The Most Fit Choice
Introduction/Overview of Institutions
The act of choosing an appropriate college that suits the needs of an individual is a very ambiguous yet tremendously important process that those striving ahead must go through. As times go by more and more options are becoming available for the public making it more difficult for one to settle quickly and smoothly at an institution but also presenting further opportunities to narrow down one’s choices and figure out the most ideal institution to attend. Among the myriad of post secondary academic establishments across the world, Stanford University and University of California, Davis caught my attention in a much exalted manner. Both of these institutions are very well known for their medical programs and specific criteria of admission along with many other important aspects. And although each university differs greatly from the other in areas such as tuition and enrollment, they still have many things in common such as their campus environment and extracurricular activities. Yet with all their superb aspects and minor personal flaws, both candidates turn out to be an excellent institution with many wonderful benefits across the path for any student looking into them. In the following passages Stanford University and UC Davis will be evaluated and compared against each other in various fields of interest ranging from location to tuition and financial aid.
The Information and Findings
Location and campus environment are very important factors that should be considered when deciphering through different college choices. For the residents of California, Stanford University and UC Davis are both fine choices to consider attending, for they are both located in California with not much more than a few hours drive in between and to cities all across California. According to their website, “Stanford is located between San Francisco and San Jose in the heart of the Silicon Valley…with an 8,180 acres reach from the rural foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the bustling Stanford shopping center in Palo Alto,” a description deserving much approval as far as beauty and natural scenery go. In contrast, UC Davis settles within the core of the Central Valley and is close to the San Francisco bay area as well as downtown Sacramento which holds the State Capital and many other eventful state businesses (“UC Davis”). And regarding one’s personal interests, this is important to consider since some may be more in favor of nature than industry. The institutions are alike however in the fact that their actual campuses are both in small town suburban areas, an aspect that presents a question of transportation (“College Board”). Stanford is a campus in which the most popular manner of commuting lies in biking (“Stanford”). There is even a mile long, palm tree lined entrance to the enormous campus that branches off into seventy eight diverse residential factories, over thirty libraries and a countless amount of even more beautiful campus buildings (“Stanford”). In addition to biking, and the campus’ exceeding of 12,000 bicycle parking spaces, Stanford also offers a shuttle system and Zipcar (“Stanford”). These are very beneficial characteristics when considering such a large campus. But on the smaller side, UC Davis is also an institution in which biking is of the highest popularity when it comes to commuting around campus to the many noted establishments such as an arboretum and an equestrian center (“UC Davis”). On the subject of housing, while Stanford offers a profuse amount of options ranging from coed dorms to language and ethnic themed houses, UC Davis, justifiably doesn’t have as many choices being merely a 5,200 acre campus (The Princeton Review). Stanford however, being the highly prestigious private university that it is, understandably comes with more and better options for its students, whereas UC Davis, although still highly respected, doesn’t offer the same quality or amount of housing or campus benefits as Stanford. These are essentials to one’s vital consideration of institutions regarding campus environment and location.
In addition to geography and campus climate, admissions and requirements are also very ponderable concepts for a student to look into. As far as competition goes, there is no question as to the fact that Stanford exceeds a myriad of institutions across the nation in the area of acceptance. The average GPA of the most recent year’s statistics of acceptance was 3.75 and higher, not to mention that 91% of the admitted students were in the top 10% of their class and achieved very high honorable scores in a range of 660-760 on sections of standardized testing (“College Board”). Such students deserve the utmost accreditation when it comes to approval, and being more or less of the minority, are accepted by Stanford on very strict terms. These requisites that Stanford looks into range from personal qualities to the rigor of one’s secondary school record (The Princeton Review). But on a more compassionate level, Stanford cares more about a student’s success in a rigorous course rather than the amount of them that they took (“Stanford”). In contrast, UC Davis doesn’t demand the same level of success among students and their process of admission is much more simpler seeing as to the fact that students merely have to meet one out of three sets of eligibility requirements (“UC Davis”). In fact, out of the 22,333 students who applied to Stanford last year, only 11% were admitted and 67% were enrolled (The Princeton Review). And in comparison to UC Davis, these statistics immensely differ in quantity. In 2007 UC Davis admitted 68% of their 32,635 applicants and enrolled a mere 25% of them (The Princeton Review). The percentages of acceptance and enrollment between the two schools depict the very fact that those who qualify for a more prestigious and difficult institution to get into are much more determined and driven to ultimately attend the specific college of their desires and needs, whereas those who apply to a more broad amount of colleges simply to widen their options and are less qualified for prominent universities act more leniently and not as ambitious in their decision to attend a particular school.
Each individual contemplating their college needs is relatively obligated to pay close attention to the degrees and academic programs offered by their institutions. And while almost all known institutions offer the basic Bachelors, Doctoral, Masters and other degrees, Stanford and UC Davis have many special study options. Both universities offer selections like double major programs, honors programs, and independent study internships, aspects important to look into considering the fact that both schools are very prestigious in their medical programs (The Princeton Review). According to their website, Stanford is very determined to fostering skilled and successful medical practitioners, for “candidates who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of their department or school substantial scholarship [and have a] high attainment in a particular field of knowledge and ability to do independent research and present the results…” are granted highly esteemed degrees in a vast range of medical programs. Not far behind lays UC Davis with four honorable colleges of study ranging from biological sciences to engineering, and five different professional schools to choose from (“UC Davis”). Among Stanford’s seven distinct and highly impressive schools lies their School of Medicine which offers over 29 diverse areas of specific medical study ranging anywhere from psychiatry to neurosurgery (“Stanford”). And UC Davis, also being a predominant institution of medicine offers over 26 distinct areas of medical study (“UC Davis”). This displays the fact that both schools attain many options of education in the medical field all of which are highly respected and rigorously taken out. However while UC Davis is one of the most major medical institutions noted across the nation like Stanford, Stanford holds the honor of having a much more ample amount of prestigious study in many different fields as well. These characteristics are very important for a student to look into when considering what school to attend based on their academic needs.
On the subject of extracurricular activities, one may not consider them to be very crucial to their ultimate selection if they don’t happen to be an athlete or very active in clubs, however, sports and student organizations truly do play a rather important role. Brandon Barrette, a graduate currently attending UC Davis suggests the fact that it is a good idea to “get involved [in activities] when you are an undergrad. It’s a great way to make friends and great stress relief!” And while one may not believe this to be entirely important or true upon college consideration, it is undeniably beneficial to know that one has so many options for extracurricular activities. UC Davis offers 26 different men’s and women’s sports teams including a vast variety of intramural traditional team sports along with many nontraditional activities as well (“UC Davis”). In comparison, Stanford offers over 21 different sports teams ranging from football to water polo (“Stanford”). And while both schools are closely related in sports, Stanford offers many different summer sport camps and recreational summer clubs and programs in which some are conveniently, not exclusive to Stanford students (“Stanford”). Having sports offered at a school is important even if one knows that they definitely won’t be participating as an athlete, for knowing that there are all these games to be played and competitions to be fought in gives a student the comfortable assurance that there will be something major to rally around campus, something to keep them excited for their years to come. And besides sports, both schools offer a plethora of clubs and student organizations. Stanford offers 28 esteemed sororities and fraternities along with a diverse range of creative art programs and academic clubs (“Stanford”). Similarly, UC Davis has over 364 registered organizations and 49 sororities and fraternities along with 50 religious organizations and an honor society (The Princeton Review). This suggests that both schools believe that extracurricular activities are rather important and necessary enough to include as a major field of activity among their institutions in harmony with their output of education, an aspect worthy of consideration when it comes to personal interests regarding one’s level of rigorous academic focus.
As all the mentioned aspects of college features are to a certain extent, equally important, one of the most predominant factors that students look into when choosing their post secondary school is tuition and financial aid. In all probability, not every family can support their child financially when it comes to college. And not to mention, inevitably, prices and difficulties are simply rising as time goes on. But due to such fate, more help is becoming available for students all over the nation through means of scholarships, grants and loans and whatnot. Last year Stanford’s total price for tuition and other fees such as room and board and books and supplies was at a high $51,430 per year (“Stanford”). UC Davis on the other hand, peaked at nearly less than half of Stanford, at a total of $25,754 (“UC Davis”). At first glace, this suggests that Stanford has a lot more to offer through its institution than UC Davis, however from what has been mentioned, both schools are very close in the things they present. Yet there are many ways that a student can financially support themselves as well. Stanford in fact, has special programs that provide tuition grant awards to students based on their financial need and high school status (“Stanford”). Its process of granting financial aid becomes ultimately very beneficial for, students can are fairly judged on their household income and can usually receive the majority of what they are expected to pay through academic yearly earnings, federal and state grants, and university scholarships, things of which are gifted aid and do not need to be paid back (“Stanford”). And UC Davis, although not coming with nearly the same price tag as Stanford, has many financial aid options as well. UC Davis offers campus wide scholarships in which students apply for with simple high school qualifications and are very likely to receive; the school is even very personal and offers specific scholarships such as the Iranian Alumni Association Scholarship that supports students needing financial and of Iranian descent (“UC Davis”). Based on Peterson’s website of colleges and universities, the average indebtedness a student has upon graduation at Stanford is about $16,728 and at UC Davis is $14,372. And with the knowledge that Stanford has a much heftier charge, the fact that those figures don’t differ much suggests that Stanford is a lot more efficient in granting students with enough aid to support them more proficiently throughout their years than UC Davis. In fact Stanford’s average percent of financial need met among students was at 100%, while UC Davis’ was at 77% (“Colleges and Universities”). This concept carries much importance in the long run, knowing that a student could receive a relatively better and far more prestigious education at one institution than another, while still reasonably spending the same amount of money.
The Significance of the Findings/Conclusion
The facts and analysis discussed above have come to be really compelling in my opinion in relation to how important it is to know what I want out of academics. It opened my eyes to realizing against the stereotype that all colleges merely want profit from their consumers. I became a lot more open minded after performing my research, realizing that an institution with a lot less prestige can and usually is almost or just as beneficial, as in I can still receive a wonderful education anchored towards my goals from a place that may not be as large or as prominent. My confidence level also rose up quite a bit, resting assured that so far I have undeniably exceeded college expectations and met most standards. This suggests that all I have to do is keep going on the same track to success to achieve my goals regarding attending college. All in all however, I still believe that Stanford University is a better institution as far as my options go. I feel that in attending Stanford I will be placing myself on a much higher level of success and subsequently furthering and improving my chances of becoming all that I can be career wise. The details of admission and competition among both schools that I found, made me realize how important it was to peak myself in a well balanced schedule in high school and to thrive in everything I do. Before conducting my research, I didn’t fully comprehend the fact that it wouldn’t always matter what my GPA was for a certain semester or how many difficult classes I took, but rather how well I did in everything that I executed in my life. I know I will irrefutably have the need to perform more research like this in the future, and upon such occurrence I would most likely make sure I fully understood and knew about all my options before I came to any conclusions about them. I would also ensure that I’d have enough time to fully execute such a project to its fullest potential. In general however, this project and the information I found due to it in the end was very beneficial and helpful in furthering my knowledge of two universities that I was highly interested in.
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