Ever wonder what it would have been like if you hadn’t wound up at RWC? Or wish you could have gotten into your number one choice college? Those questions are flipped in the case of transfer student Sophomore Ali Nicholas. Ali specifically chose to start classes at RWC, despite being accepted into her dream college, the University of Kentucky.
Most students would have done anything to receive that acceptance letter, but not Ali. After attending UK for her freshman year, she transfered and began college at RWC this fall quarter.
No offense to RWC; it’s just, why in the world would anyone trade his or her number one school to attend our little Blue Ash campus?
In Ali’s eyes, RWC is a lot more thrilling then her life in Kentucky. “I chose RWC because it is so close to home,” she said. “I’m saving so much money by going here also. It’s very inexpensive compared to the University of Kentucky’s rates.”
She even prefers RWC to UC’s Uptown campus. “I wanted to live at home this year,” she said, “plus commuting to Clifton on a daily basis would be a hassle in terms of parking and a further drive.”
She’s confident that this place suits her, due to the small class sizes and groups of familiar faces. “The small class sizes offer a close interaction with the professors,” she continued. “I love that. Plus I know a lot more people here. I’ve seen a lot of old friends from high school. That’s always nice.”
Her main reason for straying from the Wildcats to the Bearcats was the campus environment, “People are friendlier at RWC and more open to conversation,” she declared. “At UK if you don’t have a letter on, you can forget about being spoken to.”
She also believes that the Greek life is the biggest difference between the colleges and that switching let her experience something different.
“Change is good,” Ali said with conviction. “Experience is good.” After this year Ali plans on switching to the Uptown campus to receive her bachelor’s degree in Psychology.
“For my masters I’m considering exchanging back to UK,” she explained. “I mean, by the time students reach the age of 23, hopefully they will be less judgmental, making the campus less critical of an environment.”
Hopefully, Ali’s thesis will be proven correct.