A lot of times people ask me, "So why Webster?" or "What's your favorite thing about Webster?"
To be honest, there's not just one thing that turned me on to Webster. For me, it was the composite, the "Big Picture," if you will...everything just seemed to fit me just right.
I originally was looking at schools in the Chicago, LA, and New York areas (I thought I wanted to 1) get away from St. Louis, and 2) go to a big city...but I applied to Webster anyway because it was close (an hr away) and had an audio production program (not very common in the midwest.)
Well, within a week of applying, my admissions counselor emailed me back congratulating me on being accepted, told me that I already was awarded a $15,000 scholarship based solely on my high school grades and ACT score and that I was eligible for other scholarships that I should apply for...plus financial aid!
For me, money was a bigger part of deciding where I was going to college than I wanted to admit, and Webster was already essentially lowering it's price for me below what most state charge. So upon finding out that my other choices in the big cities were not going to be so generous, I decided on Webster.
And it's been probably the best major decision I've made in my life, right up there with choosing to pick up the guitar!
I can't imagine myself anywhere else. I thought I wanted a big school in a big city with artsy and intellectual people discussing metaphysics and music in coffee shops downtown. Instead I discuss metaphysics, religion, music, art, daily life, and everything else with other like-minded students in coffee shops in or around St. Louis.
Who'd-a-thunk that the city I grew up in had so much more to offer!!??
Like I said, I had planned on going to a big school, but turns out this lil school of less than 3,000 undergrads ended up being my ideal college. I have friends that go to big state universities and they tell me how they can go a whole week without seeing the same person twice, or if they do, they don't realize it. At Webster, it's super-easy to make new friends, because you'll have more than one opportunity at meeting them (especially if you get into your lil schedule to and from classes and you pass the same girl every day and you kind of make eye contact and make small, cordial smiles, but you're both too shy to say anything until finally a month or two later you muster up the courage to say hi and you find out her name and you go get lunch in Marletto's and it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship....uh...anyway....) The point is, people are really friendly at Webster and I feel like it's harder to make people feel excluded than included because of the tight sense of community that you get from a smaller/mid-size school.
Another endearing part of Webster is the small class sizes. I love the fact that my professor's all know me by name and most invite me to call them by their first name. This sets the tone for a casual, yet respectful relationship where I'm not afraid to ask for advice, and often times even after the class ends he or she is still more than willing to answer questions!
I know in the Audio department, the professors are on an emailing list that goes out to whoever signs up for the Audio Engineering Society, so it's suuuuper-easy to get advice on anything audio anytime. This is especially helpful when I'm in the studio late at night and I can't figure out why module 32 of the console isn't producing any sound!!!--Which is another great thing about Webster...the resources! Computer labs all over, most with printers...that are FREE to use! I pride myself in knowing where all the good printer locations are for when the main station is full. ;) Plus the Audio studios are available to check out at all hours, so I can work on projects (school-related and curiosity/experimenting-based) whenever is most convenient for me!
There's almost too much that I like about Webster to talk about (it probably would've been easier to say what I don't like lol) But I think the icing on the cake is campus life--actually living on campus. I've lived on campus for 2 years, going on 3, and I wouldn't take it back! I love the fact that the campus is small enough to where I can wake up in my dorm room literally 5 minutes before class and get there on time!!!!!! Sleep is sacred to me, and every last minute is coveted!
Working on campus pretty much seals the deal. Not only can I eat, go to my classes and sleep on campus, I can get a super-tight job that pays more than my minimum wage job back in Warrenton! So I don't have to leave campus for anything I don't want to! I'm free to sleep in as close to work as I do for class, and then in my free time I can either chill on campus or go down to the loop for some coffee or music, or downtown to the riverfront, or forest park, the zoo, the art museum, the botanical gardens....the list goes on!!!