By Madison Bishop ’10,
Features Editor

Many students experience some anxiety over their future college’s reputation. Some even hesitate to name their school because they don’t want to be judged by their choice.

“I’m not ashamed or anything,” says Laura Gardner, who will be leaving for one of University of North Carolina’s branch schools, “but I feel like people might think ‘she’s not as good of a student because she’s not going to live on the main campus.’”

Though most don’t care to admit it, the college a student actually attends almost always comes down to price.

Charlotte Dietz says she once thought, “‘Why does everyone at Mariemont go to the same schools?’”

“I thought I was going to branch out,” Dietz explains, “until I started looking and realized, ‘oh, price.’”

With ideal colleges seemingly out of reach, students report feeling as if they’ve “settled” for the nice schools with less-than-perfect statuses. While the schools with more “glittering” reputations tend to demand more out of your savings account, those local enough to have developed a mildly shaky name to nearby residents become the only options for students.

The Ohio State University

Despite the widespread belief that “you get lost in all the people” at OSU, Claudia Carrelli, attending OSU in the fall, believes she made the right choice even with its huge student population—a major change from tiny Mariemont. In fact, OSU was only recently over taken by Arizona State University as the largest in the US by enrollment, ending its three year reign, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

“I’ll find my group,” she says, “I mean, there’s such huge diversity– I love it.”           

University of Cincinnati

“People think anyone can get accepted to UC,” Maria Carrelli, future UC student says with a laugh.

“People think it’s for slackers.”

Whether such beliefs are true, this simple high school journalist can’t say. However, the fact that Mariemont students have been rejected by UC in the past, as indicated by school records on PrepHQ, suggest this rumor is just that.

Regardless, Maria Carrelli decided to go to UC largely “because of the diversity and the music school.”

Indiana University

Soon-to-be IU freshman, Laura Martin says that IU is known for being “filled with Indiana farm kids.” Even so, she enjoys the pretty campus that she says seems to be sitting “in the middle of nowhere” and she appreciates the “good business school,” which she plans to take full advantage of as her potential major.

Miami University

After returning from her planned wild safari in Africa, Charlotte Dietz expects to return to the quiet town of Oxford where she will attend Miami. Though many see Miami as “preppy” and oddly reminiscent of Mariemont, Dietz notes that there are “exceptions to every rule.”

“Besides, the Education program is good,” Dietz says, indicating once again that unfounded rumors and reputations can’t be outdone by the value each student finds in a school.