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Among the wave of graduating seniors, a repetitive trend can be observed among selected universities, schools within the midwest along with a few further away here and there. However, Brody Yeloushan ’24 decided that this was a mold he wanted to break while furthering his education.
Located in Glen Cove, New York, Webb Institute is a private university centered around only one major: Naval Architecture. This is specifically what attracted Yeloushan to the school as his college search was different from most.
“I first started with the degree, which was Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering,” Yeloushan said.
The inspiration for this unconventional major came from his older brother who’d heard about it at a majors fair while attending the University of Michigan .
“From that point I was interested in the degree so I started researching what schools had it and I stumbled upon Webb,” Yeloushan said.
Once Yeloushan came across Webb, he quickly realized that was the school for him. Thus beginning the application process. This process, along with most things offered at Webb Institute, was very different from that of other colleges.
“The application process I would say is pretty weird and different because you apply through the Common App like you would normally, but you do not necessarily get in,” Yeloushan said. “Instead you are considered a prospective freshman if you make it past the first round and at that point you have an in-person visit to the school where you have three or four interviews, some more tests and you stay a night to see what it’s (the school) all about and they (admissions officers) get to decide whether they like you or not. Then they will deliberate about it some more and eventually decide if they want to let you in.”
As a prestigious, focused school, Webb is selective about who they choose to offer admission to. Yeloushan felt that ideal candidates held specific traits and motivations.
“Because it’s such a weird dynamic where there’s only about 25 kids per class, they’re really looking for people who are willing to give up some comforts of anonymity in a large school or the comforts of a large campus town,” Yeloushan said. “They really want somebody ‘rough and tumble’ willing to go with the flow.”
As a private institution that caters specifically to the interests of students, Webb offers very features to students within their education program and social experience. This is shaped by a long history surrounding marine occupations.
“It’s pretty interesting historically because you live in an old estate which was at one point owned by an oil tycoon, you can see all of the old prohibition era tunnels,” Yeloushan said. “ You also have a lot of water access, not only is the estate on the beach, it’s also within a close vicinity to several marinas in which students have access to racing boats.”
Overall, Yeloushan’s adventurous spirit and success-driven future is taking on a fascinating new face as he prepares to begin his naval education at Webb Institute. Still, he carries some of his values from home with him into this new chapter.
“I’m most excited for the community, it’s not very common to have such a small student body and as a result I’ve always liked a small community where you know everybody and everybody knows you and you can really get along,” Yeloushan said. “So I’m most excited for that family-esque community.”
