"Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be"....Book Review, Part Two

I can't believe I'm doing this--I'm reading this book twice.  If the college admissions craze is a little much for you, or if you don't know what you should look for in a "good" college because all you recognize are the big names that have become synonymous with "good", then pick up this book and read.  By the way--there are LOADS of EXCELLENT colleges that you probably have never heard of, but still do a superb job of educating in the classroom, proving opportunities out of the classroom, and instilling young adults with a good dose of realism, drive, and abilities...in addition to the college diploma.

Here are some great quotes from the book, "Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be".  These quotes are some of my favorites because they communicate a good dose of common-sense about what college is and can be, and how students can be realistic and hopeful about their college dreams simultaneously.  Read on...

Quote #1...From an interview between Author Frank Bruni and Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce.   Introduction, pg. 11

"Life is something that happens slowly, and whether or not they go to their first choice isn't that important...it's not the difference between Yale and jail.  It's the difference between Yale and the University of Wisconsin or some other school where they can get an excellent education.

"They should be thinking more about what they're going to do with their lives.  And what college is supposed to do is allow you to live more fully in your time."

Frank Bruni continues, "It's supposed to prime you for the next chapter of learning, and for the chapter beyond that.  It's supposed to put you in touch with yourself, so that you know more about your strengths, weaknesses and values and can use that information as your mooring and compass in a tumultuous, unpredictable world.  It's supposed to set you on your way, and if you expect it to be a guarantee forevermore of smooth sailing, then you've got trouble infinitely greater than any rejection notice."

I think this quote is awesome!  It's easy to think that if you aren't going to a selective college, that you simply aren't getting a great education.  That just isn't true.  There are still devoted professors and great programs at many colleges--you just have to open your eyes, wipe off the gloss of Ivy-adulation, and take advantage of the opportunities at hand.  Also, college is more a launching pad than a finish line--and keeping that in mind helps to keep it in perspective.

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Quote #2...From an interview between Author Frank Bruni and Chris Christie, Governor of New Hersey.  Chapter One, pg. 24

"What I got out of being at a place like Delaware was a real diversity in terms of the economic and social strata of the people who went there.  I met lots of different people who had lots of different life experiences.

"The thing that really disturbs me (about the college admissions mania) is the extraordinary pressure that some parents were putting on their kids from the seventh or eighth grade.  That's something we don't quite yet know what effect it's going to have on kids over the long haul.  My fear is that these kids are always going to be evaluating their self-worth in terms of whether they hit the next rung society has placed in front of them at exactly the time that society has placed it.  And that's dangerous, because you're going to slip and fall in your life."

True.  You will absolutely get a greater slice of the social strata at a state college than at an elite, private college.  And this can really help you connect with people not only during the 4 years of college, but in all the years after.  

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Quote #3...From Jeffrey Brenzel, a former dean of admissions at Yale, explaining why the U.S. News & World Report College Rankings are problematic.  Chapter Four, pg. 93

"Rankings tend to ignore the very criteria that may be most important to an applicant, such as specific academic offerings, intellectual and social climate, ease of access to faculty, international opportunities and placement rates for careers or for graduate and professional school."

This book will reveal just how much we rely on rankings (even if we think we don't).  The other great thing?  The author, Frank Bruni, takes time to explain all the components that DO affect the rankings, and most of them have no baring on what a student will actually experience in college.  

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Quote #4...Chapter Six, pg. 134

"Every year, the media finds and fawns over the rare students offered admission to all eight Ivy League schools, and Ronald Nelson, from the Memphis area, was one of them.  Newspaper stories marveled at him; MSNBC and other networks invited him on air.  But his story had a fresh wrinkle.  Nelson turned down Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the rest of them and chose instead to stay in the South, at the University of Alabama.  Its lower price tag and the bounty of aid it gave him were two reasons.  But he also cited another:  He'd been invited to take classes at Alabama's honors college, which promised him an environment of especially dedicated, high-achieving students within a larger, more diverse community of more than 30,000 undergraduates.

"That decision threw a spotlight on the rise of honors programs and colleges, which a growing number of public schools are starting, refining and assertively promoting.  Students in turn are becoming more aware of them and giving them more consideration, but could pay them even greater heed--and should.  Honors programs and colleges are ignored, for example, by far too many students who are fixated on the Ivy League, who may well find their hopes dashed by Ivy League admissions offices, who could benefit mightily from exposure to a state university's student body and who just might find that the financial equation at a state university's honors college works in their favor.  Honors programs and honors colleges give students some of the virtues and perks of private schools without some of the drawbacks, such as exorbitant tuition and an enclave of extreme privilege."

We are so lucky in Utah!  Most of the universities in Utah have great Honors Programs.  Take time to research them--each one has different strengths to fit different students.  Many have extra funding for students, honors dorms, internship opportunities, and special courses that exceed standard course offerings.  
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Four quotes.  Just a glimpse of the jewels you will find on every page of this book.  Also, the book is now in paperback so it's pretty cheap for the life-changing advice it gives.  ($14.99).  Comment below and share any questions and/or thoughts you have.  I'd love to hear from you!