Don't know which college to attend! Advice?

[amandaxvx]

Hi! I will be graduating from high school in mid May this year. Deciding on a college has been horrendous and I was wondering if someone could weight in on some advice? I got accepted into USF. I was offered a decent financial aid package with grants and work study. I will need to take out federal loans though. On the other hand, I was offered the presidential scholarship (2 years free) at Saint Petersburg College and acceptance into their honors program. I have had such a hard time deciding between these two. I know I want to become a nurse with a BSN, I have always dreamed of doing that. Possibly even get my MSN to become an NP. However, as you all know nursing schools are extremely competitive! I'm worried that I won't get into USF college of nursing if I do two years at SPC! I know SPC has a nursing program but I heard community college nursing programs are even harder to get into, and I eventually wanted to attend a university to meet new people, participate in research, etc. I heard that schools usually favor their own students, like SPC will favor their students for their nursing program; USF will also favor their own. As far as being a competitive applicant will being a community college honors student with volunteering be enough for USF? Or should I attend USF for my pre-nursing so that I can be involved with the volunteering programs they offer their, working on campus, meeting with advisors, possibly research, and other leadership positions? I know the smarter financial choice is to attend SPC, but I'm thinking I will be a more competitive/favorable applicant if I am affiliated with the many programs USF has to offer. I could be wrong, any advice to weigh in on this decision would be greatly appreciated. My parents do not know much about colleges and universities. I am so stressed! This is a big financial decision that will also determine my future!

[Simplistic]

If money is an issue for you, than go for the community college option. However, If I were you, I would go straight to USF. That way, you dont have to worry about transferring and you get the true college experience.