Last Wednesday I attended another Rose Cafe led by Professor Daniel Schwarz and he talked about a lot of aspects surrounding the topic of college. What I really liked was that Professor Schwarz talked about the entire college experience including getting into college, life during college, and the struggles that some people face once they leave college. Although I have already gone through the phase in my life of applying to college and the Professor’s advice didn’t directly affect me, I was still glad to hear him talk about it especially since I have a younger brother who has yet to go through the college application process. I also found it interesting when he spoke about the divide between socioeconomic classes when applying to college. The upper-middle class has an incredible amount of resources and can start preparing their children for the application process at a very young age, especially in private schools. However the lower-middle class doesn’t have access to these resources such as tutors and SAT prep classes, and are much less guided on what the application process is like. I went to a public school in Rochester that was actually quite helpful in helping me apply to college, and I now realize how lucky I was in going to a school that gave me access to many resources.

Another point that Professor Schwarz touched upon was the struggle that students face after they leave college, and specifically the first year out of college and in the real world. He mentioned how leaving college for the first time can be really difficult and quite lonely for many people because you’re in an entirely new location with no friends, and you’re struggling to find your place again. It’s much like attending college during the first semester of freshman year. Although I am only a sophomore, this is something that I have thought about quite a bit. In college it’s easy to make friends during freshman year because you live in dorms and attend classes with people your age. However outside of college there is no structure to meet people besides through your job.