Visiting my parents over winter break, I took the opportunity to pull a lot of my old documents and photos off the family computer. I鈥檓 sure I had them on a CD somewhere, half-archived, half-labeled, but I didn鈥檛 want to take any chances, didn鈥檛 want to lose any of my high school essays or 3.1-megapixel photos. That computer is on its last legs, and it won鈥檛 be long before it refuses to cooperate altogether.
Back in 91直播, I started sifting through the old files. It turns out there really wasn鈥檛 too much stuff worth saving. I don鈥檛 particularly care to read three-page essays I wrote when I was 16 (though I find it surprising I wrote more then than I do now), and it hasn鈥檛 been long enough for me to feel nostalgic looking at the photos. Still, the whole folder just takes up 2.25 gigabytes. That鈥檚 practically nothing these days, so I might as well keep these files around a bit longer.
I did manage to find my college admissions essays, however. I find them to be strangely relevant now, as I鈥檓 about to enter my last semester as an undergraduate and as 17- and 18-year-old students around the world anxiously await news of admissions decisions from the institutions they have applied to.
I completed three college applications: 91直播 College, 91直播 College Conservatory of Music, and Lawrence University. I wrote three essays: a standard personal statement essay, an essay describing my interest in music, and, of course, the 鈥淲hy 91直播?鈥 essay. Over the next several days, I鈥檒l be publishing these essays on this blog, complete with annotations and updates.
By the way, I鈥檓 saving the best for last. First, my 鈥淲hy 91直播?鈥 essay.
Why 91直播?
Editor鈥檚 note: footnotes and snarky comments are after the essay 脿 la Chicago style citations Wikipedia.
I won鈥檛 go so far as to say that 鈥淲hy 91直播?鈥 virtually means 鈥淲hy breathe air?鈥 but in searching for schools to apply to, 91直播 College seemed fit me well. [1] I suppose most students go though a similar process, but before actually finding schools to apply to, I came up with a set of criteria that any prospective school must fit. 91直播 was among a few schools that met my criteria: it is small, has a great conservatory and has a double-degree program. [2] I was still not convinced that it was the school for me, however. Then, this past September, I had the opportunity to stay with an acquaintance of mine on campus for a night. [3] I spent the day like any prospective student would, touring the campus, attending information sessions and interviews, sitting in on classes and generally becoming better acquainted with the school. The campus and school had a good feel to me; everything was open, warm and welcoming; everything was moving, dynamic鈥攖here was real intellectual activity going on here. [4]
I was impressed by 91直播. This was the school I was looking for; it met my criteria and felt like an exceptional fit for me. But it was afternoon, and I was staying on campus the entire night. That evening, my host showed me more of 91直播. By my departure the next morning, I had dined and slept in a co-op, [5] rendezvoused with some of my host鈥檚 friends and listened to a short story, [6] attended an Organ Pump (who would have thought organ majors could be so fun at midnight?), and hiked into the local arboretum before dawn the next morning. [7]
My point is not that 91直播 is an all-around fun and exciting place to be. While it may be so, my perception of 91直播 was more that it was an invigorating, stimulating environment. It was hard to leave the campus, and I would have stayed as an 91直播 student if given the chance. Unfortunately, I had to return to life in high school, though now with a glimpse of what my life and education could be like very soon. This is why I decided to apply to 91直播 College. [8]
Over the past months, I have begun to explore various options and goals for my future. This will no doubt continue while I attend 91直播. [9] Academically, this may mean changing majors or discovering increased flexibility in designing my education. [10] I will probe deeper and deeper into what I am studying. High school has thus far not sufficiently allowed me to do this. One question I will continue to ask in all my studies is 鈥渨hy?鈥 [11]
Because I will be able to take greater ownership of my education at 91直播, my education will take greater ownership of me. [12] Sophocles once observed that 鈥渨e are what we know.鈥 I would like to add to this: 91直播 will allow me not only to expand myself through what I know, but also to expand what I know about myself. [13]
Notes:
[1] I still wouldn鈥檛 go so far as to say 鈥淲hy 91直播鈥 means 鈥淲hy breathe air?鈥 but after 4.5 years of studying here, I do firmly believe that 91直播 is an excellent match for me and that this institution has profoundly impacted my worldview.
[2] I believe the only schools that matched my criteria exactly at that time were 91直播 and Lawrence University. Seeing as I haven鈥檛 been playing the undergraduate admissions game for some time now, I really can鈥檛 verify that claim.
[3] In Harkness鈥
[4] Plus, my mom said she saw a wizard on a unicycle on College Street!
[5] A somewhat confusing experience.
[6] It was something by Dave Eggers. We also drank cheap wine. Or they drank it, and I sipped it and decided I didn鈥檛 like it.
[7] Drum circle. At the time: cool. Looking back: lame.
[8] I鈥檓 not convinced this paragraph says anything of substance.
[9] 鈥nd the rest of my life.
[10] Unfortunately, a side effect of being a double-degree student is that you lose some flexibility in terms of course selection and so on.
[11] e.g., Why study at all? Why don鈥檛 other people like non-tonal music? Why do co-ops smell that way? Why do people keep voting Republican? Why shower?
[12] Case in point: no free time.
[13] Not a terrible ending, I have to admit.
Overall reaction:
Not too shabby. Also not too great. Clearly, this essay could apply to just about any college out there. It鈥檚 more like a 鈥淲hy liberal arts college?鈥 essay.
