From my personal experience, an opportunity I passed up on and have debated the opportunity cost since is my college decision making process. As a prospective student, I was highly interested in exploring the field of business either in Finance or Accounting. I also expressed desire to stay in the Midwest, close but not too close to home. After doing research on the programs in the area, I narrowed my list down to Indiana, Illinois, Notre Dame and Marquette. Notre Dame would have been my first choice had I been accepted, but I wound up making my decision between Indiana and Illinois.
February of my senior year I had almost come to consensus that I would attend Indiana as I had received the decision of denial from the University of Illinois College of Business. Similarly, I had been accepted into Indiana's Kelley School of Business so the decision seemed like a no-brainer. However, after several months of consideration, I decided that I would attend Illinois and attempt to transfer into the College of Business as an undeclared student.
Long story short, I did not have the credentials to gain admission into the College of Business and instead decided to pick Economics as my major. Knowing this, the question becomes did I make the right choice even though I had a significant opportunity that I passed up. There are several areas of interest. First, would I have had the same amount or more career opportunities than I do here at U of I. The Kelley School of Business offers many great opportunities but I feel that Illinois has an equal or even greater amount of career opportunities. With many career fairs, student-run organizations and well-connected alumni, a student would only have to apply themselves in order to find quality career-preparing experiences.
Secondly, would have I enjoyed what I would have been doing at Indiana? In all likelihood, I would have ended up as an accounting major. After taking an accounting class here at U of I, I realized I might have made the right decision. Similarly, I have nothing but good things to say about the Econ department here and I fully enjoy my major.
Finally, do I regret not going to Indiana? The answer to that question is a resounding no. Although my path at U of I was not as straightforward as it would have been at IU, I can confidently say that my education experience has benefited from having to research and explore a major on my own rather than being placed into one. I also understand that at Indiana I would have a near equal amount of opportunity to find a good career path.
Despite passing on a great opportunity, I do not feel regret. Although I feel I would have capitalized on the opportunity in the moment, my patience paid off in the long run.
Unfortunately, you didn't understand what opportunism means. It is not just taking advantage of an opportunity. There is usually an ethical component to it. When you take advantage of the situation, it is to the detriment of somebody else.
ReplyDeleteYour essay is really about decision making under uncertainty. There are things you didn't know at the time you made your choice. In such a setting, after things pan out you might have felt another choice would have been better, in which case you'd feel some regret about the choice you did make. It seemed from what you said that you are okay with the choice you did make.
But it also seemed to me you omitted some factors that probably were relevant at the time and might still be relevant. If you are from Illinois, then you are paying in state tuition here. You'd have paid out of state tuition at IU. If your parents were paying this, they may have had a preference that mattered in this choice. Finally, there is the issue of whether you'd know other people at the place from your high school or other experiences you had before college. These factors all matter. It is not just the academic program. So, to the extent that you are writing about decision making, you might have considered the decision more fully.
I like how you compared your football team to the alignment problem. Going off of Professor Arvan's comments, I can relate to how a team can be successful and still not win. When I was playing on a top soccer team, Chicago Magic, our team was extremely well organized and preformed for each other, we had all the necessary components for success but did not win. Alternatively I have had teams who do not work and are not as committed, like my Illinois Club Soccer team. We do not practice hard, we are not in the best shape, but we still out preform teams due to talent.
ReplyDeleteReading through your previous posts you have improved every time in my opinion with your writing style and overall goal of accomplishing the plot