Gabriel Reina

Mrs. Buescher

Service Learning

13 December 2017

College Visits Essay

In the September of 2017 I visited many campuses across the south of California. These

campuses included. University of California Los Angeles. University of California San Diego,

University of California riverside, San Diego state and Cal poly. This a very educational

experience and it taught me a lot about my future. I also met with a recruiter in the Army to talk

about my future there. After exploring all of my options I concluded what my family and I

thought was best for me.

After visiting colleges I got to see a whole new side of education that Id never seen

before. I was able to see how college students at a UC level interacted and went about their daily

lives. I saw them preparing and struggling to complete that typical College lifestyle. I saw Cal

poly first which I thought was very interesting and I enjoyed it very much. I really liked the

atmosphere there and their focus on a Learn by doing method. That was a cool experience but I

enjoyed UC San Diego the most. There I was welcomed with open arms and given a full tour of

the campus. I was so intrigued by all of the curriculum that had set forth. They had the perfect

environment to help you grow to the best of your abilities. I was very certain I wanted to go their

but before making my decision I decided to weigh all of my options.

 I decided to schedule a meeting with an army recruiter who was trying to get a hold of me

and started be a nag. He came to my house and started talking about enlisting in the army. My

dad who is a marine veteran told me that the options he was throwing out were worse than the

college. I would have to dedicate more time to the military (4 years) before even starting

college. I found out I get similar benefits from the military because my dads sacrifice he made. I

was able to get almost free tuition and room and board paid for college.

In conclusion after weighing all of my options I concluded that I was blessed enough to

go to college right out of high school. My plan is to go to UC San Diego and Study Neuroscience

there until I graduate and able to transfer into the medical program.