“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you,” affirms our American Founding Father and our 3rd United States President, Thomas Jefferson. Ms. Harris and in company of Ms. Blaize, I was able to learn how to shape my future on my passageway to success. On our trip to Harvard, perchance benefited every individual that attended the trip because we are able to learn what type of college we would prefer and one of the elite colleges in America. According to forbes.com, it specifies that Harvard University is ranked number eight in the Americas top colleges list. This trip to Harvard was not just a trip to relax and have a magnificent time, however it was to motivate or stimulate students to start thinking about colleges, exemplifying one of the most ordinary elite colleges, Harvard such as their academic experience. For instance, from our instructors it was stated that most students that attend Harvard choose economics as their course o study. By means of a durable devotion to the quest of superiority, Harvard presents supreme scholar knowledge across a wide-ranging gamut of studious and educational surroundings. Harvard spoke to us as mature adults that they provide every student with the intellectual force that they need for to motivate and inspire them in order to graduate.
Harvard makes sure that every student graduates out of there. It may seem simple to get through, however the hard part is getting in. In order to get into Harvard or other elite colleges similar to Harvard is getting they sort of SAT test score that is elite college material. Moreover, throughout the trip, we observed the different campus, such as the Harvard School of Engineering and Ap...
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... out that I need to pass the SAT. This test may be the most imperative test of my lifetime taking its first place from the Regents. For this test, I am determined to study assiduousness in order for me to open the test results and have an astounded facial expression on my face. Anyhow, Harvard was a student experience; it showed if I wanted to be in a college such as this one. The surrounding in Boston, the scenery made me feel an independent person, the surface of the area seemed to me of an area I would love to be a part of. Harvard also showed me a leadership skill, it showed me to be responsible for my on future and not let anyone especially parent be the one to guide persistently your every action. Hopefully, but upon my self-confidence of my-self I am determined to be accepted to Harvard, more crucially, graduating and finding the true individual of myself.
I endeavor to obtain excellence in my academics; I wish to exemplify scholarship by constantly asking the whys and hows of things. I will not let a bad grade define who I am as a student or who I will become. I also want to take the most challenging classes available, not because it will look good on my college application, but because I genuinely love the concept of learning and discovering new things. Education doesn’t end after high school, so I plan to attend university, eager to attain the knowledge to better understand my world: and expand it.
Of course, I can only speak from own experience to date. I thoroughly enjoyed high school and had excellent teachers who prepared me for entrance into the new world of college. My family and I discussed and received information from many schools, some of which I was totally unfamiliar with. My parents knew this was an important milestone in my life and therefore, arranged for a trip east to visit campuses and classes. That is how I chose to travel from my North Dakotan home to MIT, halfway across the nation. I had many reasons, one of which is obviously that MIT is one of the top schools in the nation, but another is that it is in the city of Boston. I am from Bismarck, North Dakota, a midwestern town of about 60,000 which I love, but I knew it was time for a new place with new experiences.
Started by the Congregationalist, Harvard was founded as a school that trained men for the ministry of being a pastor (Barton, (2004)). Its philosophy was “Christ and the church and to the glory of God” (Barton, (2004)). This school produced great men such as Cushing, Pickering and many more that would lay a Godly foundation for education (Barton, (2004)).
In the article “Don't Send Your Kid to the Ivy League” by William Deresiewicz, Deresiewicz explains the flaws within the coveted ivy league system. He begins by explaining his experience in the ivy league acceptance process and how the applications are read and judged by the acceptance panel, some applicants have too many educational qualifications and too few extracurricular activities, others have too many extracurricular activities but low GPA’s and class rankings, and others must be judged based on contributions to the college by their parents. He then transitions into how college students have over achieved but have no purpose or drive, they do things to get into college but don’t know why they want to go or what they
Throughout his essay, DeMause highlights the main questions people ask about college and analyze them from an outsider viewpoint with studies and statistics. His viewpoint allows him to make non-biased observations. To begin the
College education also does a large of things for college students, these things can be both counted and not counted. Delbanco wrote about this when he wrote “The best reason to care about college – who goes,.... is not what it does for society in economic terms but what it can do for individuals, in both calculable and incalculable ways”(Delbanco 507). In the article Delbanco writes about what one of the alumni at one of his talks said to him afterwards. He writes about the experience of this alumni in his article when he writes “Not only had a college education enriched his capacity to read demanding works of literature and to grasp fundamental political ideas, it had also heightened and deepened his alertness to color and form, melody and harmony...Such an education is a hedge against utilitarian values”(Delbanco 508). Delbanco also wrote how college education has maintained the same in some ways for many years. He writes “The tradition of liberal learning survived and thrived throughout European history but remained largely the possession of ruling elites. The distinctive American contribution has been the attempt to democratize it, to deploy it on behalf of things cardinal American principle that all persons, regardless of origin, have the to pursue happiness… is helpful to that pursuit. Educated can be characterized as “snobbish and narrow”, but that is not
Symonds, William C. “College Admissions: The Real Barrier Is Class.” Business Week 4 Apr, 2003: 66-67.
Students who attended these institutions of higher education were typically born into a wealthy family, where the individuals already had made a name for themselves. They survived college, as disruptive students, because college was not a necessity for them to succeed in life. Referring to Harvard College, in his family’s newspaper, the New England Curant, in 1677, Benjamin Franklin wrote that it had become a “rich man’s school, a place that wealthy parents sent their sons to, where, for want of a suitable genius, they learn little more than to carry themselves handsomely, and enter a room genteely” (Lucas, p. 109). Prior to the American Revolution, higher education did not impact the majority of the people first hand. It is estimated that no more than one in every thousand colonists attended any college present before 1776 (Lucas, p. 109). This supports the idea that college was only available to those individuals who had enough money to attend college simply for the ability to move up the social ladder.
Anonymous. "What Makes a College the Best College for You." TIME/The Princeton Review: The Best College for You and How to Get In. Spring 1997: 21-26.
Entry to community college allows just that. Addison explains, “just follow any one of the 1,655 road signs, and pop your head inside—yes, independent film, a first independent thought, a first independent study” (212). Many potential college prospects are turned away because this self-discovery found in community college cannot be found in private college; however, Addison insists that community college is the golden ticket to regain these would-be scholars. To begin, acceptance is necessary for admittance to many colleges—not community college. In the words of Addison, “down at X.Y.C.C. it is still possible to enter the college experience as a rookie” (213). Any student desiring education, preparation, and self-discovery does not need to look any further than community college, which, for some students, is the only shot at the college experience. On top of this, community colleges provide opportunities like no college—public or private—could. Community colleges provide introductory courses that could not be found in regular institutions; this allows students to explore and get their feet under them. To find and pursue an interest proves more difficult at a college because intense classes are provided from the beginning, whether students have declared a major or have yet to decide. In sum, Addison claims that an atmosphere designed
Owen and Sawhill maintain that college can positively affect one’s life by “affecting things like job satisfaction, health, marriage, parenting, trust, and social interaction. Additionally, there are social benefits to education, such as reduced crime rates and higher political participation” (Owen and Sawhill 640). By expressing this, Owen and Sawhill are trying to bring to mind the idea that by going to college, you will be an all around better citizen, which definitely plays with emotions because who doesn’t want to be a good citizen. Furthermore, Owen and Sawhill remark on the college decision process. Here, thier general claim is that when choosing a college, it is better to choose a college that will benefit you financially, not just the one you
According to Armstrong and Hamilton, there are three types of college pathways: the party pathway built for the most socially and upper class oriented students; the mobility pathway designed for the least privilege and more vocationally oriented and the professional pathway built for the most competitive and ambitious students. Armstrong and Hamilton claims that each college pathway requires a lot of the university resources, like time and energy, to be built and conserve. Moreover, there is also the constant challenge from the university to balance the deve...
My junior year of high school was filled with high emotions, stressful moments, and tension about where to apply to college and where I would be accepted and ultimately attend. At a “Making the Most out of your Sixth Semester” forum that year, the entire junior class experienced lectures from the school’s college resource counselors about how to prepare for this arduous battle of college admissions. The way Sue Biermert, who is the College Admissions Counselor at my high school, opened the forum was by asking a question to the parents that put everything into perspective: “How many of you parents feel like you are successful?” Every single hand shot up from the 500 parents in the auditorium. Of those that had their hands up, she asked, “How many of you parents received an Ivy League education?” Every hand went down. I could see friend’s mouths sit there in awe that getting an Ivy League education is not necessarily the greatest factor at having a good life. Even though these shocked students were the ones hoping to be accepted by Yale and Harvard, they all simultaneously recognized that going to an Ivy League school is not a guarantee for success in life. The reality about American culture is that success is the result of individual experiences that suit the needs of each person, not necessarily the prestigious institution of learning that one attends.
My inspiration to succeed has always come from within. As a child, I had the vision of becoming a star and a role model for the next generation. I applied to Harvard because I believe it will help me fulfill those dreams.
College for an incoming freshman is exciting, however, it is often focused on the social aspect such as the connections that can be attained through Greek life, parties and independence. Due to the social interactions, freshmen tend to drop out of college after their first year. Focusing on what college is meant for can prevent these situations. The pressures of college such as impressing parents, and maintain a high standard GPA-wise can lead to stress and freeze a student from achieving the proper academic performance. During the mid 1900s, college was considered more of a luxury than anything; people would attend college exclusively to acquire knowledge in hopes of obtaining a career after graduation. People in the twenty-first century, however, attend college to get away from home and enjoy freedom at parties. Education is taken lightly, and those who feel that education isn’t the main focus of college should not apply for sakes of the greater good.