Friday, in class, we continued watching the documentary following the seven high school students applying to UC Berkeley. The documentary depicted the rigorousness and difficulty that came along with applying to the best public university in the United States. Watching how those students struggled and stressed about college, especially the ones who do not have as many resources and aren't in great financial conditions, caused me to question my own path to college. I do not have enough money to cover college tuition and I constantly stress about how my college education is affected by this financial disadvantage.
The documentary also brought up stereotype threat, which is a situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of confirming negative stereotypes about their social group. Stereotype threat is something that I have personally experienced, it has come up when thinking about how others with a similar economic state to myself and also those of Latino ethnicity who are also first-generation college students, are perceived in society when it comes to attaining a higher education. Stereotypes of how it is difficult for first-generation students, who are also not in optimal financial conditions, to succeed in college have at some point in my life made me feel unsteady about what my college education experience will be like. Despite having dealt with stereotype threat before, I have been able to look past it. Since I was in elementary school I knew that I definitely wanted and would pursue a college education, and my determination for achieving this is much greater than how I let stereotypes or my financial state affect how I envision my future college education.
Viewing the documentary strengthened my determination to work hard and to achieve the goals I have set for myself. The difficulties and unfair nature of the college admission process, as seen in the documentary, are things that I have not let discourage me, but instead I am using as a motivation to work harder and overlook stereotypes.
Thank you for sharing Emily! This was a very powerful blog! You should never stray from your goals of attending college because you think that money could be an issue. There are so many programs for financial aid, and there are also incredible public schools that would be a lot cheaper to attend. Although some colleges do stereotype applicants during the admission process, that is no reason to work any less. I admire you for working hard and pushing past the stereotypes and financial problems that you may have with attending college, because never giving up is the only way you'll succeed! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteI find this interesting, as I am in an almost opposite situation. Both of my parents have more than one degree, and both have been very successful in their careers. They both say that me going to college is GOING to happen, rather than might happen. Even though nowadays you pretty much have to go to college to obtain a decent job, I still find it interesting that my parents would consider me below average if I did not go to college.
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