A Tour of Colleges

So this is mainly a post dedicated to those curious about certain elite colleges in the northeast. Of course I'm sure the only person who will care is Lindsay, but we'll move on.

Day 1:
I arrived Saturday night at La Guardia Airport in Queens, NYC, NY. I didn't do anything except repack for the car trip ahead.
Day 2: Amherst
We stopped by Amherst on the way to Boston so I could explore the possibilities of a small liberal arts college. It was certainly small thats for sure. There were a handful of buildings and a lot of tennis courts. It's located in a pretty rural area although there are many schools in that area. The campus is quite nice even though it is small. I didn't go to an info session or a tour though because it was sunday. However, i can say that there doesn't seem to be much in terms of entertainment and such due to its location. I also had major problems getting a T-Mobile signal so thats probably not the best choice in terms of cell provider. If you want a quiet place to study with a great academic program and small class sizes this is probably the place to do it. However, if you want more activities and opportunities during the school year this probably isn't the place.

Day 3: Harvard
One of the most hyped colleges in the U.S. deserves its hype. Being a typical student in a middle class family the one thing that stuck out the most was the financial aid package which averaged around 32k, with only an estimated 6k total in loans over a period of four years which is great. Besides that it has a really nice campus in the middle of Cambridge. While it doesn't have the major aura of the city as a school such as Columbia, there are plenty of opportunities located in Boston and Cambridge including the surrounding area which definitely looks more like a typical college campus in contrast with Amherst. Harvard has a lot of money of course which puts the student at an advantage when he or she is looking to start a club or start research. The school is typical of an Ivy in that it requires students to get a full liberal arts education by ensuring students meet certain requirements of classes in different areas. While many of the elite colleges tend to blend together after a while, each has its own characteristics. Harvard has a nice campus, with the money to back up its student's endeavors while located in a city which offers a lot of opportunities but not as much as maybe New York City which may overwhelm a student.

To be continued.

AP Scores

This year's results for the AP Tests was slightly better than last year's. Last year I received a 5 on the World History exam and a 1 on the Spanish Language exam. This year, I got 5's on both the US History and Human Geography exams as well as a 4 on the English Language & Composition exam. Even though these are high scores, in fact two of them are the highest scores you can get, I don't entirely feel content with myself for some reason. I have this urge to do more and achieve more. Maybe this is linked to the fact that I did poorly on the SAT Subject Tests which actually matter to colleges. However, I feel a need to do something more than just score high on tests, I need to achieve a standard that goes beyond a generic list of necessities and multiple choice answers. High test scores are supposed to make you slightly content right? These scores make feel my life is empty though and missing something I have yet to find.