Swarthmore's Intellectual Education

We are quiet and focused, erratic and spontaneous, power-hungry and arrogant, self-loathing and snobby. But we, students, are merely people who want to learn. Though Delbanco believes that a Liberal Arts education today might be riddled with inaccessibility and uselessness, I know, as a student engulfed in the liberal arts to the fullest, that such an education will provide students with the ability to “fight out among and within themselves…. And discover that self-interest need not be at odds with concern for one another” (177). Through interdisciplinary study and educational freedom, students can dine quite well on a balanced and colorful buffet plate of

Every year, the University of Massachusetts Amherst invites its students to enjoy the experience of reading a book together through the Common Read program. For the 2017-18 year, UMass chose The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore as their Common Read. Author Wes Moore visited UMass on September 28th and talked about his life and the creation of his story. His visit had shown me a new perspective on the importance of the college experience. Learning how to interact with others, becoming more independent, and giving back to your community were all lessons that Moore had discussed in his keynote speech. His visit was a great way to bring closure to his story and answer the questions left hanging at the end of the book.

Students today have been raised to think that college is just the next step in life after high school. Decades ago,going to college was a huge achievement and not many people enrolled. Today, however it is almost expected that you go to college. The purpose of college has been changing over the years. Students and professors have lost sight of what to get out a college education. Gary Gutting explains in his article, “What is College for?” that students are losing passion for higher education. He also believes that professors are not realizing what their true job really is, and are not doing the necessary procedures to help their students succeed. “In On the Uses of a Liberal Education”, Mark Edmundson shares similar ideas, and gives a first person point of view of Gutting’s ideas about the quality of the college experience. Mark Edmundson would agree with Gary Gutting’s claims that the quality of colleges is declining and is negatively affecting the students and faculty members.

More people than ever before are attending college due to the endless opportunities that it provides. Louis Menand, a college professor and the author of “Live and Learn: Why We Have College,” explains the meaning of college through three theories that have been developed. Theory 1 supports the idea of the sorting-out process that separates the highly intelligent from the less intelligent. Menand’s second theory explains that college provides opportunities for developmental growth, personal growth, and teaches individuals about the world around us. These are valuable lessons that will not be learned anywhere else. Theory three supports the idea of people attending college to specialize in a specific vocation. I

Advice for an Incoming student- This new adventure called “college” is a scary but a worthwhile experience. The pages are blank and you get to decide who you are and how you let the King’s College community shape you. This is the

Because of the remedial classes, Keene then began to believe that she can attain whatever she needed to become successful through life experiences. Although, this belief did not last long, she returned to community college and attained a higher persistence in completing a two-year degree. As a result of Keene’s persistence and studiousness, she acquired a new perception of academia at Columbia College, “I met two professors, Ted Hamilton and Paula Clarke, who fundamentally challenged my worldview, my expectation of academia, my sense of own academic potential, and my understanding of responsibilities as a citizen.” (Keene 65) It is after taking these courses is when Keene came to the conclusion that colleges need to challenge its students intellect. After achieving this new perspective, Keene was able to transfer to several universities, as well as an ivy league university. Later on her life, Keene experienced the other side of the spectrum. She began teaching at Columbia College,

Since my visit to UM two years ago, I have imagined being a part of its culture of diversity and its campus full of amazing facilities. Through a college education there, I know I can place my studies in a bigger context that includes multicultural perspectives, global human and environmental needs, the role of technology and creativity, and service to our

Institutions of higher education often struggle to find strategies that successfully engage students in learning. In the article “Faculty Work, Student Success,” Colleen Flaherty attempts to address this problem by analyzing the benefits that undergraduate research has on students and faculty. However, she points out that faculty have a hard time balancing the demands of focusing on teaching students while keeping up with research, without sacrificing the quality of one or both pursuits. Flaherty uses the College of New Jersey, as an example of an institution that took a risk and did a complete reformation of their curriculum focusing on the teacher-scholar model and undergraduate research (Flaherty, 2014). Since the implementation of the program in 2004, it had benefited both students and faculty alike such as increased retention and recruitment rates and increased student-faculty interactions (Flaherty, 2014). The new curriculum lightened the faculty teaching requirement to three courses a semester than were focused on undergraduate research and scheduled time to pursue their own research while encouraged to include students in that as well (Flaherty, 2014). While this new model has worked well for this university to engage students in learning through an emphasis on undergraduate research and balancing the faculty’s workload by changing their curriculum, this model may just not be feasible for some institutions since they vary greatly in size, focus, and resources, etc.

College. The word alone sends an icy chill down my spine as my mind wanders and dreams of the day that I will finally step foot on an enlightening campus. As a curious child and even more inquisitive teen, I have always been, and continue to be, mesmerized by the glossy college pamphlets with perfect photos of students, posing “naturally” in their science labs and English seminars. I always knew college was for me, as at the age of seven I began planning out my future major (and minors). Of course, my ideal university and course of study has changed over the years, yet the idea of college has continued to fascinate me. The core principles of any given college are most likely related to collaboration, a rigorous education, and diversity, which

When people hear the word “college”, many panic inside at the thought. But, when I hear the word “college” I think about Illinois State University. In early July, I attended an Open House at ISU for my very first official college visit. As I stepped onto campus, I couldn’t but help to feel like it was my future home. Many aspects of the tour made me draw nearer to choosing this college after finishing my High School career. Illinois State University seems to fit my personality very well, has an amazing program for what I want to study, and is an outstanding campus for my academic strengths and weaknesses.

The Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at the New School stands out to me over other liberal arts colleges due to its unique classroom dynamic as well as strong focus on academic freedom and social justice. I am excited that The New School gives students the ability to personalize their major and pick classes appropriate to their interests. I value this academic freedom since it will allow me to explore and expand my interests as well as enlighten me in fields I am unfamiliar with. Lang’s focus on intellectual freedom will allow me to expand on prior knowledge, but also allow me to branch out and take more academic risks. Lang encourages this risk-taking by giving students control of shaping their own major. With this ability I will be able to learn from risks I take and find new values to my education, and

In 2014, there were over 17.3 million students enrolled in American undergraduate programs, a 31% increase from fourteen years ago in 2000 (National Center for Education Statistics). In this day and age, most Americans need a degree to ascertain career opportunities in the future; there are options for virtually all backgrounds to receive a postsecondary education. Due to the variety of education options in the United States, there are numerous opportunities for one to reach their “Utopia” when coming to school. In an idea world, there must be a school for every student to have their individual needs met and provide the perfect college experience. Through synthesizing famous texts such as Hamlet, The Aeneid, Utopia, and The Prince, I will describe the “Utopian” college setting that will successfully prepare a student like myself for the transition into adulthood. While college is both intellectually stimulating and challenging, there should be no challenge to be prepared for the “real world.”

Over the course of this semester, I have learned a lot about who I am. I have discovered things that I did not know about myself. Choosing Spelman College as an institute to education myself at was only the first step that I took. Overcoming the challenges that it has brought is the second step that I am yet taking. I am slowly, but surely transforming into a Free Thinking Woman.

When I explored Johns Hopkins University online, I came to a conclusion that it has everything that one could possibly dream of. To begin with, JHU is capable of nurturing a comprehensive liberal education while allowing a remarkable amount of freedom in designing one’s own curriculum. Moreover, as a person hungry for intellectual stirrings, I wish to be surrounded by people equally eager to learn and folks considerably smarter. I want to acquire knowledge from those around me and share mine to contribute to the richness of JHU’s environment. Furthermore, I would love to take advantage of various research opportunities. Without a doubt, at Johns Hopkins University, I will continue to variegate my experiences by immersing into a vibrant, diverse intellectual community of scholars. Moreover, I am sure that JHU's academic approach will endow my natural curiosity with adequate tools to expand my intellectual horizons and become a Renaissance

In addition to the social aspects, college teaches how to develop independent thinking. It also “exposes future citizens to material that enlightens and empowers them, whatever careers they end up choosing” (Menand, 3). However, most students today perceive college fundamentally as a party scene and various forms of entertainment instead of focusing on school work. They have forgotten about the academic freedom provided by receiving a proper college education.