The list of high quality colleges and universities in the United States is anything but brief. Yet, among the many, eight stand out. They are perceived bastions of academic excellence. They have substantial endowments and a rock star line-up of professors on tenure. They have been around, in some cases, longer than America itself. They are ladder rungs in social hierarchy, stepping stones to career success, and in a league of their own. They are the Ivies.

Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale are eight of the most respected schools in the country. For most students, they represent the ultimate achievement in college admissions. Yet are they truly deserving of this regard or are they in reality simply an intellectual feedlot for the offspring of America’s wealthy and influential? Is there more to the Ivy League than money and pretense?

Brown, Penn, Wesleyan, Pomona, WashU?

After a frustrating year spent at the wrong university for me, I was lucky enough to receive five thick envelopes in the mail in exchange for the significant toil of transfer applications. Eventually, I chose to decline offers of admission from Pomona, Washington University in St Louis, and Penn, and my choice narrowed to Wesleyan and Brown. In originally applying, I had my heart set on Wesleyan, a small liberal arts focused university in suburban Connecticut. Wesleyan, affectionately called ‘Wes’ among students, is known for its liberal, hippy-hipster attitude. Their tight-knit, inclusive community seemed a dream after wandering the anonymous, labyrinthine halls of my former place of education. After a long visit on campus with a friend, I felt at home there.

My parents, however, were applying considerable pressure to further explore my acceptance to Brown. After having had a negative experience with their precollege program three years prior, I could hardly manage to remember why I had applied to transfer there in the first place. I certainly could not fathom my own attendance when my Brown letter of admission initially arrived. The pro-con, Wes vs. Brown list began to formulate in my mind. Though Wesleyan started out ahead, the scale quickly shifted.

I knew I felt at home at Wes, in the moment. I knew I would be happy there and feel the stress of anonymity dissipate with a satisfying immediacy. Wes offered instant social gratification in addition to excellent academics. But I have always wanted to enter the legal field following the completion of my formal education. 92 – 95% of Brown graduates are accepted to one of their top three choices of law school. That success rate is nearly 100% in the case of business school applications. Wesleyan, though a university of an extremely high caliber, does not hold Ivy clout with top law schools in the same way Brown does. I noted a team list of United States Supreme Court justices that read like a Division 1 roster, and I had to admit the obvious Ivy home field advantage.

While there were countless other points that eventually tipped the scale to Brown, including considerable parental influence, it was the Ivy name as weighted factor that was most difficult to accept. Simple facts were much less morally challenging; Wesleyan’s endowment was dwarfed by that of Brown. Brown has a larger student body, and is a research university, allowing me access to a wider range of classes, albeit at the expense of a certain degree of community. These quantifiable truths were reassuring of my decision, unlike the selling point of name.

The Value of Prestige

As uncomfortable as it may make me to admit it, the shiny Ivy name factored in my college choice. I am unsure why I find such difficultly in admitting I want a spot in that exclusive league. The benefits seem obvious, and the connections endless. Yet in this economic downturn, Ivy League endowments are dropping in double-digit percentages, and some perks, services, and visiting professors are being dropped along with them. Yet even if the tangible benefits received in return for hefty tuition costs wane, esteem does not.

Many students are fortunate enough to have a choice between schools when the letters come in, whether they applied for freshman or transfer admission. That decision will likely be influenced, even to the smallest degree, by perceptions of prestige. When a student pays in excess of $200,000 for college, they aren’t just purchasing four years of classes and parties. College is, in a way, a drawn-out transaction by which a student buys their degree. For the money, it seems logical that a student should want the name above theirs on that very valuable piece of paper to be recognizable and respected. But at the end of the day, prestige is just another puzzle piece in the admissions game.

By Risa Stein

Going off to college may mean leaving behind Mom and Dad, but it does mean picking up a new, mysterious cohabitant, your roommate. College freshmen overwhelmingly either choose to, or are required to, live in dorms. At some schools there exists the option of single inhabitant rooms, but these are few and far between. For the majority of freshmen, then, the move to college includes a transition into shared space. The type of room shared, however, can vary greatly.

Different Dorm Options

At some well-known schools, for example NYU, students are given a choice between ‘traditional’ and ‘apartment style’ dorming. The former is the classic set-up students usually envision when college housing is mentioned. Two x-long twin beds, two desks, and massive shared bathrooms down a long hall of doorways that each lead to another identical room. The traditional style dorm hall is known for creating a social atmosphere, particularly in schools where an open door policy is in effect. Students may find this style creates a stronger sense of community, even if it does come at the cost of braving public restrooms.

An alternative, apartment-style housing, may be offered for an additional charge beyond the usual price of traditional dorming. Apartment housing offers the benefits of a small kitchen and private bathroom usually shared between two to four bedrooms, housing a total of four to ten students. Apartment style housing allows more privacy, and freedom from an expensive meal plan, and the dreaded dining hall food. However, some students may feel isolated, as open-door policies are less effective and fewer connections are made between floormates.

Roommate Relations

Very few freshmen room with someone they know during their first year in college. Most are randomly paired with another student based on a housing survey that usually asks basic questions such as, “Do you smoke?”, “How neat are you?” and “Can you study with loud music?” Housing surveys make sure roommates have similar living habits, but that’s about it. It doesn’t take into account potential roommates’ personalities or idiosyncrasies. This is why, in the first few weeks, a roommate is really a stranger you live with.

Because of the highly random process of roommate pairing, roommate relations vary enormously. Some will find that they were paired with their future best friends, while others will learn to hate their roommates eternally. But those are extreme cases. A lot of the time a roommate is just someone you get along, but have conflicts with once in a while because of different living preferences. This is not necessarily a bad thing—roommates force you to learn how to share and respect others.

Since roommate relations help define your college experience, it’s important to keep them healthy. Below are 2 essential things to consider in order to maintain a smooth relationship with your roommate.

1. Bring up problems early—don’t bottle it up and hope it will go away. Developing a forum where you and your roommate can openly talk about issues is important. Whether the problem is your roommate’s significant other coming over too much or her dirty sneakers being on your bed, bring it up and remember to be courteous about it.

2. Compromise, even if it hurts a little. My roommate and I had very different temperature preferences. She was comfortable at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I consider anything below 65 degrees freezing. We compromised in the 60s, and took turns being too cold and too hot.

Remember that you don’t need to love your roommate (although that is a bonus)—you just need to learn how to live with them.

By Risa Stein and Lukiih Cuan

In terms of higher education, the University of California system is certainly well known, and is home to several prestigious schools.  The colleges carrying the UC moniker include campuses in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Irvine, Merced, and Riverside, of which the first three are considered to be most prominent.   Acceptance to a UC school is highly sought after, and an esteemed achievement.  Overall, the UC admissions department receives nearly 100,000 applications a year, from both in and out of state students.  All nine schools use the same application, unique from the Common Application and the Universal Application, submitted online during the month of November.

This formidable state school system is uniquely dominated by a non-white minority ethnicity.  The UC system has a 40% Asian student body, a statistic atypical of American universities today.  This uncommon feature of the system appears to be on the cusp of dramatic change.  The University of California has recently come under media fire for admissions policy changes some argue are intended to decrease the ubiquitous Asian presence on campuses across the state.

In recent years, requirements for admission have included the SAT or ACT, two SAT subject tests, a high GPA and a myriad of impressive extracurricular activities.  However, the University of California has decided that beginning with the freshman class of 2012, they will drop the SAT II requirement, increase the eligible applicant pool, and lower the number of students accepted on the basis of scores alone.   Their stated intent is entirely unrelated to ethnicity; UC President Mark Yudof said, “The primary goal is fairness and eliminating barriers that seem unnecessary.”

The intended result, according to the UC system, is not to lower the number of Asian students who admitted, students who (stereo)typically perform exceptionally on standardized tests.  The media outcry seems unwarranted if this is truly the case.  However, the purpose of the shift is not to increase the number of underrepresented minorities, specifically Hispanics, on campus either.  It is claimed by the opponents to new requirements that the change will largely benefit white students over all others by lessening competition from their Asian counterparts.

For students already on campus, the whisperings of change have resulted in shouts of protest.  Yet for many students, race is less of a concern than the press may make it out to be.  Eric L., a rising sophomore at UC Davis, comments he believes that, while a change in policy is needed, it should have a nonracial focus.  For him, the UC system would benefit from an attempt to “support underrepresented minorities more on a level of social class,” accepting a greater number of students from lower income levels as opposed to remaining transfixed by the issue of ethnicity.

Whether or not the change in UC admissions policy will impact future percentages of Asian matriculates remains to be seen, but the American media has shown no hesitation in its hasty upheaval over the admissions policy modification.  Three years remain before the adjustment takes effect, students still may rise up against socioeconomic and/or racial homogeny.  Three years remain and the UC system or state may decide to embrace a decidedly overrepresented Asian student body.  Three years remain, and applicants may just have to wait in suspense to see who makes the cut come 2012.

For students, fall of senior year means creating a list – the list – of schools to which applications will be sent in hopes of many happy returns.   There are some who make the list more consistently than others, Ivy leaguers, big state schools.  Some students’ lists have a catalog of small, private liberal arts colleges, and others read as rosters of the brightest in undergrad business.  The lists are not just compromised of heavy hitters; an entire class of less commonly mentioned colleges is drawing in a steady stream of desirable applicants: minority schools.

These colleges actively choose a population comprised of at least one third of students belonging to a specific ethnic or racial minority group.  Minority universities aim to mainstream students who may be marginalized elsewhere.  These schools are organized with a focus on the categories of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU).  In the eyes of some they are evidence of a commonly accepted behavioral norm – minorities in America choosing to spend time primarily with people of the same race or ethnicity.

Some believe minority colleges contribute to an ongoing marginalization of minority students in higher education, creating pull for non-white students to decide against integrating into a majority Caucasian school.  Active, willful segregation of students based on race is still by definition segregation, even though it has received the stamp of approval from its minority community.  In a certain light, the minority college harkens back to a time where separate but equal was the only way, not a chosen way.

When interviewed, a Howard student stated that although she was aware of the potential downsides, she felt positive and confident in her college selection.  Howard is one of the most prominent and well-known historically black universities in the United States.  She cited tradition, her parents were alums, as well as a sense of belonging as being among her reasons for attending Howard. She expressed no major qualms about the education she has received there.  For her, racial lines define the community she wants to be a part of.

While the significance of racial and ethnic solidarity among minority groups should not be overlooked, diversity is an important goal to strive for in American colleges.  A valuable element of higher education is interaction between students with a variety of backgrounds and upbringings. Students potentially sacrifice this facet of the college experience by choosing to attend a minority school; they narrow, but do not necessarily close, their window of exposure to people from entirely different cultures. The choice to attend a nearly all-white college poses the same major problem. An equivalent issue may be seen among religiously affiliated schools.  Even if it does guarantee some form of solidarity among matriculates, limiting who may enroll means concurrently limiting the depth and breadth of the student body.  It could easily be argued that a student has the most to gain from crossing racial or religious lines and choosing to attend a school with a more mixed community.