Assignment 7 - Eli Flomenhoft

College is on the mind of near every high schooler. Maybe this is because it is now necessary to obtain a college degree to be successful. And most people aspire to be successful. Whatever the reason, college is a focal point for high school teachers and students alike. Personally I plan to apply to more competitive colleges and hopefully attend them. Through attending more competitive colleges I hope to make connections with other driven and well connected young adults. Although the education from more competitive schools is usually better, college is what you make of it. I could attend UK and come out more knowledgeable and better educated than someone who goes to Harvard and doesn't apply themselves. So while the education part is important, it is the influence and connections that big name schools bring after graduation that I would like to take advantage of.
Through attending college your world view broadens. The types of people who attend college, especially competitive ones, are people who want to be educated, think more critically, and are more likely to listen to your ideas rather than get into a screaming match about why you're wrong. I am excited to live for four years with these types of people. To get into respectful arguments and debates on topics that people normally don't talk about. I want college to be an oasis where people are not shallow and self-invested, but rather want to talk and debate topics with you.
Although I stated earlier that I am more focused on using the weight of a competitive schools name after graduation, I still see the value in the education college provides. From listening to both my brothers describe courses at their colleges and listening to my mother help my brothers choose their college courses, it seems that college classes are both more diverse and more in depth. For example, my brother is taking a class called Zombies, Pirates, Ghosts, and Witches that is about the literature of the Atlantic Caribbean which is learned through it's odd historical figures. Furthermore, this class was so highly valued that you had to write an essay on why you wanted to attend the class and why you thought it was important to gain enrollment. This is the type of college I want to go to. Where education is so highly valued that to attend a class you need to write an essay. While some may see this as inconvenient and feeding a competitive culture, I see this as a culture that puts education above everything else. Furthermore, gaining enrollment into a class like that would make me value what I learned in the class even more.
In the end I want to attend a college that will help me succeed with the connections it will help me make and the weight of its name. But I also want to attend a college where education is valued so highly that people have to write essays to take a class. In addition I want to attend a college where the people listen to you and take into account your thoughts before responding. I want to attend a college where both education and critical thinking are valued by both the students and the teachers.