I had my 1 year since LASIK surgery eye exam (more like a year and a month) today and I’m still seeing 20/20. It wasn’t MY idea to pay 71 bucks for an optometrist to confirm what I already suspected — in order to keep my “lifetime warranty” I’ve got to get my eyes checked every year (which we all should do anyway… or so they say).
Anyway, no news on the big news just yet. I CAN give you a hint though: it may or may not involve space travel…
I went for a run yesterday because it had been entirely too long since my last run and I’m paying for that laziness today. I might get out for a quick jog today; the weather is just too perfect to pass it up!
Quick survey please: From what I can gather, most of my readers either are in college (Uni for my international readers) or have graduated from college. If this is you, could you answer a few questions for me?
Why did you choose the school you are at/graduated from?
When did you make this decision? (at what age or year in school)
Do you feel you received/are receiving a quality education in respect to what you paid/are paying? (Are you getting your money’s worth?)
This last one is for everyone:
What percentage of Americans do you think hold a 4-year degree? (Not looking for what google thinks on this one).
Your participation is greatly appreciated and may influence the timeliness of the revealing of my “big news” 
I guess I should answer my own questions:
1 — To be completely honest I chose SFA because they gave me money; a lot of money. It wasn’t even on my radar except for the fact that my brother was going to school there. It was my “back up” school until they gave me a full scholarship + stipend and then it quickly became my school of choice. (We don’t have to get into the fact that I gave it back after 1 year).
2 — Senior year of high school. The year prior SFA hadn’t entered my mind (I was thinking more like VMI, Norwich and A&M). I started the ROTC scholarship app process at the very beginning of my senior year and I think I found out in April that I was awarded a scholarship.
3 — Absolutely. SFA was a bargain AND I use what I learned every day. I was a speech comm major and an art minor and all of my work experience has been directly related to either my major or my minor.
4 — I want to know what you guys think on this one.
1. I chose Arkansas State because I got offered a scholarship for tuition and a residence hall room (my best offer from any school), because it was bigger college for Arkansas with a division I football team, because it was semi-local and because I would be one of the few from my high school going there (I liked the idea of a totally fresh start someplace).
2. I decided this just after spring break of my senior year when my scholarship notification came in. I think my dad decided not to move our family to Holland, Michigan because of that scholarship (and he didn’t really want to go).
3. Meh. It’s a push. I only stayed at ASU for three years then transferred to Central Arkansas. I feel like there were some good instructors that I often didn’t take full advantage of. But there were some crappy ones too and the overall journalism experience at the UCA was not that great. I often think that I just bought a degree with a little learning thrown in. The life experience made it worth it. The people I interacted with… the fact that I got my first professional newspaper job when I was 19. The experience I got at the paper was better than what I got in the classroom for the most part.
But hey… without that degree, I wouldn’t have the job I have now. I think I’ll get a lot more out of gradschool if I ever go.
4. 31% but it might be high. I’m going to google it now.
Sweeeeeet! Questions for me to answer!
1. I had been rejected by my first choice ( Wheaton College), so I threw all my other choices out the window, started from scratch and University of Otago, quite literally fell into my lap..aka. I didn’t base it on any kind of “wise” or “logical” reason. I just wanted to travel.
2. Last semester of my Senior Year. Talk about waiting till the last minute! But, like I said, I had been counting on one school in particular and then when I was rejected ( ouch!) all bets were off…
3.Heck yay! With a combo of awesome exchange rates at the time, plus the fact that New Zealand had not yet caught on to the fact that they could totally rack in with international rates…my three years there ( finished early) were a steal. And, now that I’ve “exchanged stories” with other people who went to school around the same time I did here in the states, I realized just how incredibly lucky I was to have the professors and resources I had at my finger tips.
4. 27.8% -totally pulled that number out of the sky. I’m terrible with things like this. So what’s the real answer? I’m too lazy to look it up.
Why did you choose the school you are at/graduated from? – I was always going to attend Stellenbosch university in South Africa, because that’s where my family all went, because you can go away from home and it has a great student atmosphere, and also because of the academic quality. When we moved away, I chose Otago as a NZ substitute for Stellenbosch, mostly because it has a great student life, and it happens to have great academic quality too. Also it is very far from home. Those would be my 3 reasons in order of importance for picking Otago
When did you make this decision? (at what age or year in school) – Always knew I would go to Stellenbosch, probably wanted to go to Otago as soon as I heard about it, 3rd year of high school (the year that I turned 16)
Do you feel you received/are receiving a quality education in respect to what you paid/are paying? (Are you getting your money’s worth?)
Yes
This last one is for everyone:
What percentage of Americans do you think hold a 4-year degree? (Not looking for what google thinks on this one). 20% or less?
I went to Oklahoma State University simply because it’s the best in the world. Few are accepted but it proved to be rather easy for me.
If by “world” you mean “Northern Oklahoma” I would have to agree.
I went to SFA because they have a good business school and also because I was familiar with the campus.
I decided at the beginning of my Senior year.
I feel that I received a very good education for the money (glad I’m not in school now because I’m not sure I could say the same today).
I would guess that 15% of Americans hold a 4-year degree.
1. I chose SFA for several reasons: a) a lady from church wanted to help me become a student there and at the time SFA was higher expectations than even I had for myself–so in short someone believed I could go there, b) less expensive, c) it was a university close to home, & d) I already had a best friend there–Justin Romack.
1. (vol. 2) I chose Thomas Edison SU because I will be able to finish my degree sooner and due to recent developments the flexible schedule that online classes provide is helpful.
2. I made the decision the summer before my senior year.
2. (vol 2) At the end of my 4yth year at SFA.
3. I wish I were paying for JUST education! I work and am off-campus so I rarely use the Student or Health Centers. The professors I’ve encountered in the Communications department have given me my moneys worth. I’m not sure about SFA as a whole…I judge it on a class-by-class basis.
OH, and…
4. 21%