What Made Me Decide I Was Going to Purchase?
December 01, 2022
Open gallery
The short answer to this question is a coin and a broken elevator. I graduated from my performing arts high school in 2021. I was lucky to have even received an in-person graduation based on the state our world was in at the time. I am currently in the BFA Acting Conservatory here at Purchase, which requires a very specific process of auditioning to receive acceptance. I had made it clear to my parents that I wanted to go to college for acting and that I would be applying to colleges only with such programs. My parents, being fully on-board, recommended Purchase as one of my options. The Purchase Admissions team (which I am now ironically a part of) made their way to my high school on multiple occasions to make their presence known. Every graduating year, someone from my high school would end up at Purchase. I originally
believed that the school “wasn’t for me” and didn’t fit my “vibe.” Yet, when I went on my tour of campus in February 2020, it easily made its way to the top of my list. (Take a tour, people! It’s worth it!)
After multiple prescreens and auditions for various schools, including Purchase, I had a solid list of schools to decide from. I applied to both the Theatre and Performance BA program and the Acting BFA program, yet the BFA program was really calling my name. I also had another school in Philadelphia that I was really considering.
Two days before Decision Day, I had to figure out where I was going to spend my next four years. So, I did what any logical person would do: flip a coin! Heads for Purchase and Tails for the other school. Heads kept on winning, but for some reason that wasn’t enough for me. The day right before Decision Day, I was doing laundry. My building was renovating one of the elevators, so the elevator was taking longer than usual to come. Creating a mini game for myself, I “placed” Purchase in front of the right elevator and “placed” the other school on the left elevator. I made a promise to myself that whichever elevator door opened would be the school I’d commit to. I did this, completely forgetting that the elevator being renovated was the left one. As the right elevator door opened, I knew I would commit to Purchase.
I write this to say, yes, some pretty abstract things helped with my decision, but both things were located under one umbrella: energy. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. It was hard to believe in the moment that I would actually end up here, because you can never tell the future. I like to say that you don’t choose Purchase, but Purchase chooses you. I was drawn to this place through belief and, honestly, by chance. It just felt right. I strongly believe that you will feel it when you are drawn to a place, and the first time I ever felt that was at Purchase College.
–Misa Love Smith