Around the holidays, college students return to their hometowns and expect to answer a long list of questions regarding their college, major and relationship status.
This is a generally annoying ritual for any college student, but it is almost unbearable for an ASU student.
After I utter the words, “I go to ASU,” I am berated with ridiculous questions about my hardcore party girl life. “You must have some crazy nights.” If by crazy you mean spending four hours in the library in order to get a ton of work done and make my deadlines, yes, I do. “You must be a partier.” Yes, sometimes I just eat raw cookie dough straight out of the tub. “Oh, I have heard things about that school.” You must have heard about it being voted the most innovative college in the nation by US News & World Report and ranking higher than elite schools like Stanford and MIT.
The snide comments were unrelenting. At some point, I gave up try to explain that I neither drink nor smoke and just began making up ridiculous stories to appease them.
A few of these comments wouldn’t have bothered me, but after receiving them from almost every person I have told about my college choices, I am more than a little bitter.
I worked hard in high school. I was a three-sport athlete, I was involved in student government, I went to a boot camp for the SAT and I took AP and dual enrollment classes. When it came time to choose colleges, ASU was at the top of my list.
People thought I was absolutely crazy for making it my first choice, but the moment I toured the campus, I knew that it was where I was meant to be. Everything about ASU intrigued me: the downtown location, the school spirit, the amazing opportunities and the top-notch journalism college.
"This is America, they're not letting everyone in. This is not Arizona State"
— SDM (@meddocle) November 24, 2015
I knew that going to ASU would set me up to be successful, but no matter how much I tried to sway people's opinions, they would not let go of their idea of ASU being the biggest party school in the nation. To that assumption, ASU didn’t even rank in the top 10 biggest party schools in the nation this year.
ASU has been named one of the best universities in the nation for producing the best-qualified graduates by the Wall Street Journal and is ranked one of the top universities in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015.
I am fed up with people writing off ASU as a "degree mill." There is more than enough evidence that proves that ASU is way more than "just a party school." ASU is an excellent university and one that I am proud to be a part of.
Related Link:
9 reasons why ASU was named the 'most innovative' college in the U.S.
Reach the columnist at larober3@asu.edu or follow @lindsayaroberts on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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