March is one of my favorite times of the year because it combines two things I love: watching sports and colleges. The NCAA basketball tournament is exciting to watch AND is a great way to explore little known colleges that people might not know about. This year's swath of teams include many options that I would love for more ElRo students to explore. Tune in to the games, but it wouldn't hurt to also fire up Naviance during the commercial breaks to find out more about the schools behind the teams. A few of my personal favorites from each branch of the bracket include:
Creighton University- A few full disclosures: I automatically gravitate toward Jesuit schools. I just do. They are awesome. It also just so happens that my former colleague is now director of Admission, so I can't not give a huge shout out to this great school. Not convinced? read this article to see why I think it is such a cool place. In all seriousness though, if New York City students could wrap their head around leaving the Northeast, I think Creighton would be on many many college lists. It is a top regional university and has the potential to offer meaningful merit scholarships to talented students. Open your mind and give it a try. It is the school pictured above.
University of Texas at Austin -- Austin has already been in the limelight a lot recently with SXSW, but I can't overlook this great flagship university. Many students rule out a place like Texas because they fear it will be too conservative or too far away. I would contend that particularly in a place like Austin, viewpoints from the more liberal side of the aisle would be far from the minority. Of the four schools I'm highlighting here, UT-Austin might be the toughest admission wise (as a public school in a huge state there are lots of seats to fill but lots of applicants to fill them.). Also, be aware this is one of a handful of schools that really truly does mean it when they say deadline. Your entire application must be completed and processed by the deadline or you will not be considered. This is not the kind of place to consider at the last minute.
University of Cincinnati - We do have a student from ElRo already at University of Cincinnati, but I think we could have more. They have a huge co-op education program (think hands on experience as opposed to sitting in a lecture hall) and are in proximity to a major Midwestern city. This is also the alma mater of NYC transplant Sarah Jessica Parker. It has a lot of similarities to schools like Syracuse. Granted, it is a 10 hour drive from New York City, but it is only a 2 hour direct flight so don't rule it out too early!
University of Kansas - Do you see my trend here with schools in the middle of the country? :) Before you get all Dorothy and plead with me that there is "no place like home," hear me out. Kansas is the oldest college in the plains and that brings with it some gorgeous architecture that you might be more accustomed to here on the East Coast. It has many of the same great things going for it as Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana (huge public colleges oozing with school spirit) and boasts one of the best Honors programs in the country http://www.honors.ku.edu/
Michigan State is my pick to win it all.
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