Maruth’s Comments (group member since Dec 01, 2013)

Maruth’s comments from the LMU First To Go Community group.

I've revisited this question over and over, how did I select the colleges I applied for? And how did I make my final decision? My parents have been a critical support throughout my life but they have limited knowledge about US structures. My dad was one year shy of completing his college degree in our home country and used that knowledge base to help make sense of our US experience. I was very practical in my choice of applications I applied to one CSU, one UC and one private. I went with local schools that had some recognition not necessarily their academics but popularity, I didn't know better. I never considered out of state because I knew it wouldn't fly at home and to be honest didn't know it was an option. I got accepted into all 3 schools I applied to and was faced with a decision. To this day I remember the conversation with my parents, the CSU was a back up so discarded once I got the letters from UCLA and USC, so it was between the two. My dad said "well privates are always better than public" and so I took his advice a sent my commitment reply to USC. As I have reflected on that decision, I've come to understand that my dad's advice was based on the way things are in our home country- private is always better. It wasn't necessarily true here and in fact for certain fields UCLA would've been a better choice, but I didn't know better. USC turned out to be a great choice for me so much that I went back for my terminal degree :)

Hi all! I'm really enjoying the book and comments :) I can relate to many of your posts. I attended Narbonne High and in a way was ok as I really didn't know much. And it's interesting to read Stella's comment because I knew I didn't want to go to Pedro High. I went to Dodson Middle School and had a taste of what Pedro would be and didn't feel comfortable in that environment. I applied for the math & science magnet program at Narbonne and got in so that is where I went. In addition to having a feeling about the program I felt much better because socially my cousins would be there too. And like LT I immediately felt the separation from the "regular" kids my classes were more rigorous and some teachers seemed to care more about us. However, I'm certain classes like P.E. or arts classes were mixed so I socialized with the non-magnet kids. Socially it was always a bit awkward for me because in class I was friends with the magnet kids but during breaks my circle was mixed with regular and magnet kids. It was during senior year that I began to see the inequity in outer own school. As I signed up for advanced math & science my non-magnet friends we're encouraged to take more "easy" electives and weren't offered the SAT free classes. I also noticed that they weren't being told about college info sessions or application deadlines. And i think many of them like Cedric's friends had the potential but had no guidance. And yes Narbonne was a rough school with fights and during my tenure there a brutal beating on campus that resulted in a death. But in many ways the school made those problems the issues of the "regular kids" not us. In the end as graduation approached we shared what schools we got into and our final decisions, while my non-magnet friends shared their news of where they would work, what community college they would attend and many of the women shared their new of being pregnant. I clearly experienced this inequity in one school and believe that has motivated me to work with my community.