The promise of college for our generation

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

Thanks for these words of wisdom.

I think a lot of the confusion comes from the way students handle the college search, and decide where they are going to apply. I had the fortune of having visited 5 of the 7 schools I applied to before I started the process, so I feel I was at an advantage. However, I want to quote someone who said something very wise about her own search. It deeply impacted me even after I had finished the process - let's just say that since there are people with this mindset, I think things are going to be OK:

Originally Posted by BurningQuestion

I applied to only three schools, and was accepted into all of them: RPI, WPI, and University of Miami. All three of them gave me a considerable amount of financial aid/grants/loans, and all three have excellent engineering programs. However, I decided upon the University of Miami for the same reasons that I decided NOT to apply to the Ivy League schools and places like MIT and Caltech.

I believe that I am as bright as any of the people who choose to go to the really prestigious schools, and had it been my goal throughout high school, I could have gotten in and attended those schools. But I am not in love with academics. I am not the type of person who develops a strong passion for receiving perfect grades and test scores. I enjoy learning, but I am not very good at playing the "school game". Managing my time is difficult for me, as is staying organized (gosh darn ADD). Always having a 4.0 average is not my talent, and I never felt the desire to make it the central focus of my high school career. Of course, I always maintained good grades throughout high school (A-/B+/an occasional C), but they weren't perfect. Certainly not the kind of grades that Yale or Harvard would be looking for.

I used to feel bad about the fact that my transcript never seemed to match up with my true potential. However, I now realize that the fact that I DON'T obsess over my GPA means that I would probably HATE being in an environment where every other student was the class valedictorian. This is why I decided that schools like MIT and Princeton were not the right settings for me.

The other reason why I decided against the engineering powerhouse schools because I was interested in being a part of a small engineering program where my professors would know me by name. The University of Miami turned out to be perfect in this aspect because of the size of it's engineering program - only about 200 students in the freshman class. After speaking to many people, and making several visits, I found the atmosphere at the UM College of Engineering to be friendly, nurturing, and almost familial. Not to mention that the engineering program is one of the top 100 in the country. I loved the fact that while I would be working alongside qualified professors and bright students like myself, I would rarely find myself in a high-stress, high-competition situation. Students work TOGETHER on hands on projects, not against each other. Plus, I was enthused by the fact that there has always been 100% job placement for engineering students, and many opportunities exist for hands on undergraduate research.

So, thats my story. I am proud to be a Hurricane and I am totally enthused and excited about the coming four years. My advice: just because a college has a fancy name attached to it, doesn't mean it is the right place for you. If you are not the type of person who enjoys playing the academic "game", look for a college that will nurture you, instead of push you to be a perfect academic.

-- Jaine

Can be found in context here .