College Fair

So, let me first say how many people were at the college fair. Beforehand, I walked across the street with a friend for a quick lunch. Through the window, we could see Columbia and Alfred Learner Hall, where the College Fair was being held. The doors didn't open until a little bit after 12:30, and line stretched almost across the entire block on which Columbia University sat. Inside, it took my friend and I at least three full minutes just to get around a corner of tables. There was a ridiculous amount of people packed into that auditorium. So with this in mind, imagine how difficult it was for me approach the different tables. Usually, the most I could do was squeeze an arm through and grab brochures and such. Every now and then I got lucky and was able to have a fewe words with an admissions officer, but soon after, another flow of students would push through. And keep in mind that I'm five feet tall, while the majority of kids were at least maybe 5'3". Other times if I was lucky enough to squeeze through but the admissions officer(s) was/were already speaking with another student, I would stand there for a few minutes and listen to the conversation.

I think I was lucky to have gone with the friend that I went with. Almost all of the colleges at the fair were on the east coast, so I only knew some of the more prestigious ones. She, on the other hand, knew a lot of them and was able to give me some general information on them. If it wasn't for her, I probably would have bypassed several colleges that I ended up taking information from. I avoided getting information from the more prestigious universities that I have already researched, like Columbia and Harvard. I wanted to expand my spectrum of choices and instead pinpointed colleges I have not heard anything about, like Clark University, Williams, Marist, etc. In skimming through the different brochures I procured, I selected a few which I read in detail first. Williams sounds like a really good college -- apparently it is ranked #1 in the nation as a liberal arts college. I got a brochure for Boston College, which I have yet to look over -- best for last! The University of Massachusetts Amherst is interesting -- it actually reminds me of UPenn, because of the different colleges within the undergrad program. However, its educational structure has a General Education Requirements component, which seems like a core curriculum. But my favorite college out of the pile I just went over might be Haverford. It is a small liberal arts college just outside of Philadelphia. The student-teacher ratio is 8:1, and 100% of the classes are taught by professors. Their classes are small: maybe thirty-five students at the most. But one of the aspects that struck me in particular was the Haverford values. "...the values of individual dignity, intellectual vitality, and tolerance are central to its character. Students are sel-governing and work to upgold the ideals of Haverford's Honor Code, a philosophy of conduct that strengthens the climate of trust, concern, and respect." This is one of the schools that I will definitely do more research on.

In this search for the right college fit for me, I have realized that I might just be too flexible to pinpoint a particular type of college. For example: I like the smaller classes, and especially because the professors are the sole teachers, and the classes are usually in a discussion setting. However, I still like larger classes as well, and through this Columbia program I have had no problem with being taught mostly by mentors/TAs. In another example, let's talk about the campus. Although I may sometimes seem repulsed by a campus that is in "the middle of nowhere," in reality I probably wouldn't mind. So yes, my flexibility is both a blessing and a curse in this type of situation.