What’s in a name? Our search for the holy grail of education

It is now May, and we seniors largely spend our days mulling about in a mix of shock and relieved fatigue in the aftermath of our college decisions. During the preceding months of March and April, the halls were filled with cries of elation and dismay as we received with baited breath those innocent-looking messages of acceptance, rejection, and everything in between.

It’s all a deeply important process to say the least, and by it, we determine where we will spend the next four years of our life. One presidency’s worth of years, decided in the span of a few months! It is thus vital that we do so with the correct intent in mind.

I was once asked by somebody in a certain thought experiment that: if Harvard had chosen to accept me, would I go? The most immediate answer that shot through my brain was of course, “Well yeah, it’s Harvard, who wouldn’t want to go?” But I considered suddenly: what truly would be the reason for wanting to go to Harvard? In my case, that is? Upon reflection I realized I hadn’t researched anything about Harvard’s Psychology program (as fantastic as it no doubt may be); I didn’t know anything about what sort of weather it had, and perhaps, most importantly, I knew very little about the community of Harvard. Thus, I found myself strangely hesitant to proclaim my undying devotion to the Ivy League.

What are we looking for when we go about the process of selecting a college for ourselves? What is the criteria by which we judge a school, and indeed what should that criteria be? So often we find ourselves searching for some objective, standardized list of rankings for all the “best schools” in the land, thinking of the Harvards, the Yales, the Stanfords, and pretty much all the famous British-sounding schools we know. Only by attaining status with the greats will we be truly happy in our college experience. For all this, however, it is still a general truth that there are plenty of accomplished people hailing from relatively lesser-known colleges. More important than that, these accomplished people are even pleased with their college experiences! Blasphemy! How can anybody not enrolled in an Ivy be pleased with their college experience?  Or successful in life?

I exaggerate, of course, but the trouble is that there is a certain nearly worshipful attitude we so often take toward the most famous of colleges, and it is important when we do to then firmly interrogate ourselves  as to why this is. Is the prestige and the satisfaction of it all really as wonderful as we believe it to be? It is in the nature of one-time achievements that once we attain them, the satisfaction doubtlessly subsides into “just another part of everyday life”. To strive for a one-time achievement is not in and of itself a problem, but to make the process of choosing a college little more than one such striving is potentially dangerous. The satisfaction of a one-time achievement does not sustain a long-time commitment.

There are many other factors in relation to undergraduate school that are more long-lasting than reputation: there is the question of community, of location, of even aesthetic. What is student life like on campus? Is it a big city? Is the architectural style something that bothers me for whatever reason? What’s the student-teacher ratio and will I ever get to actually talk to my professors? Is it a safe place? While the reputation of the institution is useful sometimes and a wonderful achievement to celebrate, these are the actual aspects of the school that must be considered, as these are the facets of the school that we shall have to live with on a day-to-day basis. Basing the whole of our college application process on whether or not the school is of high enough status on the college ranking system is a highly risky venture when elements as vital as these are overlooked in its favor.

Therefore, when we get to such decisions and issues – not only in college applications, but in all things – it is important that we regard them not purely as people striving for an achievement, but as people who are going to have to live with those decisions.

Featured Image — Table and Banner at College Admissions Presentation, courtesy of the user Tomwsulcer at Wikimedia Commons