Touring these new territories is like getting pushed into a lake. At first you weren’t ready for it but it didn’t take long for you to get used to the water.

This decision will determine the rest of my life. Who my friends are, where I live, the connections I will gain. That’s a lot of pressure right? What would you do? Would you apply everywhere you wanted to go and flip a coin? Or, would you write a big paper about it?

You probably figured out which one I choose to do. As a current junior at Wayzata High School I have just started my search for the college I will be going to. I currently do PSEO (Post-Secondary Education Option) at North Hennepin Community College (NHCC) so I can earn credits to hopefully cut down some of my costs at a state school. I plan on going to college for Equine Management and Agriculture business.

In this essay I will be looking at two colleges: The University of Wisconsin River Falls and The University of Minnesota Crookston. After evaluating these two colleges based on predetermined criteria, this will result in a clear decision on where I would like to spend my college career.

University Of Wisconsin River Falls

College:

River Falls has 4 different college: The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, The College of Business and Economics, The College of Education and Professional Studies, and The College of Art and Sciences. UWRF currently has 6455 undergraduate students and 344 graduate students at River Falls, 1400 of which are in the CAFES program (College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences). The number of students in the whole college is larger than Wayzata High School, but the number in the CAFES program is smaller, which is good because you’d get to know more people with common interests. River Falls has 50% of students from MN, 47% of students from WI, and 3% of students from other states. UWRF has 62% female and 38% male students. River Falls has a large study abroad program, they have 298 international students currently attending. The average ACT score is 22 and the average GPA is 2.2 at River Falls. I currently have an ACT score of 24 and GPA is about 3.0. River Falls has a 96% graduation success rate, with 13% going on to graduate programs.

The CAFES program has 9 foundation of Agriculture courses, each CAFES student has to take these courses. I couldn't take any of these courses at NHCC because they did not offer them. Every student at River Falls is required to fulfill a General Education program as part of every Degree the university offers. I have an advantage here because so far all of my NHCC courses will transfer; although not all will be required for my major. Most students graduate in 4 years, but it depends on your major, studying abroad etc. River falls has a 19:1 student facility ratio, with an average class size of 25 students. The degree I would be studding at River Falls is an Animal Science degree with an Equine emphasis in management as well as the Agriculture business with an emphasis in Equine.

Students in the same programs are typically placed with people who have similar interest in dorms near each other. Dorms at River Falls were a lot smaller with fewer options than the dorms at Crookston, however, they do provide a free mini fridge and microwave at River Falls. The Equine Management program does a lot of lab work at the Campus farm, which is a few miles away from the rest of the campus. The Farm has 130 acres devoted to the Equine operations; they have a heated indoor arena, a large outdoor arena, breeding facilities, and a Rodeo arena. They have more horses and land at River Falls than Crookston does, but I don’t like the fact that you’d have to car pool or walk to the barn.

Activities:

River Falls has over 150 clubs and organizations. I will be interested in participating in any Sororities, The Association for Women in Agriculture, Ducks Unlimited, Falcon 4H, the Horsemen’s Association, Block and Bridle, any intramural sports, The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association, and the Rodeo club. River Falls has two equestrian based competition programs: The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association and the Rodeo club. In the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association you do not have to provide your own horse or transportation but you have to try out for their Hunt and Western teams. In the Rodeo Club you do have to provide your own horse and transportation, but if you are a part of the Rodeo Team you can keep your own horse on campus for $100 a month (you provide your own food and help work there.)

River Falls has many activities for students around campus. River Falls will have a brand new athletic facility addition completed in 2017. Every student has free entry to athletic games. UWRF provides other special events such as concerts, bingo, karaoke, drag queen shows, rodeos, mock interviews, and many more. The city of River Falls is only 30 minutes away from the Twin Cities and has 15,000 residents.

Financial:

Students at River Falls pay about $15,000 per year for the first two years (this includes tuition, a double room, and a 14 meals-a-week plan). This is cheaper than the other school. 75% of students at River Falls receive financial aid. If I can go through college with little to no debt, that would be ideal. River Falls gives different scholarships varying anywhere from $500-$8,000 per student per year; nearly $800,000 total in scholarships are provided to students each year. River Falls has 11 resident halls: 9 traditional, and 2 suite styles (given two years completed at as a dorm requirement); each upperclassmen that moved to an apartment said that they ended up liking this because it helped them determine who they truly want to live with for the rest of their college career. I would rather have the option of moving out of the dorms or staying in the dorms. River Falls provides free laundry services, books, cable, mini fridge and a microwave. This aspect is nice because some students end up spending thousands of dollars on books and laundry in college. As an underclassmen River Falls will let you bring a car, parking is $290 per year. I don’t like that you have to pay for parking. Going into the equine program, we have to find our own rides to the campus farm and any horse shows and events. Students say that there are many opportunities on campus to get jobs. I would like to work at the campus farm with the horses; some students live in the house on the farm if they work there.

University of Minnesota Crookston

College:

The University of Minnesota Crookston has 4 colleges consisting of 31 Bachelor’s degrees, 22 Minors, and 14 online degrees. I’d be studying Agricultural Business and Equine science. There are 1800 students at UMC, with an 18:1 student faculty ratio and an Average class size is 19. The class sizes at UMC are smaller than they are at UWRF. The number of students River Falls has in their Agriculture College is almost as many as Crookston has on their entire campus. UMC has 40 buildings on 237 acres. Crookston has a 40% graduation rate for a bachelor’s degree, on average it takes each student 4 ½- 5 years to complete their degrees; 75% job placement in the equine science program. Knowing this is common no matter where you go, I am choosing to double Equine Science with Ag Business. The Agriculture program is the schools biggest program having 50-52% of their students are in it. To get into the college the average ACT score 21 Average GPA 2.1. UMC is a very small school, one of the advantages to this is that you don’t have to be an upperclassmen to have hands on learning, and they don’t allow TA’s to teach classes. They have a small study abroad program with about 300 students though because they are a U of M school you can go with any of the other U of M schools on other trips. This provides a lot of opportunities for students to study where they choose to because it’s connected to the all the University of Minnesota schools around the state. They have Free Tutoring and writing help in their academic success building. UMC provides a doctor on campus 5 days a week. Internships are required for almost every Major. Though this is common, it is unfortunate because you’re paying the college for you to go learn from someone else. They have a Laptop program that gives every student a laptop on a two year cycle; UMC was the first school in Minnesota to have this program, pairing it with a cost free Computer help desk and free black and white printing throughout the campus.

Activities:

There are many things to do around campus and around the town itself; Crookston as a population of about 8000, and it is 25 miles away from Grand Forks. Crookston is a suburb of Grand Forks which was listed #1 on The Coldest Cities in the US. They have the longest running movie theater in Minnesota. UMC has a game room in every dorm and in many they have small exercise rooms and kitchens. They had a lot more/nicer options on housing than UWRF. The university has 40+ clubs and organizations, and as a Division 2 school, they attract many students for athletics; students also get free admissions to sporting events. It’s nice that they are in Division 2 for sports because this gives me the option of playing softball on a scholarship if I wanted to. They participate in the top Division for the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association but are not as competitive with their Rodeo team. They have a lot of WOW (What’s On Wednesday) events i.e. concerts, activities etc… You can have your horse on campus for 1 training semester. If you’re on the rodeo team you can have your horse there for $50 a month; work, bedding, hay and grain are all self-provided.

Financial:

Each student at UMC will pay about $18,800 per year for each year they live on campus. This is about $3,800 more expensive than UWRF is and doesn’t include some of the free things that they do either, such as laundry. Laundry is about $0.75 per load. Tradition style dorms are about $1,645-$1,740; Apartment style $2,169-$2,310 per semester; Suite style (4 bedroom 4 person units) are about $2,054 per semester and comes with a bathroom. Tuition for 2015 is about $11,500; the book charge is estimated at about $1,000 per semester depending on what classes you have. River Falls gives you books and you return them which saves you about $8,000 through your entire college career. They have an $80 lofting kit for the beds and a mini fridge comes with each rooms. UMC has parking permits $80 per years. This is a lot less expensive than the permit at UWRF. 80% of students stay in dorms their freshmen year, 60% of students stay in dorms all 4 years. It’s nice that most people stay on campus because than your always with everyone and there is no need for a car. Campus buildings are all connected by hallways. If you qualify for an academic scholarship you automatically get a designated amount of money from the school.

Conclusion

With a single splash, I’ve been engulfed in this body of water, however prepared, I’ve made the most of my situation by readying myself to the best of my ability. With the assumption that I get accepted to these colleges I choose the college education that will set me up for the rest of my life, giving me more stable connections and friendships that I would never be able to find anywhere else. After evaluating University of Wisconsin River Falls and University of Minnesota Crookston, I have made my decision based on the following things: River Falls has a smaller tuition cost that includes more things such as books and laundry. That said Crookston does include a laptop in their tuition , though it is still about $3800 more expensive, when we asked the counselors why this was they told us “this is because you’re getting a University of Minnesota degree”. River falls has a 96% bachelor’s degree graduation rate where Crookston only has a 40% graduation rate. UMC’s Equine Science degree seemed to be better-rounded including classes that taught Driving and Saddle Seat, though they did lack a Colt Starting class –a class that UWRF is nationally known for. The dorms at UMC are much nicer than the dorms at UWRF but there are more options to live off campus in River Falls than there are in Crookston. Ultimately I choose the school that was the best fit for me - University of Wisconsin River Falls.