I have come up with a list of my top 10 colleges that I will send my application to. After my trip to the East Coast for Ivy League Connection's Summer@Brown, I've become exposed to colleges outside the UC system, and essentially, outside California. While California has some of the best colleges around, including UC Berkeley, one of the finest among the UCs' and is highly recognized, I have done continuous research on different institutions across the nation. After hours of searching the web and flipping through college manuals, I've come to this list:
Boston University
Occidental College
Roger Williams University
Santa Clara University
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Los Angeles
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
Clearly, you can tell that I enjoy the warm climate and a vibrant atmosphere. BU and RW are the only two that are on the complete opposite side of the coast. I knew about BU previously however, I didn't get a chance to visit, but instead visited Boston College. On the other hand, I found RW through Brown's college fair. Why was it so interesting? I spotted Majors: Construction Management on their cardboard display and immediately walked over to their booth to learn more. The gentlemen there was very friendly and told me how this program combines Architecture with Business - perfect! These two fields interest me the most, and because RW offered a "two birds with one stone" package, it lured me into applying.
Looking at my UC choices, four out of six are located in Southern California, which offers sunshine throughout the year (for the most part), beaches, and allows a far enough yet traveable distance to home. Although SoCal seems like it is just a few hours away, it still makes me a little nervous because if I am sick, I can't drive six hours to drink some homemade chicken noodle soup. On the bright side, it also gives me a sense of independence which every college student needs to grow, mature, and flourish. Hopefully, I can achieve more than just a degree wherever I may be, east or west, north or south.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Choosing the "right" one
I have realized that choosing the "right college" is merely impossible.
A prospective student must consider his or her field of profession and which programs would be the most suitable, put location and climate into consideration, decide if this education will be financially stable, and most importantly, let your gut feeling tell you that this is the place to thrive. Yet, after putting an infinite amount of hours to wind down to that one college, how will one know that he/she made the right choice when the college experience has yet to begin?
When one picks up Fiske's Guide, they are getting an overview of colleges through one perspective. The one to two page rundown on the school may target strong areas, and dismiss the weak which may be misleading in a sense. To me, reading any type of college manual is like judging a candy by its wrapper - you have to chew it first because its the inside that counts!
Sure, there may be endless pages of information and statistics on every single college out there yet the true beauty of it is hidden. Everyone will find their unique appreciation for their school and ultimately learn to call it "home".
In reality, there isn't a certain school, even if it had the Stanford or Yale logo on it, that is 100% perfect for you. That would be absurd if you enjoyed every aspect of such a large institution. The most crucial thing to keep in mind is to be open-minded and go with your gut feeling because usually, it is right.
A prospective student must consider his or her field of profession and which programs would be the most suitable, put location and climate into consideration, decide if this education will be financially stable, and most importantly, let your gut feeling tell you that this is the place to thrive. Yet, after putting an infinite amount of hours to wind down to that one college, how will one know that he/she made the right choice when the college experience has yet to begin?
When one picks up Fiske's Guide, they are getting an overview of colleges through one perspective. The one to two page rundown on the school may target strong areas, and dismiss the weak which may be misleading in a sense. To me, reading any type of college manual is like judging a candy by its wrapper - you have to chew it first because its the inside that counts!
Sure, there may be endless pages of information and statistics on every single college out there yet the true beauty of it is hidden. Everyone will find their unique appreciation for their school and ultimately learn to call it "home".
In reality, there isn't a certain school, even if it had the Stanford or Yale logo on it, that is 100% perfect for you. That would be absurd if you enjoyed every aspect of such a large institution. The most crucial thing to keep in mind is to be open-minded and go with your gut feeling because usually, it is right.
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