Am I to Smart to go to UNCG?

A few weeks ago someone told me that I was way to smart to go to UNCG. It wasn't the first time I'd heard the same phrase directed toward me. But this time, it really got me thinking. Was I to smart to go there? I finally came to a conclusion. The answer was pretty simple, "No, I'm not to smart for UNCG".

When I was a senior in High School, I had my fair pick of which colleges I could attend. I could go to Elon, Carolina, NC State, UNCG, or High Point University. Originally, I planned to attend Elon University as an athletic training major but halfway through the beginning of my senior year, I changed my major. I decided to switch to education. At the time, NC State was just beginning their elementary education major so I felt that it would not be a good choice to go there. So that left Carolina, UNCG, and HPU. I didn't want to be to far from home and I didn't want to go to an extremely huge college, so I ruled out Carolina. When it came down to HPU and UNCG, it was a tougher decision. I had the opportunity to attend HPU as a Presidential Scholar which would basically give me a free ride. I absolutely loved HPU. They have the most gorgeous campus ever! Its really like a playground for college kids. But after much thought and contemplation, I decided on UNCG. UNCG was not a very big campus, alot of my friends had chosen to go there, it was close to home, and after much research, I discovered that they had one of the top education programs in the state! So the decision became easy, that was the school for me!

Over the past 3 years as people have asked me where I go to college, I've watched their faces change as I've told them "I go to UNCG". I know what they are thinking, 'Ohhhh, she goes there. She must not be to smart'. I'll be quite honest, up until my junior year, this bothered me. But when I got into the education program, I realized people had no idea what they are talking about. UNCG may have a bad reputation for some things, but their nursing program and education program are top notch. Therefore, they pride themselves in these programs and expect alot out of their students! UNCG's nursing program and education program are two of the hardest programs to get into! I'm lucky enough that I'm in one of those programs and I'm thankful that they make me bust my butt so that I can be the best teacher there can be! And on top of that, we have amazing teachers. Almost half of my professors have not only taught at UNCG but have taught for big colleges such as Carolina, Wake Forest, Brown University, UCLA and I highly doubt they teach the classes at UNCG any differently than they did at these colleges.

So when choosing a college, its not about getting into the most prestigious school or ivy-league college, its about personal choice. It's about choosing the college that fits you and will give you the best education for the major you choose. Unless you go to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford, or MIT, to be quite honest, I probably won't be impressed. I mean sure, Duke and Wake Forest, are pretty tough schools to get into and I'll give you that. I didn't care to go to either so I didn't apply and who knows, I may could have gotten in there or I may not have, I guess I will never know. But still, it is not that impressive to me even though it may be to others. Frankly, I think people that choose to go to those schools for something other than what they are known for are not very bright. I mean, who wants to go to DUKE just because its DUKE and then major in art? A degree that does not offer many possibilities upon graduation and then when you can't find a job, you are going to owe $200k in student loans? Is that smart? Is it really worth all that money just so you can say you went there? I wouldn't say so but then again thats just my opinion. But if that college works for you and is going to give you the most beneficial education, then I'll be impressed that you chose a college for you and not for society's benefit or to promote your image. To me, that is what makes you smart.