I had applied to the Minerva Schools back in late January, as I was applying to universities in Israel. I don't remember how I even came to hear about them; friends, if one of you remembers posting about it on Facebook or talking to me about it, I probably owe you a beer. Much to the amusement of Eyal, with whom I was volunteering at Torres del Paine at the time (more on that soon), I spent quite a significant amount of our rest periods from the mountain dealing with the application procedure. I had a fair amount of work to do, little time, and the internet connection in Puerto Natales was quite unreliable. Once I finished their highly unique evaluation process, I generally set it aside; I felt I somewhat bombed one of the assignments, and besides, it was such a long shot.
I received their e-mail as I was on the subway here in Buenos Aires on my way to meet Gal, a friend from the army I'm traveling with. The mobile internet was quite shoddy (either it's a repeating theme, or my standards are too high), and we met and started cooking dinner, so the notification left my mind for a while. As we sat down to eat, I realized I still haven't fully checked it, and the wi-fi in his hostel proved adequate. I was floored. For the rest of the meal (and night, and most of today), I still didn't really believe I was accepted, and only now is the shock finally starting to wear out. With it comes the harder part: do I go?
Why not? The program I'm considering at Hebrew U is really attractive to me. I love mathematics, and the faculty at the Hebrew U is incredible, and I find the cognitive science program to be a very interesting supplement, a way to expose myself to some topics I'm quite intrigued by (decision making, neurophsiology, linguistics, etc.). The programs there are established, and I generally know what I'm getting myself into. Living in Jerusalem sounds like a fun change of environment: new city, new friends, new atmosphere, but close enough to my friends and family. I should still be able to play Ultimate Frisbee with my club in Israel, and take care of my knee, should things go awry with it again. Last (and certainly not least) is the financial aspect: universities in Israel are significantly cheaper (Minerva will end up costing me around $30,000 a year including tuition, room and board, travel, etc.), and I could find work during the last year (or two?) of my degree, should I decide I want or need to.
However, the Minerva program sounds quite amazing. I quite connect to the idea of trying to refine higher education, and do it differently (and hopefully better). Small classes, seminars, a focus on skills and motivation (rather than just theoretical knowledge), and the company of unique and very bright people. The concentration of Computational Sciences is right up my alley, and the course topics seem to be exactly what I'm going for. Besides, the opportunity to be a part of something new, live in a different city each semester or two, and explore the world, learn languages... I'm not sure I could turn it down. It would be a very interesting social experience, as I imagine I'll be on the oldest there. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet. Moving around so much might also make finding serious relationships and making deep connections harder, but I would not let that deter me from trying.
The last thing on my mind might be FOMO - fear of missing out. If I try and see I don't enjoy it, I will be a year older, somewhat poorer, but I could go back to school in Israel knowing I followed the wild dream. Should I never try, I'm afraid I might not be able to forgive myself. It would make any and every hardship in university in Israel even harder to swallow. Don't I owe it to myself to try?
