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The university conundrum

Yuri Sanspeur 04/09/12 | Commentaires [20]

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The month of April is surely a tough one for a substantial number of applicants to US universities. Some have been rejected down the line, a corollary of exponentially increasing competition to access the land of opportunities they are left speculating about other options and how this bad news will affect their future life. Ironically, some are admitted to top-notch universities and yet face a daunting amount of speculation too, especially international students like myself whose main tool for choosing one school over the other remains the internet, replete with student reviews as dubious as they are insightful... Applying to the US as a Mauritian (international) is, indeed, a lot of hard work and this doesnt end until you are certain about which school you will be attending. I applied to 13 schools in total mainly because the US has become too competitive. Out of the 13 schools, I was accepted to 6 of them-University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign, Northeastern University, University of Southern California, University of Delaware and finally Brown University. I was waitlisted at Johns Hopkins University and rejected at Princeton, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, UC Berkeley and Cornell. Since the day I received all my decisions, I have spent most of my time on the internet trying to eliminate universities and have managed to do so leaving solely the university of Michigan and Brown University, two excellent universities. The first reaction of most Mauritian students who have been granted admission into an Ivy League University is to respond positively to this honorific acceptance. Ivy Leagues are known for their amazingly inhumane admission rates (7 percent this year for internationals having applied to Brown) and I will not deny that I was, at first, lured blindly by the aura of prestige that surrounds such institutions. However, it struck to me that I ought, for my own good to carry out a systematic listing of the pros and cons of each university and attribute a specific weightage to them based on my idea of what the characteristics of an ideal undergraduate education entail (a strong analytical foundation in math, engineering and physical sciences while at the same time a broad based, flexible education that would enable me to view things from different perspectives) as had been the case earlier. But where to get such valuable and accurate information about schools so remote and education systems so different from our own ? Of course, the internet was helpful during such a task but it was time consuming to weed out comments about the schools which arose from frustration or unhealthy competition between them. I looked at the rankings (both worldwide and in the engineering discipline) for each university and found out that Michigan outweighed Brown in that respect. I also sought direct advice from friends and family who had pursued their undergraduate education in the US. I received the first counsel from a friend, Stefanos Polyzoides, who went to Princeton University and who, without a doubt, recommended the excellent liberal arts education at Brown. He spurred me to go to Brown for an undergraduate degree because it would help me develop a well-roundedness that would be absent at Michigan where engineering is considered in a very pointy fashion like at Imperial, a UK university I received an offer from. At Brown, engineering is interdisciplinary and, in Stefanos words, hence prevents individuals from focusing their learning too early in life and helps them to understand the consequences of their actions in the context of human cultures and economies. According to him, it would also ignite a sense of creativity and uniqueness which hardcore and specialized engineers lack tremendously. As a man who went to Princeton with a view to studying engineering but who wound up studying architecture and urban design, Stefanos described the flexibility and non-restrictive nature of the curriculums at liberal arts schools as a big advantage for not only the undecided but those who come to university with a false preconceived notion of a subject. I also received advice from a friend who goes to MIT, Rachel Ah Chuen. She told me that she would choose Brown over Michigan because she viewed education as not only about academics but as a means of making one grow and build ones character and vision. Going to Brown would help me not to become a robot mechanically studying and not wanting to explore beyond that. She also underlined the prestigious alumni network that you get access to once

you enroll into an Ivy League university and which will open so many doors after graduation. As for the rankings, she said that one ought not put too much emphasis on the latter at the undergraduate level because education at this stage remains broad. However she believes that at the graduate level things become different and re- cruiters start to value students from highly ranked graduate schools. Among the factors that led Rachel to opt for Brown was its crazy overall admission rate: 9.7 percent compared to 41 percent for Michigan. This would ensure that everybody you would be encountering at Brown would be exceptionally brilliant in his or her field and would influence you to aim higher in whatever you plan to undertake. The student to faculty ratio at Brown also spurred her to choose the latter over Michigan: Brown would enable me to build an intricate relationship with professors and faculty that could lead to research because of its small community. The only advantage of going to Michigan according to her would be that you would benefit from a more structured and pointy form of engineering with possibly better hands-on experience. It would also be difficult, in her opinion, to change majors at Michigan. My cousin Avnish Gungadurdoss, who went to Dartmouth and Harvard, was also at the forefront in helping me choose between the two. He said that he would lean heavily towards Brown given the name recognition and the truly liberal nature of its education. It''s an awesome school I think. I don't know much about Michigan though and you should investigate the choices further for sure. To investigate the choices further he connected me with two people, one from Brown and one from Michigan, with whom I had skype conversations which also led me to think that Brown was a better deal for undergraduate and that Michigan was better at the graduate level. Kavita Arora, from Carnegie Mellon university, also recommended Brown university for the simple reason that the people there would all be of a very high intellectual ability and that because of the very small and select community at Brown, I would not drown among the masses of students and would not have to forsake my identity. She also spoke about the well-roundedness that comes with a Brown degree. Last but not least, I spoke with my cousin at Cornell University, Yashna Gungadurdoss, who made me connect with engineers at Cornell and at Michigan, many of whom advised me to opt for Michigan if I was dead set about wanting to pursue engineering (which I am not). Most importantly, she advised me that the university you will be choosing depends largely on what your priorities are. Choosing from and applying to US universities is never an easy task especially for internationals who are kind of disconnected with what is going on in the US. I wrote this article to give Mauritians an insight into the tedious but nevertheless rewarding US application process to show them that it requires a lot of work and most importantly a lot of feedback from those who have already encountered the US. What is important to understand is that Brown and Michigan are both excellent universities and that what it all boils down to is to what extent the university fits your requirements. Do you want a pointy and specialized education or a more broad based one? What I am sure though is that communication and the right connections are indeed the secrets behind solving this riddle, this university conundrum...

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Les dernires reactions

Heh.
Par:-P. Aug 20, 2012

Ok. The article's author applied to college in the US, got in some places, rejected at others and it appears that he was a laureate. Big woop. Seriously though, congratulations on your offers, Yuri. As for the actual article? I don't see what it accomplishes besides giving the readers a peek into your thought process for choosing one college over another. It does not "give (Mauritians) an insight into the tedious but nevertheless rewarding US application process to show them that it requires a lot of work". Barely any mention of the essays, transcripts, recommendation and counselor letters or of ways to look for various colleges to apply to. As it turns out, most Mauritians can't afford a school like UIUC, which doesn't have much in the way of financial aid for non-US citizens. The colleges that are part of the Ivy League and many of the liberal arts colleges (for instance, Amherst) are the ones with financial aid

available for international students. Bear in mind that most are *not* need-blind, meaning that one's financial need does factor in the admissions' decision! For what it's worth, I don't think you could go wrong with either. UMich is a *large* school and the odds you'd definitely find lots of interesting people there. Another important thing is a particular school's "culture". That becomes more important if you're at a small school. For instance, *I*, because of my own personality traits, would probably be miserable at Oberlin but would probably fit in nicely at Williams. It's hard to gauge how a school is like from so far away and more often than not, one will be wrong. Watching youtube videos, talking to current students and/or alumni and reading extensively through their website helps. I won't name the college but there's one LAC whose website I was on recently and they seemed proud of a recent grad of their's who was getting her book published. Guess what? After listening to an excerpt of her book reading, it doesn't look any better than 50 Shades of Grey, which in my opinion, is about as worthwhile as a burger from the local Steers. Which, if you have similar taste to me, is not very much. And Yul, the difference between the out-of-state tuition fees for a large public university is not *that* different to that of a private one. For Mauritians that can't afford a US education, a private university/college is a better bet. They're generally the ones with more financial aid on offer.

@Yuri
Par:-CM Apr 12, 2012

Well done, Yuri! You are embarking upon an exciting adventure. Whatever be your final choice, I wish you the very best. - Former laureate and University of Michigan graduate. Go Blue!

Good luck
Par:-Maxim YM Apr 11, 2012

Many of you have been criticizing him, saying that he is only bragging about his offers. He admitted that he was shortlisted to one uni and rejected to six others. By this, he proved that even if you are a laureate, you are not automatically admitted to all universities in the world. This young man worked hard during his high school days, making a lot of sacrifices. Now, being in a democratic republic, he has the right to give his opinion and share his experience about applying to US universities. This is what his Moral Values teacher taught him. Good luck Yuri! Hope you serve the country and the whole world later.

@ Yul
Par:-A Apr 11, 2012

What part of "financial aid" did you not understand? Most private universities give financial aid. And top-notch schools , including most ivies, if not all of the, are need-blind.

Just for the sake : cost

Par:-Yul Apr 11, 2012

Costs (2011 - 12): Tuition and Fees: $42,230 Books: $1,312 Room and Board: $10,906 Other Expenses: $1,702 Total Cost: $56,150 Average Amount of Aid at Brown Uni: Grants: $28,953 (2010-2011) Loans: $6,178 ( X - not as a foreign student) ------------------ State university like Ann Arbor Costs (2010 - 11): Tuition and Fees: $11,837 (instate); $36,001 (out-of-state) Books: $1,048 Room and Board: $9,192 Other Expenses: $2,090 Total Cost: $24,167 (in-state); $48,331 (out-of-state) Average Amount of Aid Grants: $11,800 ____________________ Difference between a public and private uni . If you want to get hired at Goldman Sachs after you graduate , play Lacrosse at school to network and the best one for that is Duke University.
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Autres commentaires rcents

Normal Mauritians do go to the US

Par:-AB Apr 10, 2012

@Zzz: I went to Tufts ($51k per year) ... my parents only had money for my plane ticket. It is possible to get scholarships from private universities in the US. And that gives kids whose parents have modest means to still get a prestigious education.

Further studies in US
Par:-Roro Apr 10, 2012

Students should not give the world rankings too much weight as the ranking is greatly influenced by the graduate study programmes and research undertaken.There is little difference in quality for a university ranked 20 and 40 I would say. What is also important is the environment suitable for you. US climate and living vary from state to state city to city. You should be at ease where you are and that also will help you achieve the best.

@John
Par:-Yul Apr 10, 2012

I said "Why did you apply to an Engineering school when you don't want to be trained , let alone making a career in the field , as an engineer? " There is a difference between TRAIN AS and making a CAREER IN . I am trained as an engineer ( specialized in a certain field for my Master's degree after a BSEE) and after having been in R&D and then a systems engineer, I changed my career from engineering to evolve in the product mgmt side of a US Fortune 100 corpo and now am a consultant . So I do know the difference and I used the words "let alone" !

@A
Par:-Yul Apr 10, 2012

May be it will be good for you to differentiate between US PRIVATE universities ( the 8 IVY leaguers are amongst them) and the PUBLIC universities in addition to the state universities where one can get an associate degree in 2 yrs also. Check how much it costs a first yr student at Yale or Columbia or Harvard . Been there done that back in the 80's and at some they wanted the SAT even though the HSC results were good. BTW managed to work 20 hours a week to enable me to survive Yes I can go to the State university of Oregon and pay only $ 20 K everything included but that's not the case of Dartmouth or Cornell or the other 6 IVY league PRIVATE uni. Even the public Ivies - like Ann Arbor or Virginia ( for Engineering) cost an arm and a leg. So explain or understand the rating of the US Universities first before you preach . May be you didn't realize about the rankings and please get your facts straight also because his Laureat scholarship from the Mauritian govt won't be enough at Brown or any Ivy league uni on the east coast.

REPLY TO F
Par:-Adolphe Medgar Apr 10, 2012

SINCE YOU ASKED WHAT DID I REALLY TAUGHT TO MY FORMER STUDENTS? DEAR F, ONE THING I REALLY DID TEACH MY STUDENTS IS THIS : DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME !

How many 'normal' Mauritians go to US?

Par:-Zzz Apr 10, 2012

Its a nice perspective from Yuri, but the fact is, how many of the 10,000 HSC students for the year 2011 are going to the US? Yuri is among the exception who got the chance to go to US for further studies, and he deserve it because he is gifted, got a government scholarship if am correct? Excluding the 1000 HSC mauritians who will go abroad this year for studies, the 9000 left will be stuck here in our under-performing educational system - simply because they got 5Bs or they are not rich enough to pay for themselves. Well Yuri, you are gifted, one day when you get a nice job, do something back for you country, think of the 9000 who are not as lucky as you.

Reply to Yul and Ton Rolo

Par:-A Apr 10, 2012

Going to the US for studies often costs WAY LESS than going to the UK and Australia. This is one significant point that many of you don't realize. Applying to the US is 10x more work than applying to the UK or Australia. You gotta have extra curriculars, you have to have achieved something unique in your life, AND, you have thousands of essays to write and those essays are not like the generic "personal statement" that UK universities ask for. My point is, stop saying that he's lucky that he's "rich enough to go study in the US", this is totally irrelevant. Most US universities give A LOT of financial aid. Do British and Australian universities give as much? ( or do they, even? ). You have the impression that since the US is so far, it has to be a sort of "american dream" and has to be more expensive than the more common options. Well, it is NOT, on the contrary, it is often less. Most people don't really

apply to the US because it's far and because the application process is more complicated than most , but the ones who do it, very very often don't pay the entire tuition fee, while they would probably do if they went elsewhere. Get your facts straight before posting comments like this.

Reply to ton rolo

Par:-John Apr 10, 2012

"Btw most students in mauritius would not have this conundrum because they are not rich or scholarship winners to be able to pick and choose."- That's where you are totally wrong here. Most US universities, compared to UK unis for example, offer financial aid up to 80%. US unis don't really care whether you have the money or not to pay for tuition fees, once you're good enough to get it, they will pay for you. You don't have to be rich to go to a good university in the US, you just have to be really smart and be a well-rounded individual.

university conumdrum
Par:-ton rolo Apr 10, 2012

Was that article really aimed to Mauritian students? I wonder how many can go to the US for studies.. As we say in creole " cave compte lor lesdoigts ".. From my point of view, I think he's only bragging about himself and his achievements of having been accepted by these US universities. I quote "....that would be absent at Michigan where engineering is considered in a very pointy fashion like at Imperial, a UK university I received an offer from. " Do do you think we really care to know if you got an offer from Imperial College ? Stop bragging and don't waste your time writing an article when you should in fact take a decision. Btw most students in mauritius would not have this conundrum because they are not rich or scholarship winners to be able to pick and choose.
Par:-John Apr 10, 2012

What Yuri is trying to say, in my opinion, is that he is open to more options, more possibilities. He might think he wants to go into engineering, but seriously, who knows what he/she wants to do really at 18years old? What he is trying to say is that, being at Brown will help him explore his options more, meet smart people, get inspired by them and figure out what he really loves/likes. Also, majoring in engineering does not mean you have to be an engineer, so many people major in engineering end up going into finance, consulting or non-related fields.

Tertiary Ed
Par:-Yul Apr 09, 2012

"I wrote this article to give Mauritians an insight into the tedious but nevertheless rewarding US application process to show them that it requires a lot of work and most importantly a lot of feedback from those who have already encountered the US." No it is just bragging rights about you, your family, acquaintances and the fact that , either you are the lucky "winner" of a scholarship from the US Embassy or your family have the means to send you to the US. What do you want to do in your professional life? Why did you apply to an Engineering school when you don't want to be trained , let alone making a career in the field , as an engineer? What is /are your goal(s) for attending a US uni? Just for the prestige of grabbing a liberal arts 4-yr degree and then decide what you want to accomplish afterwards . The conundrum of applying to a developed country uni for a first degree, quite a few of us have been there since the country became independent ... no one at the ministry of Education to advise or counsel the student most of the Embassies or High Commissions didn't even bother - well you just knock on the door for the student visa once you've been accepted, refusal from the Australian HC to grant visas to non-white or Christian Mauritians in the 70s and 80s. It was a DO or DIE endeavour especially if one wanted to specliase in a high-tech field.

reply
Par:-F. Apr 09, 2012

I'm confused here. What, possibly, is there to pity in hard work? Is it pitiful that he has worked his ass off to get into one of the best colleges? Such an odd logic here. I'm surprised you were a former lecturer in the US given that you think that there is no additional advantage studying in the US. Is that what you teach your students? God I hope not, because I must admit, this is a very narrow-minded and vacuous comment, coming from a "former lecturer"

O'B'1
Par:-Hans Dky Apr 09, 2012

Having studied in the US, I can tell you that it is one of a kind experience. If I was in your shoes, I will opt for Uni of Michigan - main reason being that it does specialize in the field you are seeking to major in and that your development will come out from the extra curricular activities you will get yourself involved. Alongside, you can

always get more broader education from the library of Uni of Michigan if that's where your interest is....Uni of Michigan is well known and I am sure that they do have Fortune 500 companies coming over in the campus for Job Fair. There is also a group called Mauritians in United States in Facebook...Join in and make the most of your experience in States. Anyway in whatever path you have chosen, I wish you g'luck.

Uni
Par:-Vladimir Apr 09, 2012

Yuri, I am not sure what possessed you to write this article in the first place, if not a touch of vanity. Be that as it may, you omitted something crucial in your attempt to zero in on your choice of university. I'll offer it to you in the way of a question. Here goes. Does the university make the person or does the person make the university? From a former lecturer both here and there!

Study in USA
Par:-Dr. Murugan Apr 09, 2012

Hi there, I wonder if you are the son of Mr. Gerard Sanspeur that I have know when I use to come and practice once in a while in MRU. However, I have read your article and it is indeed very relevent to any students that are interested in studying overseas. It is not exactly clear as to what you are interested in studying. It seems that you have been accepted by many great universities but you did not mention by which what faculty that you were accepted. I feel it is most important for any student to know exactly what he/she wants to study and then search the university that is most recognized in the field of interest. The selection of a university for undergraduate studies depend on your financial freedom. As Ivy leagues schools are very expensive as compare to some less famous institution. I feel that at the undergraduate level any reasonable and affordable school would be acceptable. Then it is most important to select good schools if you want to do your MSc, MBA or PhD's. Good luck in your search.