{"id":35966,"date":"2023-03-22T15:04:44","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/?p=35966"},"modified":"2023-03-22T15:04:44","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T20:04:44","slug":"imsa-as-a-downstater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/2023\/03\/22\/imsa-as-a-downstater\/","title":{"rendered":"IMSA as a Downstater"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember thinking, when I first heard of IMSA, that the school was a skyscraper right smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago. My friend would tell me about her older brother who went to IMSA, and naturally, I envisioned him as living in some sleek new construction, right next to Willis Tower. It was a STEM school, so it would obviously be uber-modern, all bright lights and sharp angles and glossy, white walls. Most importantly, though, it would have plenty of windows and absolutely no geese.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have since learned that IMSA has an abundance of geese and no windows and is far more like a bunker than a skyscraper. It\u2019s got sweeping views of warehouses, subdivisions, and even a soybean field for when you miss the good ol\u2019 south. But, I guess No Pond can be kind of scenic if you catch it at sunset, and those shipping crates behind the tennis courts are as much of an Instagram hotspot as the Bean could ever be\u2026 Maybe that\u2019s a stretch. But, either way, we all live and hope to graduate from here, and you have to admit that it is kind of a cool place. It\u2019s definitely given us more than a little. That\u2019s not to say, though, that it\u2019s without cons more substantial than its potential to be the launching pad of the goose apocalypse. So, in honor of mental health month,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it\u2019s worth putting together a list of IMSA\u2019s goods and bads, as well as a few necessities to survive the place, from a downstater perspective:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Good:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Academics. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The obvious one, and for a lot of us, the one that brought us to IMSA in the first place. I\u2019ve heard that there are some suburban\/CPS schools with classes\u2014and resources, in general\u2014on par with IMSA, but downstate, that\u2019s often not the case.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Level. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Take math, for instance: My home school offered AP Calc, but if you got past that, you\u2019d either be taking statistics or spending more than one class period commuting to the local university for post-calc classes.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Variety. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then, there\u2019s variety, even in non-STEM subjects. At my home school, you could take English or Honors English. Forget Travel Writing or Victorian Fiction. If you like something niche, you\u2019ve got a much better shot at being able to explore it at IMSA.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Intensity. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good and bad, on this one. Of the classes I\u2019ve taken, it stands out the most in math: at my home school, if you were intentional about your memorization, you could ace all your tests, but here there\u2019s a lot more application, love it or hate it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Extracurriculars. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I\u2019m not even sure how many clubs IMSA has, not to mention co-curriculars and sports. You have your standard French Club and basketball team, which you\u2019d probably find at most downstate high schools. What\u2019s more, though, there are niche activities like Crocheting Club or Puzzle Club, advocacy groups like L&amp;D Matter and Amnesty International, and student government positions that involve a good deal of work, rather than strictly being popularity contests. As far as sports go, it\u2019s pretty cool that we actually have a pool on campus\u2014and better yet, no football team! Undefeated for 30 years and counting.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Research &amp; Internships. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you can think of it, you can probably find an SIR mentor to help you research it, be it particle physics or comparative competitivology. If you\u2019d like more of an intro-to-employment type deal, internships are also an option. Either way, if you\u2019re interested in something, you can explore it more outside of class, and it\u2019ll go right on your transcript, so you won\u2019t have to bend over backwards in your college essays trying to convince the nameless, faceless, all-powerful weigh-er of your fate for the next four years that what you did is legit.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Independence. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">No more <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mom, can you come pick me up? Practice got out early. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On campus, you can get to and from your own extracurriculars, no driver\u2019s license required. Plus, you sleep a few minutes\u2019 walk away from all of your classes, so there will be no 45-minute commute in the morning\u2014setting an alarm for 7:50 for an 8:00 am class is definitely possible if not advisable! You can also go on walking and bus trips and have free reign over a decently large outdoor area. That said, the price for all of this is steep: you\u2019re also expected to make your own bed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>People. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You had to fill out an application more demanding than most college apps to get here. To have stuck it out through all that, you must want to be at IMSA on some level, even if you grouse about it. You also have initiative, and you know that you want to go somewhere after IMSA, whether you can put your finger on that somewhere or not. Little Egypt or Lake County, most high schools don\u2019t have the same sense of intentionality.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Culture. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you\u2019re any sort of minority (a person of color, LGBTQ+, of a less commonly practiced faith, etc.), you\u2019ll probably find a lot more people like you at IMSA than you would at your southern home school. I\u2019ve never been anywhere as diverse as IMSA, and with that diversity comes a level of acceptance, or at least tolerance, that you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find downstate.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bad:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Getting Sick. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Best not to get sick if you\u2019re a downstater. Your parents may be three, five, or even seven hours away, but they\u2019ll still need to come get you if you come down with anything much more than a cold. Chances are your parents work, not to mention the cost of driving to Aurora and back, possibly with a night at a hotel along the way. Make friends with your immune system. Dealing with sickness is inconvenient at best.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>APs. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you want to take an AP that\u2019s not very popular at IMSA, you\u2019re going to have to find another school to provide it for you. If you live nearby, that\u2019s probably not too much of a problem; you can just talk to your home school. As a downstater, too, you can ask suburban schools if they\u2019ll let you take the test, but chances are, they\u2019ll all say no. Then, you\u2019ll be stuck either not taking your tests or spending up to two weeks at home, Zooming into classes, because your home school is the only place willing to administer your tests.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Weekends. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s eight degrees and blizzard-ing outside. Campus is deserted\u2014even the geese have flown somewhere warmer\u2014and you\u2019re not supposed to leave your hall because of the weather. Being one of the few people left in the dorms sucks, majorly.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Food. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you\u2019re a picky eater, have dietary restrictions, or both, IMSA food isn\u2019t always the best. You\u2019ll see all your friends come back every Sunday evening with their week\u2019s worth of home-cooked meals, and that won\u2019t help.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Far Away &amp; Stuck. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You live three, five, seven hours away from home. Unless you know people up here, you don\u2019t see your family or friends very much. There are probably friends you don\u2019t see at all anymore, and you say you\u2019ll text them tomorrow, but you never do. If you\u2019re lucky, you might be able to convince a friend to come up for a dance, or beg your parents to come get you after your last final instead of making you stay on campus another three days to wait for the downstate bus. If you\u2019re unsuccessful, though, you will become acutely aware of your stuckness: You can leave campus for a walking trip, or maybe to go to Woodman\u2019s or Starbucks, but otherwise, you\u2019re trapped. A few laps around Access might help, but you can only do so many before it gets repetitive.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Competition. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Where are you applying REA? No, don\u2019t tell me, I don\u2019t want to know, we might be applying to the same place. Oh, wait, you\u2019re applying to X? Y and Z are applying there ED! And they both have 1610s on the SAT, and were selected as National Merit Mega-Finalists, and Z is the only person in the history of AP to have gotten a perfect score on the BC Calc test, and Y did a summer program in Antarctica studying bits of ice that might contain life from Mars, and Y and Z both read six languages and can write in three, and Z plays the piano and harmonica and I think clarinet too though it might be oboe (probably both), and Y does Ironmans in Argentina and has already published two books\u2026The list really never does end!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Necessary:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Find some friends. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even just one or two. Someone you can walk with on Access every once in a while, or force to buy you a coffee when they snag a spot on a Target trip and you don\u2019t. Some people are uber-close to their IMSA friends, and that\u2019s great, but you can definitely get by with looser connections\u2014just not none at all.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Talk to your roommate. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do they go home on the weekends? Whether you\u2019re the type of person who needs some time to yourself or who can never be alone, it might be the most important question to ask when picking a roommate as a downstater. You\u2019ll be stuck on campus most weekends, and those weekends can really make or break your IMSA experience.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Get a hobby. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reading, running, gaming, goose-watching, stealing chemistry equipment to make moonshine and hiding both in your ceiling\u2014whatever. Just find something to do that\u2019s not school, or you may very well go insane.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Be annoying. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Or, ask for help. Email your teacher if you have a question, even if you think it\u2019s stupid. Worst they can do is not answer. Bother your friend about that problem set you don\u2019t understand. Your grades will thank you.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Join a club or sport. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Or two or five. Maybe not ten, though. No need to be president of everything, but make an appearance. You\u2019ll be glad you did when it\u2019s eight degrees outside and you\u2019re stuck in your dorm, because at least you\u2019ll have a Zoom call to break up the depressing grey-ness.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Remind yourself why you came! <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Love it or hate it, you\u2019re not going to be at IMSA forever. Maybe you\u2019ll end up living at home and going to your local college, or maybe you\u2019ll be herding quokkas on Rottnest Island, but either way, IMSA is what will get you there, so take advantage of (and try to enjoy) it!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I remember thinking, when I first heard of IMSA, that the school was a skyscraper right smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago. My&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":576,"featured_media":35548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1019],"tags":[4046,1031,3711],"coauthors":[3434],"class_list":["post-35966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-imsanews","tag-downstate","tag-imsa","tag-mental-health-edition"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/576"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35966"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35986,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35966\/revisions\/35986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35966"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=35966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}