(UMass-Amherst) THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT

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Date: May 23 2007
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THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT Imagine a large square that has been subdivided into four smaller but equal squares inside its parameter; those smaller squares representing the possible outcomes, in terms of personal satisfaction and educational success, a student is able to experience at any college (or university) that he or she could attend. The lower left square is the worst-case scenario: a miserable time; a poor education derived. The lower right box is where students whom had a pretty good time of it, but did not excel academically, lived. The upper left corner contains students who did well enough, grade-wise (perhaps because most were very goal-oriented and this kept them on track), but they do not remember their college years as being a very enjoyable time. The upper right square is the best of all worlds: those students whom acquired a great set of skills and learned to a considerable degree, that which they would need to get started on their chosen path, while experiencing what many of them will say later were “the best years of my life” [at least, to that point, perhaps]. I firmly believe that college is what YOU make of it: all four of the above cases (generalities to some degree, but true enough) exist at virtually any college you could name; NO school is truly “Happy Valley” {although those at Penn State might say otherwise}, but none are a “Devil’s Island”, either. Of course, it is also true that some schools are simply a “bad match” for certain students, so it pays BIG dividends to carefully research any/all colleges & universities which you are actively considering applying to, and, by all means, find a way {= “beg, borrow, or steal”, if need be . . . .} to VISIT those schools – if you have not already done so – which you get accepted to, before finally committing yourself to attend any one of them. You’ll thank yourself – and probably your PARENTS as well – later, for doing this. I’ve repeated this story to other parents – as well as to more than one prospective college student – of the mother & daughter, who traveled {by CAR} for hours and hours, from a small town in western Pennsylvania, to see Brown University [which the daughter had envisioned as her “dream school”] in Providence, RI. Upon arrival, however, the girl refused to even get out of the car, as she was completely “turned-off” by the somewhat drab setting within the city, which this Ivy League school is located. Moral of the story: VISIT the school; even before applying, if possible (and why waste the application $$, as well?). Just my thoughts, as a father of three children whom have gone – successfully – through “The College Experience”, with a fourth one now undergoing the selection process, as she nears her senior year in high school. Incidentally, I’m a UMass grad, class of ’75, who probably spent just a little too much time in the ‘lower right’ box from my example above, but I like to think that I’ve more than made up for it since that time !

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