Double+Truck

Double Truck: Colleges: Will you end up at the same school with the kid you sit next to in English?

It is bound to happen, we may end up at the same college as the kid who we could never get along with because of conflicting personalities, perspectives or interests. You may ask yourself why would that kid want to go to the same school as you? There is a simple answer: You both grew up in the same community and want small classes at a liberal arts college that is close to a major city but not that so close that the campus is empty on the weekends. We all have expectations for the college experience whether it is partying twenty-four seven, studying constantly to get into med school, or growing intellectually, whatever it is there is a good chance one of your peers has a similar idea, similar grades, similar extracurricular, and a similar socio-economic status. These similarities have us looking at all the same schools, here are the stats to prove we all apply and attend very similar colleges:

Top 14 Schools with Most WHS Grads

1. Boston College-20 1. University of Massachusetts, Amherst-20 3. Boston University-14 4. Ithaca College-10 5. Cornell University-9 6. Skidmore College-8 6. Georgetown University-8 6. Trinity University-8 6. Hamilton College-8 10. University of Colorado-Boulder-7 10. Tufts University-7 10. NYU-7 10. Providence College-7 10. Syracuse University-7

Top 10 Most Applied to Schools How many kids? Acceptance Rate? G.P.A.? 1. University of Massachusetts, Amherst 		157      75%         3.86 2. University of Vermont 				       113       45%         3.86 3. Boston College                                             103       43%        4.27 4. Boston University				                 76        61%        4.08 5. Northeastern University				         71        71%        3.82 6. Tufts University 					         62        29%        4.7 7. Providence College                                        61        27%        4.08 8. University of New Hampshire                         60        57%        3.76 9. Fairfield University 				         55        42%        3.92 10. Cornell University 				         49        31%         4.53

Note: All Data Taken From http://connection.naviance.com/ and represents acceptance/applications from 2006-2007.

Quick Facts

-Eight of the ten most applied to colleges are amongst the 14 schools with the most WHS                      Graduates -Five of the top 10 most applied to colleges are in Massachusetts, nine are in New England. -Six of the 14 colleges with most WHS grads are in New York State. -*90% of seniors do not want to go to the same college as a good friend. -*Of the 90%, 50% have friends applying to at least two of the same schools as they are. -*64% of seniors say they will choose what college they attend depending on whether friends go there as well


 * According to a poll of 30 students

Caroline's College Commentary Caroline Egan '08

As I sat in Mr. Hughart's room for the Barnard information session with the representative and me, alone, I thought to myself, “Number one. This is extremely awkward because I know everything there is to know about the school and second; do I really want to go to a school where I do not know anyone? Not even an upperclassmen?” Yes. No. Maybe. I can barely decide what sweatpants to wear in the morning, how am I supposed to know if I would like a familiar face in the halls of where ever I may end up for college? Most of us seniors, or perhaps even freshman are thinking about it already (senioritis can start early for some), want college to be a new chapter with no reoccurring characters who seem to pop up everywhere, we want our college to be ours and only ours. And that dream is difficult to achieve, so many of us apply to the same schools, my best friends and I are applying to the same schools. I do not want to go to college with them. Some may find my last sentence to be callous but I need my college experience to be a time to re-define myself in a new environment with new people and new ideas. The complete cliché of what college is supposed to be, and by cliché I am alluding to the meeting new people, finding your niche in a new community. The best person from school to end at the same college with would be someone who you never had the chance to get to know in high school because of social groups or never having a class with that person or someone who you are good friends with but is just the right personality to go to college with, but how rare is that? Extremely. We are bound to have our best friend to go to school with us or acquaintances when we live in a town where our parents want us to go to the best schools, which generally means east coast; most of us don't want a huge university, so that means small universities and liberal arts colleges, and before you know it the group of schools will dwindle down to three or four schools that five kids in your AP Stat class are choosing between to apply Early Decision too. So I guess the answer to my original question is yes, I want to go to a school where I do not know anyone, a familiar face can be nice for some, but not for me. I’ll choose the path less traveled by WHS students.