Well, I think I have been able to eliminate one school choice.
I went on a tour of UM on Friday and it was love at first sight. It is lush and very vibrant. Students were playing Frisbee, others were just reading while lying down on the grass, some were studying with friends, etc. When I envisioned college life as a teenager, this was it. I asked a bunch of questions and the truth remains that I will need to come up with money to pay for school but that is the only downside. I loved it so much that as soon as the tour was over I called Matt and told him we better start looking for student loans.
I went to Barry today. The idea was to get a tour but it was absolutely pouring so no tour. What I did get to see was….meh. To be fair, I’m sure the weather did not do the place justice. No one was outside, clearly, so it seemed deserted. The buildings look old and not very impressive at all. However, the service was very personal. I actually met with my admissions counselor one on one as opposed to a group session. We ended up declaring me a biology major because I said I intended to apply to the Cardiovascular Perfusion program (which I DO have to wait until the fall of 2011 to start). I also met with the VA rep and indeed, my entire tuition and fees would be covered between the VA and the school. That, I admit, is the only thing Barry has going for it. What made me decide that Barry was just out of the question was the commute. I knew it was far but I am not prepared to deal with that traffic every day. It’s one hour each way, probably more in rush hour. I know that if I had do deal with that I’d probably just not go to class.
Obviously, there is no point in getting free education if you are not actually attending classes. Barry is out. There is not a chance in hell I’m going to repeat today’s ordeal 5 days a week for at least 2 years. No way, no how.
So now it boils down to UM and FIU. UM is my 1st choice. If for whatever reason I cannot come up with the funds for UM then I suppose FIU will be my last option. After all, if I’m going to get a degree in biology then I might as well get it from a school that is MUCH closer to me.
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