My Experience being an out-of-state student

When applying to colleges, I knew that I wanted to leave my home state of Maryland. However, when the time came to actually commit to a college, I was super nervous and conflicted about leaving the comforts of my hometown to go to a school across the country where I did not know a single person.

The perks of being an out of state student:

1. Exploring the Bay Area: Before coming to UC Berkeley, I had only been to California one time when my family and I attended college campus tours. The coolest part about going to college in a place where I did not know the surroundings has been my ability to explore the area. Some of my fondest memories from college have been exploring San Francisco with my friends. I have had the opportunity to visit the typical touristy spots in San Francisco, but also, since some friends are from the area, they’ve been able to be my tour guide and help us find some niche spots to see.
2. Making new friends: A cool thing about moving to a state across the country is meeting a bunch of new, different people. At Berkeley, I had the opportunity to become friends with people from California, from other states in the US, and international students. At first, I was nervous about being able to fit in and finding friends in a place where I did not know a single person. Through living in the dorms my freshman year, I made friends with people on my floor who I am still friends close with four years later.
3. Growing as a person: Going to college far away from home pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was completely independent for the first time and this was my first time away from home for an extended period of time. I believe that this experience has helped me grow because I was responsible for every choice that I made.

The downsides of being an out of state student:

1. Homesickness: If you go to a college that is not near your home, and even if you go to a school nearby your home, homesickness is a real experience that many college students go through. The difference is that you don’t have the luxury of easily going home for a weekend. For me, I really only went home over winter break and summer break, because Thanksgiving and Spring Break are too short to spend hours on a flight. This means that you are away from your family, hometown friends, and pets for 4-5 months at a time. Not having the ability to easily go home was difficult when you see your California friends taking weekend trips home.
2. Other students have friends from high school: In addition to homesickness, this aspect can also cause loneliness. Since many students know people at Berkeley from their high school or rival high schools, they have something in common. These students are able to relate to one another on a deeper level. For me, I met a friend named Luke at Berkeley, who actually is from Maryland also. This connection is really special because we are able to connect about things from our hometown that others would not be able to understand.
3. Everyone assumes you’re from California: When you meet new people, everyone will just assume that you’re from the state the college is in. Even when you clarify that you are from out-of-state, nobody knows your city name, unless you’re from a major city. So when I am introducing myself in class or when meeting new people, I usually say that I am from Baltimore, Maryland, because people would know where that is. Another difficulty is that students will talk about random places or high schools in California, and you’re just left out of the loop because you didn’t grow up there.

RACHEL

Rachel is the founder of Study Hall College Consulting. Rachel graduated from UC Berkeley in the Class of 2020 where she double majored in Cognitive Science and Legal Studies. For more college application and essay tips, check out our Study Hall College Consulting website at: shcollegeconsulting.com.