Author: Meghan Michelson
Normally this column proudly states fact and figures about California and the West Coast that in my opinion glorify and compliment the states on the opposite side of the country. Being from California, I have been determined to make native East Coasters at Middlebury realize just what it is they are missing by suffering through these long, icy Vermont winters. However, in due time I knew I was going to have to admit that I am currently living on the East Coast, and I would eventually need to explain my reason for choosing to come to this side of the country in the first place.
Well, the answer is simple. The quality of higher education on the East Coast is far superior to that on the West Coast. Although there are obviously some exceptions, generally speaking the colleges and universities along the East Coast are more renowned, and for generations have offered elite academic experiences to students from all over the world. It has become common for students graduating from high schools on the West Coast to travel east, seeking excellence in education indicated by competitive applicant pools and low admission acceptance rates. Less frequently will students from the East feel the desire or need to go west to school, despite world famous colleges and universities scattered throughout their neighboring states.
There is a certain connotation connected with East Coast schools, one that is especially realized in the West, where there exist very few, if any, schools of the same academic caliber. The ivy-covered stone buildings, pea coat clad students and intimate class discussions set on the grassy hillsides associated with colleges in the Northeast create an environment unmatched by any college west of the Rocky Mountains. Colleges and universities in the West do not share the same history and tradition that East Coast schools established over 200 years ago. It is practically impossible for West Coast colleges to compete with the schools in the East that were founded before the state of California even accepted into the union.
It is not just the feel of colleges on the East Coast that make them seem superior; they are indeed ranked higher on the national level. According to the U.S. News and World Report national college rankings, in the top 30 liberal arts colleges, only three of them are located in California. The top 10 include mostly NESCAC schools with similar academic reputations as Middlebury, and only one California college squeaked into the top 10. For top national universities, there are only four California universities in the top 30 and the rest are primarily located on the East Coast.
Ironically, there are more colleges and universities in California than in most of New England.
There are 90 four-year colleges or universities within the state of California while there are only 84 in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts combined. Despite an ample selection of colleges in California, however, few of them are up to par academically with those in the Northeast.
All right, so I have confessed that the East Coast is definitely superior in regards to the quality of its educational institutions.
However, who can deny that it would not be great to attend a college right near the beach in sunny Southern California?
Granted, the academic standards may be slightly inferior, but imagine replacing all of those snow boots with flip-flop sandals, throwing out the winter coats in exchange for bathing suits, and swapping ski goggles with sunglasses. We would be able to study under natural sunlight on white sandy beaches — if even studying at all — as opposed to under the flickering florescent bulbs of the old stone library. We would drink fresh fruit smoothies strolling under palm trees, in contrast with sipping hot chocolate while hustling from one building to the next.
All this could be true, if only Middlebury were in California.
THE CALIFORNIA GIRL
Comments
