she found a supportive community and a sense of belonging.

Opinions

The author had a strong familial connection to Clemson University but chose UNC-CH due to financial aid and in-state tuition advantages.
UNC-CH's academic offerings, particularly in public relations, were a perfect match for the author's interests and career aspirations.
The author values the unique opportunities and the solid reputation for success that UNC-CH provided.
The author expresses deep appreciation for the friendships and support system she developed at UNC-CH, suggesting that these relationships were particularly meaningful and supportive.
The author believes that the experiences and education gained at UNC-CH were superior to what she would have encountered at her first-choice college.
The author's involvement with Embody Carolina was a highlight of her college experience, shaping her understanding of intersectionality and fatphobia within eating disorder advocacy.
The author cherishes the memories of celebrating UNC-CH's basketball championship with friends, indicating that such shared experiences contributed significantly to her positive view of her college choice.

Attending Your Second Choice College | Illumination | Personal Photo Essay

I’m So Thankful I Didn’t Go to My First Choice College

My second choice college had many unique opportunities and a solid reputation for success.

Despite my living in North Carolina and a lot of my family’s love for UNC-Chapel Hill, I was born and bred a Clemson fan.

Clemson University is where my parents met and it’s where some of my other family members went as well. I grew up loving Clemson, wearing its t-shirts and even a cheerleading costume my dad got when I was a kid.

When I toured colleges, I fell in love with Clemson. It just felt right to me. I loved the campus, the fact my parents had gone there and the funny student tour guide, who said “Please ask me questions; I ask for questions for Christmas.”

Photo co-owned by Ashley Broadwater (author)

But Clemson is in South Carolina, so I would’ve had to pay out-of-state tuition. I could’ve gotten in-state tuition, but my test scores weren’t high enough.

Ultimately, with Clemson costing over $37,000 a year for tuition alone, it just wasn’t going to happen for me, even though I got accepted and even though I joked about selling my organs for tuition money.

My second choice was a bit of a toss up between UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Wilmington. I ended up getting a good bit of financial aid at UNC-CH, so between that, the school spirit, the well-roundedness and its positive reputation, UNC-CH was the school my parents and I agreed upon. It wasn’t Clemson, but I still felt excited to go and wear that beautiful Carolina blue.

Photo owned by Ashley Broadwater (author)

I was able to find some suitemates on Facebook but struggled to find a roommate. However, I’ve always loved the random roommate I had, Jenny. We lived well together and we enjoyed going to Zumba classes together given that we’re both dancers.

I entered UNC-CH as a psychology major and planned on eventually becoming a psychologist. But as I joined organizations I loved and helped out with, I realized how much I enjoy social media, graphic design, writing and advocacy, which lend themselves well to public relations.

And as luck would have it, public relations was a specialization in the Media and Journalism School at UNC-CH. Not only that, but UNC’s “MEJO” school, now called the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, is in the top 10 journalism schools in the nation and top journalism school in North Carolina.

UNC-CH suddenly fit me perfectly academically, but it also fit me extra curricular-wise as well.

One of my main passions is eating disorder, body positivity and mental health advocacy. My first semester, one of my suitemates mentioned Embody Carolina, an organization that focused specifically on those topics. From my first meeting, I loved this organization and learned a lot about intersectionality and fatphobia. I served as a co-secretary, then event coordinator, then co-chair from spring semester my sophomore year until graduation. Embody was basically my life.

And get this: Embody is the only college organization of its kind in the nation, in which students and professionals from the National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders lead trainings that help others become compassionate and effective allies to people struggling with eating disorders.

In addition to extracurriculars, I gained a lot of amazing friends in college through mutual friends and organizations I joined. I had a lot of meaningful moments in my campus ministries, student government and more.

While I’m sure I would’ve made good friends at Clemson, I have a feeling I wouldn’t have made friends as supportive, accepting and loving as the ones I made at UNC-CH. I made friends who constantly amaze me with their compassion and humor, whom I know I’ll be close with for the rest of my life.

What’s even better is the fact I got to experience UNC-CH’s national championship win in basketball against Gonzaga my first year there with those friends. We rushed Franklin Street after, which would be one of many times.

While I definitely experienced hardships at UNC-CH, and while it’s not perfect in many ways, I’m deeply grateful that I had the opportunity to go there, family who supported me financially and friends who supported me emotionally. I’m grateful for the solid education I received and the fun I had along the way. I’m thankful that even though I don’t live there anymore, I sttill get to call Chapel Hill my home and call myself a Tar Heel.