Why Liberal Arts? The Quintessential College Experience!

My parents were hoping for me to choose an Ivy League University – for instance, Princeton University where my father taught for many years. I loved it, but I was on my own quest. I knew from the very beginning that I would thrive best at a small Liberal Arts College where I could study a variety of obscure subjects and come out a more well-rounded thinker. In the initial phase I was totally cutthroat – if a College or University wasn’t in the top 10 I just wasn’t interested.

I was an Honor Roll student, diverse, well-spoken, packed with hobbies and extra-curriculars that set me apart from the rest. I was also a terrible Standardized Test taker. I did alright in the English / Writing portion but was abysmal in Math – and it showed. I once called my top choice disguising my voice and giving a fake name to ask how many students they had taken the previous year with an SAT score of less than 500 out of 800. The Admissions Officer chuckled – this wasn’t her first “I’m calling on behalf of a shy friend who doesn’t want to be named” Q & A. She said a few would still be accepted even with low test scores.

I wrote my Personal Statement over a hundred times. I changed my university list dozens of times. In the end I made a top 5 my first choice – Wellesley College –  and followed up with applications to other top 10 – 30 institutions: Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Oberlin College and  the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. When I got admitted to all I was sure I would go to the best one – Wellesley. It had the highest rankings and was the sister school to Harvard University for goodness sakes! I was at the top with a worse SAT score than anyone could explain. But my Mother insisted I go and visit the campuses of all my top 3 before sending in my confirmation.

I saw Smith College first – it seemed everyone who was anyone went there. I liked the campus, the women there were nice, students seemed satisfied and highly political. Northampton was cute and spoke to the best of small, college-town America. Something about their slogan and the flow of the first year courses just did not appeal to me. The slogan was: Over 100 Years of Women on Top. Everything just seemed....competitive. Was that me?

Next up was my third choice, Mount Holyoke. It was like entering a storybook. The gates were grand and wreathed in a slogan of that time that said, “Challenging Women to Change the World". As I passed through the gates on foot students waved and smiled, they welcomed us newbies not like rookies, but like sisters. Every building (apart from 1 or 2) was glorious inside and out – grand even. Many dormitories were converted from old mansions and had pianos in the front lobbies. It was a dream. And from what I read and saw it was also a college dedicated to a personal experience and had been since 1837. It was the oldest of the Seven Sister’s and thus distinguished in and of itself, a pioneer. Different members of the Admissions Committee had written to me since applying – with little notes and clippings about things I had indicated I was interested in. I was not a number to these people – I was a bright, young mind, and they were making it clear they wanted me.

There was no cute town – there was a cute neighborhood with a few shops and restaurants, but the campus and the students were the star attractions. Always noted for being one of the most beautiful campuses in America, they really were something special.

The last College I saw was my original first choice – Wellesley College. It was a gray day, and they had a lake so big and dark with no features that it looked like it never ended. Everyone I passed looked serious, dressed in nearly all black, and no one smiled at me as they walked by. Of course they were busy being the best of the best – but they seemed unfriendly on that day. I stayed with a nice girl who was busy with her test prep for much of the time. She told me that they cry over at MIT from the heavy workload but that it wasn’t much lighter there. They had a crass name for the bus that took you from their campus to Harvard and back. And all of this conspired to me thinking maybe I’d do better at a place where perfection wasn’t expected on Day 1.

I got home and confirmed my acceptance to Mount Holyoke College - it didn't have the best rankings, but it had good rankings (top 20), the age, the prestige, the warmth, and the spirit of the future that aligned with my goals and my person. And it has served me in every facet of my life. I have many friends who went to all three colleges, and indeed the brilliance is overwhelming from all of them! But university is a highly personal and professional decision.

What is your “brand” and which university or college matches that best?