Not every college is the same. Granted, there are the campus-environment issues, student life activities available, etc . . . However, when we get down to the nitty-gritty, the meat of the institutions, the range is as broad as Shaq’s wingspan. I had a realization of this when my girlfriend, a Columbia University alumna, and I, hosted her brother (a University of Chicago alumni) for a few days in our Florida abode.
The conversational structure was much more formulated, well-thought, articulate and really, more intense than that which I am used to engaging with when conversing with John Doe. To imply that there is this great misconception about colleges and universities being homogenous is not what I want to do. Don’t misconstrue what I write. Or that “A” college’s business school might be a bit more prestigious than “B” college’s, but really you learn the same things- is not true. There are Tier-II and Tier-III schools that have programs and schools which rank in the top-10 of that particular focus. This is not because of the highly competitive admissions process or the “kill-or-be-killed” academic mentality, but the focus on open dialogue, creative, analytical thinking, Socratic method and, the very nature of college: getting to pursue that which YOU ACTUALLY HAVE AN INTEREST IN. Ahh, the refreshing freedom of selecting courses and electing to enroll in those units that do interest you.
At Chicago, you can expect to read more than anywhere else. At Columbia encounter tremendous juxtaposition of university versus city life. My alma mater . . . ethics and freshman experience- every frosh must take an ethics seminar. But, I’ll tell you what, if you don’t like to read, Chicago isn’t for you. If you don’t enjoy beautiful campuses in the middle of big cities, Columbia is not an option. And, if you think that ethics is defined as that which is moral in every individual society- or you really like to commit sins on the weekend and talk about them in class on Monday morning, as so often seemed to be the routine for certain people, there’s a small, Top 100 University in California’s rich and diverse Central Valley, University of the Pacific, that’s just for you!
