East Coast Once More!

Today was basically a day of travel for me and my father, who is the one accompanying me on this exciting trip. We flew from San Francisco to Newark and then to Rhode Island. We missed our connecting flight, that left prior to its departure time from Newark, and this led me to miss my chance of speaking to a Clark student today in the afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow I get the chance to speak to other current Clark students at tomorrows “Admitted Students Open House,” so that I can get a better perspective on the student experience at Clark.

After the amazing summer program I did at Brown University, I seriously yearned to come back to the East Coast. Though, my present location is not Rhode Island I am still happy to be here because I will have the chance to visit Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Clark University is one of my top college choices; I have however never been on the campus. I became interested in Clark as Sue Kim told me about it and I did my own research on it. The liberal arts, community involvement, diversity, size, and mission of this university greatly lure me.

However, coming to Clark consists of so many other considerations. From financial aid to its location going to Clark would be an immense change in my life. For the past 14 years of my life I have resided in California and have rarely been away from both my parents. Going to Clark for four years would definitely mean that I would practically be on my own. If anything where to occur it would all be on me, my parents being in California would obviously not be able to assist me as much and maybe even not at all. In addition, being able to see my family and friends would be a limited event that would make me increasingly homesick. Due to the high price of plane tickets and the fact that certain holiday breaks would not be long enough for me to make a trip back and forth from California to Worcester, for the most part of the year I would not be able to see my family and friends in California. I have also seen this from a different perspective where I will grow and flourish into an adult because of my distance from home.

There is a lot that pushes me towards Clark and a lot that does the opposite too. I think that the defining thing will be whether I like the feel of Clark. By this I mean not simply academically, but socially as well. I personally want to attend a university where the student life is vibrant, where there is lots’ happening on campus, and the environment is both peaceful and inviting. Basically tomorrow when I am on the campus I want to see whether I can imagine myself as a Clark student not only flourishing in academics, but in my other passions as well.

I thank the ILC and all those involved with the program for the chance to get an up close look at Clark, so that I can better make my decision as to whether or not I would like to be a part of Clark University’s Class of 2015.