College Pathways
One of the most important decisions in life is what to do after a person graduates high school; a student has so many choices as to what they can do, study, or simply who they can be it can get very overwhelming. Every person has a pathway, and finding that path may be difficult and take time, but when it is found it will affect every aspect of that person’s life from then on. In my case, getting a college degree is very important to me and for my future major. I plan on attending Millikin University in the fall of 2013 to study nursing for 4 years and this is the best decision I can make for several different reasons. I know Millikin is right for me because of their small class size, their location, their soccer program, and the scholarship opportunities. Going into the nursing program will also make some benefits available to me such as a high employment rate, a good starting salary, and a demand rate that will always make a job available to me.
Small Class Size
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The first thing that attracted me to Millikin is that it is a small school with small class sizes and it has been proven that with smaller class sizes there is greater academic success. I think I learn better in smaller environments where I can have one-on-one attention from the professor and smaller schools are known for this. With a student body of about 2,300 undergraduate students and the average class size being around 23, Millikin has all the features of a small school this will help me do my best academically. I feel that if I go to Millikin I will not just be another number but I will be legitimately cared for and they will do whatever they can to see that I succeed and graduate in four years.
Location
As well as Millikin being a small school, it is also relatively close to home which is very important to me. It is only an hour and a half drive from Peoria which makes weekend travel easy and being in the middle of Illinois, there is close access to major cities like St. Louis which is 120 miles south, Chicago which is 180 miles north, and Indianapolis which is 150 miles east
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Campus
The campus and surrounding area is very safe and the student body is very close and that adds to the “homey” feel. There are many organizations, sports, etc. to get involved in on campus which makes up for the lack of things to do in the city itself
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Soccer
The soccer program is one the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Division III athletic teams that Millikin offers. I have been offered a place on this team and I believe this program will teach me about teamwork and I will be able to meet new people. About 50% of the study body at Millikin is involved in athletics so this will give me something in common with others making socializing easier
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Scholarships
At Millikin there are many scholarships offered ranging from the presidential scholarship for full tuition to partial scholarships that are just merit based. Based on my grades from high school and my ACT score, I received a merit based scholarship that paid a good part of my tuition, and with Millikin’s tuition reaching about $27,000 per year, any money I can get taken off will be to my benefit.
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Nursing Program
Millikin offers a pre-professional program in nursing which will not only teach me what I need to know in order to get a degree but will also well prepare me for life after school when I will actually be working in a hospital
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Why Nursing?
A nursing degree today will offer me a number of different things such as good pay, high demand, and high employment rate. The starting salary for recently graduated nurses is around $67,720 as of 2010 and has only been growing as demand for nurses has increased. With this high demand I will always have access to a job wherever I go, in fact, the salary for nurses in some cities is higher because of their location and their demand rate. According to The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) there is a fear of a nursing shortage due to the aging of the baby boomers and their health needs. This will only make the demand for nurses higher therefore making salaries higher as well. It is estimated that the United States will need a 30% increase over the number of current nursing graduates per year and by 2020 the number of employed nurses will grow from 2.74 million to 3.45 million.