Calling all juniors and seniors: our teachers went to college, too

What made you choose Emory? I had no intention of going there. I was going to stay in state because that was the financially smart choice. … And [the college counselors] said, ‘You should apply to some of these other schools just in case. You’ll never know what you’ll want.’ ... So I applied to Emory, and then I got in, and then I went to go visit, and … it was beautiful, so I went. ...

What made you choose Duke? They have really good academics, but people also balance having fun and actually doing their work, so I thought that was [the best] option because I'm not super extroverted, but I also don't want to sit and just do work 24/7. It's college, so you want to have fun. What was your most valuable experience there?  The most fun that I've ever had … was tenting. [The] bas...

What made you choose Virginia Tech? Virginia Tech was actually not my first choice or even in my top schools at all. I went there because it made the most sense financially, and I remember thinking, ‘oh my gosh, I’m going to transfer after a semester. This is not going to be the place for me.’ … Then I went to orientation, and I picked my classes, and I fell in love, and I was … obsessed...

What made you choose Georgetown (undergrad)/Harvard (law school)? My first choice actually was Harvard, and I applied early there, and I didn't get in… so then I applied to a bunch of other schools, and I liked Georgetown because it was in D.C., and I just felt comfortable there. So I decided to go there so that I could intern doing government stuff, also, while I was there, which I did. … Fo...

What made you choose Davidson? I applied Early Decision. Part of it really was the size. Back in my day, we really didn’t tour as many colleges as y’all do now … So I’d never heard of Davidson, but my dad had a cousin … in Virginia, and she just threw out some ideas to my dad … so we looked at Davidson and [University of] Georgia in the same weekend, and Georgia was absolutely gigantic an...

What made you choose Princeton? It's a decent school. I didn’t get into many schools, so that was one of the options. Princeton gave me the most money. My big sister had also gone to Princeton. What was your most valuable experience there?  I discovered that the world is beautiful and you’re supposed to seek out truth, beauty and knowledge, but sometimes it’s hard, like in the clas...

What made you choose UTK? I don’t really have any good specific reason. Back in my day, I didn’t have a lot of help. It was always expected I would go to college, but my parents were not involved in my school at all. … And there were no college counselors. I grew up in California and Ohio, and then I moved to Tennessee when I was in high school, … so that’s how I ended up in the state, ...

What made you choose Sewanee? I have the benefit of having two older brothers who had gone through the whole experience of touring colleges. The other thing that I had was my father, and one whole side of my family all went to [The University of North Carolina at] Chapel Hill, and there was always this expectation and hope: “You're a Lyon. You're going to go to Chapel Hill.” … I whittled i...

What made you choose Tulane? I applied to very few universities and [Tulane] was the one that I was most interested in…. It was close enough [to home] and far enough at the same time. And New Orleans is a different world, so it was fun to explore that. What was your most valuable experience there?  At St. Mary’s, for better or for worse, you're always with the same people, and then in c...

What made you choose UofM? It was just because I didn't have much money, basically. And my grades weren't very good either, so I didn't have many options, and I would be paying for it myself with some help from my parents, so I just chose [University of] Memphis. A lot of friends went there, too.  What was your most valuable experience there?  I came from a small Catholic school in Whitehaven. It’s ...