My thought process:
Originally, I wanted to talk about something related to either the college admissions process or the broader idea of getting a degree in general. For the college admissions idea, I thought it would be worthwhile to discuss how colleges have become more competitive to get into, and how the idea of what a student had to do to get into a good school. For the broader idea of getting a college idea, I figured I could mix in the college admissions process, but I wanted to focus more on what the value was of a college degree. In the decades of our parents and grandparents, a college degree seemed to be invaluable and a ticket to middle to upper class living. Now, however, there seems to be an oversaturation of college degrees, which has lead to the devaluation of a bachelor’s degree, as students now have to have a lot of experience and/or an advanced degree in order to get a decent paying job.
While I thought these ideas were good, I also worried that they may have been a little too broad and I would’ve had to spend a lot of time doing research on them in order to get the sources that would allow me to say what I wanted to say. So, I did some more thinking, and I said to myself, “I’m a STEM major. Are there any interesting topics in this field to consider?”
So, at the moment I think I’m set on doing a different topic: Nuclear energy. This one might have to be a little bit more nuanced, however, because there hasn’t been a dramatic shift in the perception of nuclear energy over time. From the minimal research I’ve done so far, public perception was mildly favorable towards nuclear energy before the Three Mile Island Accident and Chernobyl, which lead to public opinion levels expressing anxiety about nuclear energy that hasn’t really changed since then. I think, however, the favorability of nuclear energy could be an emerging idea, however, as the present climate crisis necessitates that we find new sources of renewable energy, with nuclear energy being a prime candidate. If nuclear energy turns out to be a little too specific, I might consider broadening it out to the overall perception of nuclear in general (which of course includes weapons and the Cold War). I’ll have to do some thinking and research to figure out exactly what I want to convey, but I feel pretty good about this idea, and I’m really interested to continue my research.
Hi Matt! That is an interesting pivot of ideas, from college degrees to nuclear energy. I would say you are bordering on both ends of the spectrum right now, very broad with the first idea and very specific with the second one. I think that the first idea could definitely work and be done very well, but as you said that would take some serious narrowing down and heavy research. The nuclear energy one is definitely one that is already pretty specific, as it is still a relatively new and unknown source of energy that still needs to be studied. This would be beneficial in that there are many ways you could talk about some ramifications that you would anticipate based on the research already out there. The fact that you have already found ways to broaden the nuclear energy idea is good, you have a contingency plan in case your initial analysis is too specific and narrow. Ultimately, you seem to have come up with many different ideas and I don’t think you can go wrong as long as you are aware of how specific or broad you are in talking about your shift. Good luck writing!
Hi Matt, both of your ideas seem really well thought-out! For the value of a college education degree, I agree that it might be difficult to find good sources, but I’m sure if you decide you really want to do that topic, you could find a way to narrow your search results. Your nuclear energy idea sounds very interesting! I don’t know a lot about nuclear energy, but I do know, especially once you mentioned climate, that there are certainly shifts in how society views it. You also seem interested in the topic, which is always a good thing when doing research. Overall, you seem to have some very good potential topics.
Hi Matt,
Two very different ideas you have but they both seem to be very well thought out. I feel as though both of these topics would lead you to a valuable essay. I do agree with you that your first topic on education is too broad and would make it difficult for you to find what you are looking for. With nuclear energy the topic is definitely more single streamed and would probably be slightly easier to find what you are looking for when it comes to research. There are so many aspects of value to do with nuclear energy for you to discuss which would be of high value to your readers, maybe tapping into the positives and negatives of it and its impact on society. Good luck with whatever you decide!