Hello. This is Oraaaaaa. Since the topics of the articles for this round need to do something with advice about choosing which college to attend, I decided to write how I ended up in Grinnell College.
As I said in my introductory blog, I would have to say that one of the most important factors of choosing colleges was the financial component. However, when I slowly thought about why I came here, I noticed that the explanation was superficial and it didn’t make sense for that to even be a reason. Since I was born and raised in Japan, American colleges were not my only option; I could have chosen to go to a Japanese college, which would have had a significantly lower tuition fee. If I was just choosing which college to attend in my senior year by cost, it would have been evident that Japanese colleges was the way to go.
While pondering the question of why I chose Grinnell College for one whole day, no straightforward, simple answer popped into my head. I conclude for now that I chose to attend this college because of intuition.
College is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it does sound ridiculous to choose which college to study in for four years just from a feeling and not back it up with logic. Although it is absurd to choose college like that, I still agree with my decision and choice of trusting my intuition, and this is why. Some people may choose colleges because of the rank of the college, the famous departments in that college, but those are just opportunities and not guarantees. Action needs to be taken to take advantage of the opportunities that colleges present. I believed and still believe it does not make too much of a difference which college people go to; people who will take advantage of the college they attend the most will make their way into higher levelled places while people who are satisfied at where they are will stand still and not advance forward. As long as people have the will and determination to pursue what they want to accomplish, the path will eventually open.
This blog entry is short, but I want show that there is no right or wrong choice for choosing which college to attend. I am currently in Grinnell College and am able to pursue what I planned to in college. What splits the path between success and failure is in where people end trying. College is not an endpoint, but another path full of branches that lead everywhere. People who are content with entering a prestigious college and stop working hard there will see less of the world than others who went to lower ranked colleges and strived to learn more. I chose my college through instinct. That is the only reason I needed with some determination and the spirit to learn.
