The Stairway to College is made up
of steps that will take you to the
higher education that's right for
you...and (yes) ONLY you!
How high school and college diverge.
The high school experience moves
students through the school system
in groups. Where do you fit in? How
are you viewed? Athlete? Actor?
Academic wiz?
To survive and excel in high school,
you find that you must meet the
expectations for people who are much
the same. Yet, in college, and in
much of the world after college, the
key to excellence, and the route to
happiness, is often to carve your
own path.
How do you
feel when you read this classic poem
by Robert Frost?
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Selecting a college or university is not
about following the path of everyone
else, is it? Ivy League? Or not. Big 10
Football? Or not. While college has
become more expensive and competitive,
the path you choose may surprise all
those around you.
Don't let this idea frighten your
parents or shock your friends. Here's
the core: Trust the voice inside of
you. Small classes: do they appeal to
you or stifle you? Trust your emotions
when visiting this type of school. A
sprawling college campus: Does it
welcome you or bore you? Trust your
intuition over every choice. And when
you meet with two diverging paths, feel
proud of the decision to take the one
less traveled.
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