Now, I want to play the elimination game meaning I will eliminate the colleges I didn't feel would fit me. Harvard, Williams, University of Penn, and Cornell were the ones I couldn't see myself attending. Harvard and University of Penn were too urban. I don't want a busy "in town" atmosphere during college, and they were rather large universities. Williams and Cornell were too rural. Williams, in my opinion, was in the middle of nowhere, and I did not enjoy that. Cornell, well, has a large undergraduate program, and they make it difficult for me to possibly change my major (which has not been determined).
This leaves 7 other colleges. MIT is a great college if I choose to pursue engineering. It may have the best program of all the schools. However, I don't know if that is what I necessarily want. Swathmore has a pretty campus that is secluded. In my opinion, it may be too small of a school for me. Amherst was quaint, and they had an open curriculum which is a major bonus for them. But, I don't know if I could see myself there. Brown was a "green" campus which I liked. Our environment is very vital. Brown, also, had some uniqueness. One of their libraries has the largest toy soldier collection. Apparently, Brown has quite a few acapella groups. One, for example, dresses up as pirates and sings pirate songs. Then, during hockey games the school band ice skates. Weird? Yes. Princeton. The school that I have always wanted to go to. Sadly, it isn't my favorite. The campus was beautiful, and it had great gothic architecture. But, I'm undecided whether or not it will be the right fit for me. Yale was Yale. One interesting fact was the history behind their main library. The architect felt like every architect should design a chapel once in their lives, and that's what he did for this library. The stain glass windows weren't about Christ but the founding of Yale, and the picture of the woman at the end wasn't Mother Mary but Mother Yale. It was pretty clever. Dartmouth is my favorite, and there are several reasons for that. First, the campus is small but not too small. Second, the D-Plan works for me. The D-Plan is a tri-semester system where I can choose where I want to be during the school year (except for freshman and senior year). Third, the town is adorable. I love Hanover. Fourth, they were foolish and gave me a course catalogue. Fifth, I can become a Polar Bear in the Polar Bear swim. This is where they take out a chunk of ice in the Conneticut River, and then we jump in and swim across it. It would be ice cold, but it would also be fun. And afterwards you get a pin that says, "I'm a Polar Bear." Oh, and did I mention the colors? Forest Green and Black... Perfect.
After this trip, I ranked all of the schools I have seen (including Stanford and the ones I eliminated), and I thought I should share them:
1st: Dartmouth
2nd: Stanford
3rd: Yale
4th: Brown
5th: Princeton
6th: Amherst
7th: MIT
8th: Swathmore
9th: University of Penn
10th: Harvard
11th: Cornell
12th: Williams
Please note that 9-12 don't stand a chance. But I don't regret seeing them. They helped me learn more for my college search. Let's just say, it's An Adventure in Itself.
