Arizona Thoughts
- YiLan Nelson
- Apr 28, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 29, 2021
A few weeks ago I went to the Phoenix Arizona area to tour my top college Arizona State University and the business school that I had gotten into. For those who do not know, I am majoring in Finance.
Why ASU?
When I originally decided to apply to ASU, the main reason was for cost and high acceptance rate. Shortly after I found out it was known to be the biggest party school in America. That title, didn't necessarily appeal to me, but after doing further research I learned that ASU is much more than a party school.
I found out that their business school was 30th best business school in the nation, #1 in innovation, and #12 for best business masters programs in the nation. After finding this out I began to feel much better about having ASU as my top choice. I was also excited that WP Carey focused on helping students get jobs and internships. Aside from the school, the Phoenix area has been one of the fasted growing cities in America and I knew that I would have a good shot at getting a job somewhere in the Financial district.
ASU Thoughts
When touring ASU, I found the university to be well organized, high tech, and coastal vibey. I find it funny that AZ tries to create a coastal environment when they are at least a 6 hour drive from the nearest ocean, but I can appreciate the effort. The dorm was also nice because they were right next to a on site convenience store, and food joints. It was literally a 2 minute walk from the dorms to the food. I also liked that the dorms were very close to the business school and that business majors are the only students in the dorm. I liked how modern the campus was and unique the architecture was as well. You could really get a vibe from the university which is something I appreciated.
Phoenix area thoughts
When I arrived at the airport it was the very first indication at how AZ is. I quickly learned that everything is spread out, well organized, and hot. The city was not like LA where there is a sense of infancy to it. In LA it seems like they do not know how to function as a city half the time, but in Phoenix everything was perfect. By perfect I mean infrastructure was great, agriculture was oriented towards desert friendly plants, and buildings were modern. The whole time I was in AZ, the freeways were traffic free and had cute agriculture/art on the side of the road. I liked how modern it was and sustainable driven the city is. Unlike the city I live in where it tries to deny the fact that we are in the middle of a desert by spending tens of thousands of dollars watering all the agriculture. 90% of the plants in Phoenix are desert friendly and therefore hold in water much more efficiently than non water plants.
It's things like that that I appreciate because it shows how much effort was put into building and maintaining the city.
Where I see myself in AZ
Besides going to school in AZ, I can see AZ being the first place I buy real estate. I would love to start my real estate in AZ and then once I have like 3 properties, buy some in other states. I am actually thinking of starting in AZ, then Minnesota, Idaho, Texas, and finally California. Long term I do not see myself living in AZ because I found out on my trip that I can not withstand heat. In California there is definitely heat but in AZ its practically over 100 degrees for over half the year. A couple weeks ago it was 60 degrees in the city where I live in, and in Phoenix AZ it was 80. Even when I was visiting AZ in early April it was consistently 10 degrees hotter than in CA.
Conclusion
Overall, I think AZ is great but the heat was a big negative for me and I figured I could transfer after staying in CA for another year. My plan right now is to complete my most of my undergrad (except for 1 or 2 career prep classes that are very easy and that are required to be taken at ASU) and then transfer into ASU after. This will allow me to save money and ultimately lead me to less student debt. So after being accepted into most of the colleges I applied to, I have officially decided to go to my community college for one more year.
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