the baffled King composing Hallelujah.

I like it here. Honestly, I do. Please try to keep that in mind while reading the next few paragraphs.

The thought has often crossed my mind as to whether I could have done better. Better in the sense of a more prestigious school, a better name to put on the back windshield of my car, a better school according to the rankings given out by US News and World Report.

I felt, going into the whole process, that I was settling. Settling for a school when I could have gotten into a higher one, settling for some qualities I liked, while giving up on others.

I legitimately considered applying to Harvard, just to see what would happen. I ended up not doing it, as the cost off applying was rather prohibitive, but now I wish I had, if only for the knowledge of what I could have done.

Northeastern was not my first choice throughout the process. I fell in love with a small, Catholic college in Worcester called Assumption College. The standards for getting into Assumption were lower than those of Northeastern, but the one aspect that sold me to NEU was the co-op. Assumption just couldn't compete with a program that gives you a resume upon graduation. And, almost as important, the course catalog selections for journalism at Assumption were very slim, while Northeastern just about has every course I would ever want to take in the field.

Assumption's median SAT score is less than 1100. Northeastern's hovers around 1250. I got a 1510 combined, out of 1600. (I have pity on the students that now have to complete an essay.)

Could I have 'done better'? I don't know. But some of my classes lead me to believe that I could, and maybe, should have.

I'm enrolled in Interactive Math. At orientation, I was given the impression that the Interactive Math class was comparable to the other entry-level math class. The difference was that Interactive Math featured group work, as opposed to a lecture-style class.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't like math. I've always been reasonably good at it, as logic prevails, but I don't like it. Some high school math experiences left me with a less-than-favorable view of the subject.

However, this class never fails to leave me feeling less intelligent than when I entered. My homework at one point this week was so far below my level that my brother could have done it in his sleep.

Most of the students are transfer students. From community colleges. I can nearly guarantee that I'm the only person in that room in the Honors Program. And it's pretty pathetic. At times, I feel as if my intelligence is insulted when I have to find the properties of a line. And people are having difficulty with it.

I've contemplated approaching the professor about my concerns. But I have to maintain a 3.4 to stay in the program, so I guess I'm just going to suck it up and use this as a way to get out my frustrations with the intellect in that class.