From our Archive:
Tents, excited faces, flowing and vibrantly colored “penguin gowns” with the mortar board - long, interminable speeches with congratulatory notes, sitting on the edge of your chair, wondering whether you will stumble as you walk up when your name is called. Mis-pronounced names and associated giggles, the occaisional catcalls and whistles - and then the downpour!
Mid-May to mid June in the US is the graduation season for most colleges and universities. Card shops and Hallmark go out of their way to step over each other with their creative “Congratulations, Graduate!” cards, knick-knacks and gift items. Proud grandparents and parents crisscross the nation, making their way to graduation ceremonies and back.
Part of the entire graduation culture is also reflection - looking back on the college or graduate school experience. I’ve watched as disgruntled college graduates have shunned their own ceremonies, disillusioned, unhappy and just burnt out.
Getting out of college with your sanity in one piece is just as important, and often just as hard, as getting into a good college of university with sufficient financial support. Yet both really rely on similar essential criteria - picking the right college option is often half the work towards ensuring a happy, balanced and meaningful college experience.
For those of you emerging out of your highschool days, now is the crucial time to consider what type of academic setting you want and to choose colleges to apply to accordingly. To be able to decide, the best approach is to read widely - through college and university websites, the US News and World Report articles, and to ask friends and mentors who have been through the college experience.
So ask away. If you’ve identified a list of 10-15 colleges that you are interested in, share those names, characteristics and why you’re attracted to those places here on the Adhunika blog. We can pool our college experiences, ideas and thoughts and help with the informed decision.
Now is also the time to begin registering and studying for the entrance exams - SAT I, TOEFL, SAT II.
post your questions here and I’ll try to answer them!