I'm a writer. I am not a blogger. I read them but I have never once commented on one so it's a little strange to actually start one of my own. I don't delude myself that people out there really care what I have to say so I do this for me. I wanted a record, in writing and pictures, of the decision I make, of the people I will meet, and of the life of a Southern girl in London.
The first major decision of my life is before me: graduate school. The University of Tennessee or University College London.
I finally got word today - after 4 months of waiting - that I’ve been accepted to the MPA program at UT. The email produced two reactions: 1) relief that the school I already have a degree from accepted me again. There was a little doubt there because of an abysmal score on the quant section of the GRE; and 2) Do I really want to go back?
The last reaction required a little examination. Do I really want to go back? Yes. And no. Yes because of the football games, the basketball games, Barley’s Taproom, Downtown Grill and Brewery’s $2 pints, friends, familiarity. Ah, the last one is the problem. I won’t say I hated my time at UT but I’m not going to say I loved it either. There were things I loved about it certainly but this isn’t undergraduate and I’m not 18 anymore. It’s too familiar at this point. I know where everything is, how things work, which professors are complete assholes and which ones you can chat with in their offices. I know not to schedule a math class on the Hill at 8am and an English class in Humanities at 9:05am. You’re barely going to make that class unless you run down the 200-odd steps from Circle Drive to Andy Holt Avenue. And don’t even think about making it up that 4% grade of Andy Holt to Volunteer without nearly having a stroke when it’s 95 degrees and 100 percent humidity. I know that tailgating begins at 7am for a 3pm kickoff and that you go back and tailgate afterwards, win or lose. I know where all the Starbucks are located on campus and that if you visit anyone of them during the middle of exams there’s a chance they’re going to be out of coffee.
Moving back to Knoxville wouldn’t be bad, I thought last week as I drove down Kingston Pike. But it wouldn’t be great either.
Knowing all the little quirks of a place are great. It gives you the inside edge. It makes you look like you know what you’re doing. That familiarity leads to boredom, though, and there is no joy to be found exploring the campus. Nothing is new or intimidating. It’s safe. And that’s what choosing to go back to UT would be - safe.
Choosing to go to UCL would be decidedly unsafe. Not in terms of actual physical safety. I’m pretty sure it’s just as safe as UT though I don’t know. I don’t know anything other than what I’ve read in the prospectus. I’ve looked at maps and read about services but reading and finding are two different matters entirely. Everything would be new and exciting, intimidating and trying. And that’s what would make going to UCL great. It would test me. It would require me to step out of my comfort zone and force me to meet people and navigate my way around a foreign city and country. Moving to London would be an adventure; moving back to Knoxville would be nothing more than a 3-hour car trip.
Academics wise, UCL would be the smarter decision. According to my Google search earlier today, UCL is ranking 5th in the UK and in the top 10 world wide. I have no idea what UT’s ranking is but I can pretty well guess it’s not in the top ten world wide and is certainly not ranked higher than 30 in the US for public schools. I’ve experienced the department I’ll be studying in and as a whole I was not terribly impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I had some fabulous professors and took some great classes. But it’s one of the weaker departments at the school, one which doesn’t get much funding and has a limited class offering. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t make the best of my time there. I would, but it just doesn’t make sense to go back into a school where I know that the education for a graduate degree may be only marginally better than the undergraduate one. I don’t know how UCL stacks up in reality. Rankings tell you next to nothing but it does look good. I would never get into the 5th ranked school in the US (I have no idea what it is, probably Stanford or Princeton).
I’m already excited about going to London. The only thing that excites me about going back to UT is football and the comfort of familiarity.
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