Imagine walking into a room full of people you don’t recognize. Then imagine someone telling you that these are the people you will be spending the next four years with.

This is the reality for about 21 percent of the students that are enrolled at the University each year. Roughly 79 percent of the students, both graduate and undergraduate, are from Georgia.

Seventeen percent of the incoming freshmen class come from outside Georgia and represent 40 different states. In addition to this, 160 students come from countries other than the U.S.

When sitting down to make your list of potential college choices, what factors do you take into consideration? Does the school have a football team? Does the school have a well-known reputation for academics? Does the school rank on the list of top 10 party schools in the country?

What about distance from home? How far will you be away from your family and close friends? While it may not be of major importance to the majority of students at the University, a large population of students had to consider these factors.

The struggle some students encounter in selecting an in-state or an out-of-state school contains many facets. Friends, family, distance, transportation and money are a few key factors in an out-of-state decision.

Paige Burns, a junior from St. Cloud, Fl., said, “I wanted to be close enough to home, but far enough at the same time so that I could become independent and learn how to do things on my own.”

Renee Rosenfeld, a sophomore from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, said, “A major advantage of being away from my home state for school is that I am being exposed to a whole new array of people coming from completely different backgrounds than myself.”

“A major disadvantage would have to be that I cannot just throw my stuff in a car and be home in four hours. I only get to go home a few times a year, which is difficult because I am so close with my family and friends,” she said.

For the majority of students here, a weekend trip home consists of packing a small duffel bag, a half tank of gas and a less than three hour drive home.

Brian Miller, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., said, “There are times when you just want to be home, and away from school stress and drama. That’s when it’s rough being so far from home, because you really have to plan your trips,” he says. “I feel like if I were closer to home, a lot of things over the last year and a half would have been easier to deal with.”

When teachers or fellow students realize a student is not from Georgia, their most common reaction is to ask, “Why did you choose the University?” The responses to this question vary, but it is almost certain that if you do not have a Georgia peach on your license plate, this question will come up.

In many classes, clubs and organizations, the repetitive ice-breaker games are usually a good way to get to know your fellow peers. It is always nice to have the fun fact that you are from somewhere different when these games occur.

Some students want to attend a big school, but also want to avoid going to school with their entire high school graduating class. Many students just want a fresh start to their education, lives and future. Many students have had friends or family members attend the University.

“My brother came to UGA, so I’d been to Athens a number of times, and I’d always loved it,” Miller said. But, with these desires come a number of challenges and hardships.

When attending a large state university, it is a common trend that a majority of the in-state students know a significant amount of their classmates. To an out-of-state student, this can seem an impossible bubble to break. But with the right efforts and socialization, easing into the friendship circles proves to be possible.

“At first making friends was tough. You have to put yourself out there and reach out to people to make friends. Once I started doing that, making friends was not a problem,” Rosenfeld said.

The most obvious ways to make friends is to get involved and be active on campus. Meeting people in and out of the classroom can help to establish friends who will eventually introduce you to others, allowing a network to form.

Nathan Estes, a senior from Norfolk, Va., described his personal experiences in establishing a friend group.

“Of course, people from Georgia are going to start off knowing a bunch more people than people from other states,” he said. “When I started school I knew three other people here, all from my hometown.”

“Pledging a fraternity is probably the best decision I have made regarding my college experience,” Estes said. “It narrows the huge school down to a more manageable size. Right off the bat you have 30 guys your age and 70 more in classes above you to get to know,” he said. “It allows you to be part of a group and meet new people right away.”

Out-of-state students have found that their hometown and origin often provides a convenient conversation starter. Meeting someone from a different state often strikes up an interesting conversation. It is fun to have the chance to tell people about yourself, especially if they are completely unfamiliar with your background.

When asked how he felt about being a so-called “minority” at an in-state university, Michael Peloquin, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz., said, “I enjoy it. I think it is something unique in such a large population of Georgians.”

Miller said, “It’s not really a big deal. I guess when it’s the biggest problem is when people tell me they’re from Roswell, or some other place that turns out to be some obscure town in Georgia,” he says. “I’m sure I asked a lot of dumb questions last year about where people were actually from.”