My cousin, Cheryl and I took an afternoon to walk down memory lane... Back to our old Alma mater..
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| The Campanile |
It still looks the same.. just with some new additions and refurbishing of very old buildings.
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| Sproul Plaza; surprisingly the fountain was working! |
My old apartment still looks the same! (It's the front one on the bottom level). There's now a lock on the front
door entering the building but Cheryl and I circumvented the lock and
went through the back door which was wide open. Visitors would pound on the glass window before they come into the building just to let me know someone's here! It's still pretty run down but it was super close to campus and for only $200/month rent it was a steal! (Of course, tuition was only $1,500/year)
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| My apartment on 'heart attack hill'. |
It's been 28 years since I graduated from CAL.
I've always wondered how I got into this prestigious university in
the first place. I wasn't the top of my class; I didn't have a super
high GPA. I didn't even take any AP/Honors classes. My SAT score was
exactly 1000 out of 1600. I didn't have any extracurricular activities
that made me a well-balanced student either. I am convinced that they
accepted me due to affirmative action!
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| I graduated with a BA in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Advertising. |
Of course, if I had to apply to UCB now, I would
not have been accepted.
Upon deeper reflection, I do not think I received a great education there. I certainly did not retain any academic knowledge that I had learned to be used in any way in my life. (Forgot everything I learned.) The school was too big; didn't get the classes I wanted on the first try; and everyone was super competitive. I actually learned the most at Cal State, Hayward where I received my teaching credential.
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| My cuz Cheryl at my graduation party. |
But that's the point... you may or may not use your undergrad degree in your future profession. It's only after you graduate and maybe work a few years, you figure out what you
really want to do with your life. I actually worked five years in advertising (which I loved) before I changed my profession to teaching.
But what I did learn at CAL was to how to take care of myself, how to advocate for myself, push my self academically and significantly grew in my Christian faith. I met some incredible people and built life long friendships and had great community. So those benefits were
priceless.
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| Matthew actually snuck into my graduation illegally posing as a graduating student in a cap & gown! He was a freshman at the time! |
I even met my husband at CAL, who I have known for 29 years: friends for 1, dated for 5, engaged for 1; married for 22. Now that story is for a different post!
As I look back on my college life and look forward to help my daughter's future college path, I do see a significant shift in choosing which schools to apply to. My parents said I had to get into CAL. I had no other options and my cousin was there. (And thankfully I got in!)
It's not about the 'name' anymore but what college fits your child's personality, lifestyle and desires. It's a place where you think your child will thrive in and learn/grow the most, academically, socially, spiritually and emotionally. It isn't just about the UCs now and days. It may be a smaller private university. There are so many to chose from!
So the college hunt begins... but I'm smarter now than 33 years ago when I applied!
