I had already committed to the school I visited before going on an overnight, so when it came time for the official revisit day in April, I was hoping for a great night to reassure me of my decision. My parents dropped me off with my duffel bag and left me to attend what I assumed was an accepted student’s dinner. It was, except that every accepted student also had their parents with them. I immediately wished I hadn’t been so excited to get rid of my mom and dad because I was stuck at a table with the only other person who was not accompanied by his family.

Throughout the course of the three-hour event, we managed to speak around fifteen words to each other. We sat in awkward silence, I have never experienced anything like this. Right as the dinner was coming to a close, a girl came and sat down next to me and introduced herself as my captain for next year. I think she noticed how uncomfortable I was and told me that the real fun would start after dinner. On the schedule, it said games and an ice cream social followed by dinner, so I still had my reservations about how fun my night was going to be.

Once dinner ended, my host came to get me. It was another girl on my team, and we had things to talk about, so it seemed like the night was heading in a positive direction. She informed me that we would not be playing games and eating ice cream, but instead, I could experience a real night out at college. I was excited, but the only other clothes in my duffel bag were pajamas, a sweatshirt, and sweatpants. 

When we were getting ready to go out, and she saw my outfit choices, she insisted I could borrow whatever I wanted. I felt terrible taking clothes from someone I just met, and since it was a Thursday night, I figured most people would be studying, so we’d just be meeting up with a few of her friends. As we headed for what I thought would be a small, dorm room get-together, I was in a sweatsuit, and my host was wearing quite the opposite. As it turns out, there are no Friday classes at the school I was visiting.

The “dorm room get-together” was a big party in one of the fraternities. Instantly I regretted not borrowing clothes, but it was too late to turn back. Once we got there, my host started introducing me to her friends and other people on the team. I managed to speak more than 15 words to everyone I met, so it was going well until one girl accidentally dropped an entire drink on my head. Considering I had my interview with Admissions the next morning, and I was told that I wasn’t supposed to be drinking, I was sober, but this was wildly uncomfortable for me. My hair and sweatsuit were covered in some red, sticky substance, and on that note, I was ready to take a shower and go to bed. 

I looked for my host to bring me back, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. This was only my second time on campus, and despite being sober as a gopher, I got lost trying to navigate where her dorm was. After wandering around a very dark campus, I luckily ran into another girl on the team I had met earlier, and she brought me back to the room. I went to bed that night feeling very unsure about how I would like the school, and if I made the right choice.

Fast forward to the end of my freshman year, and I could not be happier with my decision to choose this school. My host ended up being one of my best friends, and I now regularly raid her wardrobe to borrow clothes. 

I still adamantly where sweatsuits around campus, but unfortunately, I was never able to get the red stain off the t-shirt I wore that night. 

And when I had a recruit stay with me this year, I also lost her for a good portion of the evening, so she will probably end up telling a story very similar to mine.

* Originally published on August 17, 2016, by LRT Staff