Getting Into College

The concept of mind helps a man ace his IQ test and get into the University of Michigan.

ByJerry Farmer, Ann Arbor, MI

I was born and raised in a small farming community in southwestern Michigan. I didn't want to stay on the farm, so I worked hard to get off of it. I always wanted to go to the University of Michigan, which was unheard of for someone from my community. No one from our school had gone to Michigan for years. It was so much different than it is today. You just didn't go very far from home. There was far less pressure. But it was also much more difficult to go to college. No one had money, and I'm talking about the middle class, too. The middle class didn't have the money they have today. There also weren't very many loans. You had to work your way through college. I dug ditches and laid pipeline to pay for my education.

In order to go to college, you had to take I.Q. tests. There were no SATs. This was the first big test that I was concerned with. I knew the I.Q. test meant a lot, as it would determine, to a large degree, whether or not I could go to Michigan. Even though I had always been a good student, I remember how nervous I was when I had to prep for the test. There were no courses or teachers who would help you study. So I worked a lot at that time with the idea from the Bible concerning "mind:"

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Phil. 2:5

I loved the stories of Christ Jesus, so I thought about them as I prepared for the I.Q. test. When the test came, everyone was sweating. I just quieted myself and kept thinking about this statement from Paul. It did wonders. Mind was there to answer the questions. The same "mind" that worked through Christ Jesus worked through me. After the test, there was no question about being able to get into Michigan. I would be able to go.

The idea of "mind" being present with me has helped give me a sense of calm confidence throughout some of the most difficult decisions I've had to make and some of the toughest cases I've tried. I continue to use it in my life today.

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