Today started off fairly swell. Our adventure today began by traveling approximately two hours to visit the prestigious Yale University. At this point in our college trips, little to sometimes none of the information we learn in the informational sessions is new. But that is a good thing because we have all learned or gained the general gist of how the college application and acceptance process works. Also we have learned all of the common financial aid packages and other valuable information. So by going on this stream of College visits, personally my college horizon has been broadened. I am feeling substantially more confident in the exact type of college I want to attend.
Yale’s campus was very mystical, as a visual aid it looked exactly like Hogwarts from Harry Potter. The campus has deep and long roots. Yale was seemingly closed off by gates. What I took from this was that at Yale they want the best students to collaborate together to produce the best possible outcome, and to avoid any riff-raff from the outside surroundings that could corrupt this learning process. Yale has an impressive library system that contains over 12 million books! This shows that at Yale, they want the students to have every possible resource imaginable.
After lunch we had a real treat. We ate lunch with Yohanna Pepa, a 2010 Pinole Valley graduate and current Yale student. Our timing was so perfect because today was her last day in the country for a while. She will be taking advantage of Yale’s study abroad program in Italy. It was such a pleasure to talk to her, and gain her experience pertaining to the entire college experience that she has experienced so far. Seeing her gave me encouragement to work even harder than I am now. So though lunch was very delicious, having the opportunity to talk with Yohanna was the highlight of my day.
After leaving Yale we headed to Wesleyan University, about 30 minutes away from Yale. This Liberal Arts College has amazing facilities, and also an open curriculum. This means that there is no required, introduction classes needed to graduate. This always gets me excited about a college because few colleges offer this option and also it would allow me to get started on my true interests quicker. I am glad we visited Wesleyan because if not for this visit I would have had no knowledge of this great institution for higher learning. Because of Wesleyan’s open curriculum it makes it easier to double major. About 33 percent of Wesleyan students double major. This also interested me because I am very interested in the two fields of Political science and economics. That is also why I am really looking forward to my class in Macroeconomics to help spark the economics interest of mines.
We traveled back from Wesleyan to our Hotel in Providence. We went out to eat at this great Cuban Restaurant. Many of the paintings on the walls represented Cuban history, but also American History. So it was a good cultural experience in the little known restaurant. After waiting for our food to digest, we all headed to the fitness center to get a good work out. Not only is Brown Session 1 mentally fit, but physically fit as well.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteYou're breaking my heart! You write about these great murals on the wall of the restaurant you ate at yet you offer us no photographs so we might share in what you saw?
The site visits to these colleges are an important part of the ILC. We used to travel to them on the weekends but that took too much away from the experience at the college you were attending. So, at great expense to the ILC, we extended your stay by several days so we could dedicate enough time to see schools that might pique your interest.