|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
« November 2007 |
Main
| January 2008 »
So hey, all!
I TOOK MY LAST EXAM TODAY!
I totally lucked out enough to have my final final be so early (the last day, altogether, for exams is Friday, 19 December)--I was even done by eleven AM!
Being done so early, I had time to go sell back some of my books. Had I (and not the Army) paid for them, I would have been annoyed at getting a mere $20.75 for four political books (which probably totaled $120, at the least).
I then went and worked out, and after that I had lunch with someone new (more on that later...I don't want to say anything too concrete until things are cemented down...no pun intended...). I really must say, while I am on the subject of lunch, that I really enjoy the soup in Ray Hall--especially as the weather gets colder. There are different flavors everyday (there's always two choices, so nine times out of ten I can find one I like), they're always warm and "well-stocked" (as my grandfather would say), and they're a quick and delicious choice. If you come visit PC/attend, I highly recommend the soup.
In any case, I am writing to you from home and this will, more than likely, be the last post for a while. When random thoughts strike me, I'll probably hop on and write more. At Christmas, I'll be seeing my cousin, too, who's applying to college this year and anything I say to her will probably be repeated to all of you!
Please feel free to leave any questions/comments because I check my e-mail compulsively and you'll get a pretty quick response!
Since I live so close to home, it's inevitable (though not necessarily in a bad way) that I'm going to run into someone I know--and I often do.
On Friday, I was talking to one of my friends from high school, who's a senior this year. Naturally, the conversation turned to her college search, and she told me how she had applied early to her top three choices, been accepted at all three, and now just needed to make the decision, which she was having trouble with.
One was just a safety school, but she was back and forth between the other two.
The first college, we'll call it "A," was very large and very presitigious, and B was medium-sized, not as famous, but still well-known within New England.
They were both about the same distance away from home, the same cost, in the same type of location, and neither were offering exhorbitantly more than the other financial aid or scholarship wise.
Her problem was that, though B was a better fit for her (she was looking for a more personable experience), how could she pass up A?
My opinion? Very easily.
Had A been exactly what she was looking for, great! It would be awesome if everyone's perfect fit was always regarded as one of the most impressive schools. That shouldn't be the reason you pick it, though. College is not something you force yourself to accept; you can't make yourself like where you go--you actually have to.
When I told her that, she was worried about what people would think of her for passing up a prestigious school. Well you know what? It doesn't matter what they think because they're not the ones who have to live and work there.
Besides, prestige is, quite frankly, relative. Location affects it (for example, I don't know anything about schools way on the other side of the country), and people's criteria is different. Maybe you base the school's fame on the fact that it's Ivy League, or that their sports team has won the championship twenty years in a row, but I base it on how many people graduate and get a job right away. This is the whole the reason I have always hated those "Top 100 Best Colleges Ever" books and websites. Ok, maybe that school has a five-star dining hall, but is it on the list of Top 100 Best Colleges Ever for Me?
Seniors, as people start narrowing their choices, you're going to start hearing (if you haven't already), "Well, I got accepted at Blah Blah Blah!" It's going to turn into an unofficial but understood competition over who "does better."
When I picked PC, no one in my town was very impressed because we all live five minutes away from it and they thought I was lame for not "branching out." Fast forward a few months, however, and I'm here loving life and half of them are filling out transfer applications.
Forget the prestige--after it's announced at graduation that you're going to "Ooh La La University," all the glory of it wears off and you actually have to go there and perform. Pick the school that fits you like a glove (and not O.J. Simpson's); you'll be so happy you did!
"Hey, everyone! I hope you're all doing well!
Things here at PC are pretty crazy as the semester winds down (tomorrow's the last day of classes!).
Thankfully I had a lot of warning from seasoned students that things could get really crazy towards the end and I was able to to work a lot last weekend and get ahead on my studies. What a difference that made! (So keep time management in mind for when you're at school next year!)
I also notice that people have a harder time coping at this time of year, and, talking to my friends at other schools, I see that's it's a universal thing. Everyone is nervous about exams, stressed about their workloads and schedules, and excited and anxious for the end of the year. As a result of this confusing mix, more people than before are having roommate troubles. And all the issues boil down to two things: stress and a lack of communication.
When you first go to college, you hear over and over how important it is to talk to your roommate and not let things build up. In the beginning, it's easy to let that advice roll right off your shoulders, but I'm telling you, don't. I've seen circumstances where people talked at first, but as the aggrivations grew, there was less and less of a desire to talk, and then compromise, of course, was impossible.
Add in all of the end-of-semester-craziness and you could have a recipe for disaster. A tense situation is not something anyone needs, especially not at this time.
What's most regrettable about situations like that is that an opportunity is lost. Your roommate can be your best friend, or at least one of your really great friends, and it's sad when not only are you not friends, you're bitter enemies.
Of course, you may never have to face a roommate problem; my friend Laura hit things off with her roommate right away and they've been great ever since. I hope for all students that they have that luck, and for those who don't, I hope that everyone has the grace, to, as Tim Gunn from Project Runway would say, "make it work."
Ok, enough of that; wish me luck on exams!
|
|
|
|
