Little Brother Conundrum

It is unbelievable to me that my little brother Ben just started high school! He always was a computer whiz and had no doubt that he wanted to follow in my footsteps and apply to the computer  science department of Bergen County Academies.  It turned out to be a totally right decision for him, and he is already skipping levels in math and programming. We love talking "geek" as our sister teases us.  Sometimes we code games and apps just for fun. My parents are both computer programmers and we routinely discuss interesting innovations and leaps in the field of computers. I was encouraged to build my own computer in middle school. My mom made a Trader Joe's app to help her make shopping lists. My dad created a debit/ credit program to balance our bank accounts way before online banking was even a concept. My little brother participates in all local hack-a-thons. Even my sister took Java class her Freshman year as a birthday present for our dad.

Everyone in my family was excited when I was accepted into Stevens Institute of Technology. My desire to go to this school started during summer of my Junior year when I participated in robotics camp. We had such a great time and had a final project presentation with NASA. Also, for my Senior Experience in high school, I chose to work with Professor Duggan. Our goal was to collect data from patients in Cameroon using Android tablets rather than in Visual Basic on a computer, which they had running Windows 95. Being accepted into Stevens meant that my future would be always revolving around computer software; and that I would be fulfilling my childhood dream. I am still pretty happy with my decision and always encouraged my brother to look into applying to Stevens. He always agreed that Stevens is the best possible choice for him because Ivy League schools are overpriced and overrated, and have a lot of mandatory classes that are irrelevant to computer programming. Then, on Friday, I received an email from him that blew my mind. He read an article that one of the esteemed world schools Technion was planning to build a Tech Department campus in New York City with affiliation with Cornell. The year the new school is planning to open is 2019- exactly the year of my brother's graduation from High School! I was speechless and stunned by the news. I always imagined us sharing stories and anecdotes not only about Bergen County Academies, but about Stevens as well. Also, I was very doubtful about the quality of teaching and curriculum in a brand new school VS a well established one. It might seem to be fun going to school that no one had ever gone to before, and to be its very first graduate class. But, at the same time, what about a school that proved to be most useful in providing a great education and career to multitude of students?

This conundrum made me ponder the role our choice of college plays in our future life. Is it absolutely crucial to find a perfect match or is it enough for the school to be reputable in your chosen field? Questions, questions... I guess my life will give me the answers.