The hardest part about choosing a college was making sure a school’s brand name did not become a factor in my decision.
 
When I left the Yale University campus in Connecticut, I knew where I was going to be spending the next four years of my life. Then I flew back home to Kansas and started to think about everything I had experienced at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
 
The more I thought about it, the harder it was for me to commit to Yale. I was leaning toward Amherst, mainly because of financial aid. I was a bit surprised when Amherst offered more aid than Yale. So I appealed Yale’s initial offer, and the Ivy League school ended up reconsidering and matching Amherst’s financial aid package.
 
With finances no longer a factor, I continued down my list of things to look for in a college.
 
I thought my decision would be much tougher to make, but as time went on and I began to ask students about their experiences at both colleges, the decision became clearer.
 
I looked at class sizes and how easy it was for students to get to know professors. I sent e-mails to one faculty member from each school to test response times and depth of their responses.
 
Unsurprisingly, the professor at Amherst responded to my e-mail within two minutes after I had sent it. (Honestly, that freaked me out a little — I felt as if he was expecting it because it came a bit too fast, even for my own expectations.)
 
The response from Yale was delayed, but it was far greater in length and much more in depth.
 
Since that didn’t help in the decision process, I asked several students at Yale how easy it was for students to access professors. “Really easy,” they all responded. They explained that at smaller schools, professors often initiated the conversations with students. A student who doesn’t start conversations with professors would have problems getting to know them at a large university like Yale, but if that same student has initiative, then he won’t have a problem.
 
I consider myself a go-getter type, so I feel as if I wouldn’t have a problem getting to know professors, even if classes are larger at Yale than they would be at Amherst.
 
So, when that, too, turned out to be useless when comparing both schools, I had to resort to the old-school method of deciding where I felt the most comfortable.
 
And with that, the verdict is in: I will be joining Yale’s class of 2017!
 
College, to me, has often been described as a place where students are forced to choose two categories among sleep, good grades and a social life. At Yale, though, I felt that students there managed to do all three without a problem.
 
That’s what is most attractive about the school: the ability for its students to maintain balanced lives. Also, Yale’s residential college system gives me a smaller community to work with while still being at a large research university.
 
It’s perfect.
 
Time and time again it’s been said that a college experience isn’t dependent on where we go, but rather what we make of it. For me, though, it’s been even more important to remember that college is only a stop in the journey. It’s not the final destination.
 
With that in mind, I know that I have four wonderful years in New Haven to look forward to, before, once again, it’s time to decide in what direction I want my life to head.
 
But for now, I can finally breathe normally once more. Whew.