College Choice

¶ … return to study at Santa Monica College in the Fall 2014, life leads me to New York for a big opportunity in my career on the aviation industry. For the type of job I have, if I want to continue to succeed in the business, I have to move to a much busier city airport and JFK is just that. When I received the news over a week ago, the first thing I felt was nervousness. Family and friends of many years were in shock.

Two weeks ago, I was planning to rent a house in Big Bear and all of a sudden, I am in a situation in which I have look for an apartment in a city I have never lived in. I have to get used to the snow and the cold, keeping in mind that I'll be arriving in January.

However, as an undergraduate, one of my priorities is the continuation of my academic studies, and if hypothetical case I do not get to finish my classes at Santa Monica College, my plan B. is to finish my career at a four-year college in New York. I did a research on various colleges and I narrowed my decision down to two: Brooklyn College and The City College of New York.

To choose the best option, I considered several criteria, such as the price per credit or tuition fees, distance from home and the courses that would help me major in Business Administration and Leadership. The criteria that I will use to make the decision are the following: economics, distance and variety of classes. The most important factor for me is definitely the economic part. I discovered quickly that L.A local residents pay less per unit than I will have to pay in New York.

Second, the location of the college is also important, since we still do not know if I'll be able to take a car because in the city where my spouse and I intend to live (Brooklyn Heights) apparently parking in scarce. This may mean that our main method of transportation will be by metro. The third most important criteria is the variety of classes. This is important because it is the end of my college career, and I need the right classes to complete my degree.

Between Brooklyn College and The City College of New York the prices per units are equal between the two colleges. Brooklyn College offers for undergraduate cost 260 USD per credit if you are New York resident; if you are not than you would have to pay an absurd amount of 535 USD per unit. Brooklyn College is located in Brooklyn about twenty one minutes with no traffic by car and 30 minutes by metro, covering a total of 5.6 miles. The address is: 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11210.

On their home page, there have a catchy subtitle that states: "Our campus is one of the most beautiful in the country." Brooklyn College makes the biggest difference because it has the major I want to graduate (Business Management and Leadership). City College has the same pricing structure as Brooklyn College. Both are public institutions in the state of New York, so price the same for New York residents, which I will be. The second factor was the distance.

The City College of New York is located at 160 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10031 and is thirty two minutes away from Brooklyn Heights by car and 30 minutes away by subway with a total distance of 15.2 miles. This is further away than Brooklyn College, and harder to get to. With respect to the program itself the City College of New York does not offer the Business Management and Leadership major for undergraduates.

This means that on the basis of the three most important decision-making criteria for me, Brooklyn College is superior in two of them, and on the other factor the two are equal. They both have the same cost, which was my most important factor. So the decision comes down to the other two factors of distance and program. Brooklyn College is closer, being only 20 minutes away, though they both are the same distance by.