Yes, I am transfering. Here's why.Last year, at 11:00 A.M. on May 1st (AKA the deadline to enroll in college) I still didn’t know where I was going to college. The past couple months had been a rollercoaster, to say the least. For some people, the decision of which college to attend was a simple one, and I am genuinely envious of those who had that luxury. For me however, I felt trapped in a paralyzing cycle of reasoning that always led me back to square one. To make an incredibly long story short, with 90 minutes left until the enrollment deadline, I ended up sending my deposit and SIR to UCLA. In the 9ish months since that day, I’ve learned a lot about myself and realized what I truly want in my education. So here is my public announcement that has been on the DL for quite some time now: I’m transferring! I know this is probably a shock to some and a not-so-shock to others. From the former, I usually get the following reaction when I tell them I’m leaving UCLA for Minerva. “Wait. What?! Meeeegannn. But whyyyy? What didn’t you like about UCLA?” “Also, what is Minerva?” So, this post is an attempt to answer all these questions in a semi-coherent, informative, and hopefully not-obscenely-long manner. The short answer to the first question is that I actually really liked UCLA. It’s an incredible institution that I’ve had the privilege of attending. However, I will say there are some things that are inefficient about the school. To name a few specifically: Soaring tuition costs that are not allocated very well, ineffective lectures with 300+ people, lack of individualized resources, the culture of cramming for tests, the disconnect between class material and real-world application. That being said; cumulatively, it wasn’t particularly about the fact that UCLA was "bad", but more about the things that Minerva had that were a better fit for me. So now to answer the second question: Minerva—AKA Minerva Schools at KGI—is an innovative university made for the 21st century. It is accredited under the Keck Graduate Institute, which is part of the Claremont Colleges. Minerva selects students based on their own tests that gage creativity, critical thinking, and future potential, not standardized test scores or factors like legacy/financial status. During my 4 years, I will be living and learning in 7 different countries around the world: San Francisco, Seoul, Hyderabad, Berlin, Buenos Aires, London, and Taipei respectively. Classes, which were developed upon the science of learning, are conducted online through live active seminars with a maximum of 18 people. There are no exams at Minerva and students are graded on class interaction, assignments, and projects. Minerva has the most diverse student body of any university with only 20% of the students from the United States and students from over 50 different countries. With an acceptance rate of 1.9%, it is the most selective undergraduate program in the U.S. (Honestly don’t know how I made this cut, but I’m so grateful and humbled for this opportunity.) At the end of the day, Minerva isn’t for everyone and it has its flaws and benefits just like the traditional college system. As for me, I’m taking this opportunity because I want to learn in more effective ways and learn more practical things. I want to travel the world and use the city as my campus—do real things in the community not just study the theories. I want to take risks and live boldly and would rather regret taking this chance than not taking it. I want to be challenged in classes and be evaluated on measures other than my ability to memorize things. I want to join extraordinary cohort of people and become an agent in revolutionizing the future higher education. To everyone I’ve met so far at UCLA: Thank you so much for making my experience wonderful. Even if we didn’t get to know each other very well, you made a small yet positive impact in my life and I’m very grateful for that. I’ve felt so accepted in the UCLA community and I’m really really sad that I’ll be leaving early. Best of luck to everyone and I hope to keep in touch! <3 Article about Minerva published in Business Insider: If you’re interested in learning more about or applying to Minerva click below. (There’s no cost to submit an application and it’s actually kind of a fun/neat process)
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About MeThanks for visiting my blog! My name is Megan, I work in Marketing and I graduated as part of Minerva's class of 2021. Enjoy a collage of reflections, poetry, and late-night thoughts. Archives
October 2023
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