10/4, no. 51

Premise: I'm a student not of the current "omg look at me I'm taking so many pictures in college of me and alllllll my new friends, look at us here at parties omg greek life omg football games omg night out haaaa i'm having so much more fun at college than you are!" trend. Sometimes I envy those who publicize their great and fun new lives, but I'm not going to pretend that I'm having a blast. I'm not. I have fun here and there, but in many ways has UPS surprised me (unfortunately for the worse).

First, the University of Puget Sound is a nationally ranked liberal arts school in the Pacific northwest. The campus sits in an awfully suburban area of Tacoma, which lies about 30-40 minutes away from Seattle. Luckily, the campus is beautiful, but as aesthetically pleasing as UPS is, it is still very physically small, which means two things: yes, you don't mind staying on campus, but its location renders it too easy to get stuck in a suffocating bubble. Moreover, the school (although private) runs on an extremely tight budget, as UPS is virtually in debt. I feel like the cause of this is because UPS offers immense amounts of scholarships, which is good, but in the long run it often seems as though public schools offer more opportunities and services than UPS (lack of transportation, relatively large class sizes even for a liberal arts school, etc).

Second, UPS is a liberal arts college. Liberal arts schools are notorious for harvesting a collective student body that emanates two things: diversity and a love for learning, neither of which can be easily found here. It's essentially a slightly more mature version of high school. UPS seems very hypocritical to me in that the school prides itself on diversity. Sure, there are tons of students who differentiate from one another in sexual orientation, but in terms of ethnicity? Not so much. Moreover, I have only met a select few students (in all grades) who have really showed a love for learning. Everyone else seems to be on one set major tract, complaining about all other required classes, which in itself is a direct contradiction to the philosophy of a liberal arts education.

In short, UPS may have the best intentions, pride that brags about their quintessential liberal arts approaches, and advertisements that boast diversity, but ultimately the school falls short on all three. Because of this, in March I will apply to transfer to eight schools, primarily in the east coast.

Don't worry, Boston, I haven't forgotten about you.

I'll probably be posting another blog post soon, one that appropriately summarizes my issue with choosing the right major. Until then.