Maliyah Benson

Mr. Ward

Honors English III

16 December 2019

College Research Project

Currently, I am almost halfway through my junior year of high school. Now is the time to

think about my future. I plan to go to college after high school, but like most teenagers, I’m not

quite sure where to go without proper research. The three schools I will be evaluating are Eastern

Mennonite University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and York College. These three schools are

schools that I am interested in for different reasons. For my evaluation, the location,

school/classroom size, and the school’s art program are leading factors in my decision.

Eastern Mennonite University

Eastern Mennonite University is a private liberal arts school, located in Harrisonburg,

Virginia. Founded in 1917, the school is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. The

school’s mission is to help students become strong, peaceful leaders while learning Christian

faith values. ​The motto of EMU is “Preparing students to serve and lead globally”

(TimesHigherEducation).

EMU has a large campus, surrounded by suburban area and beautiful cherry blossoms.

The school’s location is three hours and thirty minutes away from home by car. The farthest

distance-time I want is within five hours or less. Although I want something less than five hours
away, I don’t want to be within an hour of home. When I am at college, I want some distance

from home so I can feel independent, academically and socially.

EMU is a rather small school with one thousand and forty students enrolled this year. My

preference for school size is less than four-thousand students and within twenty students to one

teacher ratio. EMU has a ratio of ten students to one professor.

Eastern Mennonite University highly encourages its students to double art majors or at

least try an art class. EMU advertises events that everyone can participate in. They believe that

taking art classes will make your time at a liberal arts school more fulfilling (Eastern). A few of

the classes they provide are art education, digital media, marketing, and photography.

Ohio Wesleyan University

Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts school founded in 1842. The school

gives students life-changing opportunities. OWU was one of the colleges featured in the book,

“Colleges That Change Lives” (Academics​). ​Studying abroad is one of the factors that change

student’s lives while attending this school. They offer many classes to take abroad such as

language, nursing, and psychology.

This school has the longest travel time compared to the other schools listed. OWU is

six-hours and thirty minutes from home by car. And three hours and thirty minutes by plane.

This travel time and distance would be a problem for me because I want to be within a five-hour

distance from home. Although the plane ride is about three hours shorter than a car trip, I would

not want to ride a plane by myself nor pay for the cost over the holiday season.
 Both OWU and EMU have the same student to faculty ratio of ten students to one

professor. Although OWU is larger with one thousand, five hundred and sixty-one students, the

university promises that a respectful relationship between professor and student (Academics).

Voted nighty-second place in “Best Colleges in National Liberal Arts Colleges,” Ohio

Wesleyan University puts their pride in giving their students many opportunities to learn and

help them in the future. A program available for upperclassmen who plan to intern in their major

can be eligible to participate in the “New York Arts Program” (​Quick). ​This program is a great

chance for students to intern in New York and work comfortably. The students stay in the New

Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, New York​.

York College of Pennsylvania

York College is a private school founded in 1787 with no religious affiliation. The school

has more than 50 bachelor’s degree programs and is involved with many clubs, sports, and

organizations (How). The acceptance rate of the school is seventy percent. The acceptance rate is

one percent lower than OWU, but seventeen percent higher than EMU.

The school is located in a suburban environment, on 190 acres of land. York College has

the least travel time compared to the other schools. From home, the college is a half-hour drive

by car. The shortened travel time is good because I don’t have to travel too far when I go home

for the holidays. As I mentioned before, my preference for distance from home is more than an

hour.

York College has the largest amount of students enrolled. Four thousand and fifty

students are enrolled this year. Compared to the second-largest school, OWU, York College has
two thousand, four hundred and eighty-nine more students. The ratio between students and a

professor is fifteen to one. The classroom size is very close to my maximum preferred class size.

Professor Fryar, one of the art professors, had made visits to my high school advertising

students who are taking art classes in high school to get involved with York College’s fine arts

and design activities on the weekends. At YC they take art as a valid profession, the Career

Development Center helps expose students to jobs that involve art (Fine). Jobs such as art

therapists, jewelry designers, and public artists are careers that you can learn about while in

class.

My high school career will be over soon. Now, I have to transition from academic and

social dependence to independence in college. The factors of ​the location, school/classroom size,

and the school’s art program are the deciding points of choosing the college for me.​Eastern

Mennonite University has a range of art programs available to every student, but the school has a

church affiliation in which I am not comfortable with. Ohio Wesleyan University is the perfect

school for studying aboard although, the school has the longest distance from home. York

College has a Career Development Center that helps students find careers in the majors they are

taking. The downfall of the school is the short distance from home. Each school has an element

that I like, and a factor that doesn’t meet my preferences. I am keeping my options open,

although, from the evaluation I’ve made, York College is my likely choice for college.
 Works Cited

“Academics.” ​Ohio Wesleyan University​, ​www.owu.edu/academics/​.

“Eastern Mennonite University.” ​Times Higher Education (THE)​, 9 Sept. 2019,

www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/eastern-mennonite-university​.

“Fine Art.” ​Major | York College of PA​,

www.ycp.edu/academics/school-of-the-arts-communication-and-global-studies/program

s/fine-art/​.

“How Does York College of Pennsylvania Rank Among America's Best Colleges?” ​U.S. News

& World Report​, U.S. News & World Report,

www.usnews.com/best-colleges/york-college-of-pennsylvania-3399​.

“Quick Facts.” ​NYAP,​ nyartsprogram.org/faq/.

Sophomore. “Explore Eastern Mennonite University.” ​Niche,​ 11 Dec. 2019,

www.niche.com/colleges/eastern-mennonite-university/​.