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College students face many challenges
Challenges that college students face
Challenges that college students face
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I am writing to apply for the Adjunct Counselor position within the Los Angeles Community College District. I was excited to hear about this opportunity because I believe my experience of working with students from a variety of backgrounds, my commitment to support students in reaching their academic goals, and my desire to understand and empathize with the challenges that community college students face make me a very good match for this position.
As a community college transfer student who was the first one in my family to pursue higher education, I have a clear understanding of how a college education enhances life. However, it was through the guidance of a handful of fantastic professionals that led me to my own road of self-discovery.
How imperative is it that one pursues a traditional college experience? Although it might appear that Charles Murray and Liz Addison are in agreement that the traditional college experience is not necessary for everyone, Addison provides a more convincing argument that higher education is necessary in some form. This is seen through Addison’s arguments that college is essential to growing up, that education is proportional to the life one lives, and that community college reinvents the traditional college experience. Not only does Addison have her own opinions about college, but Murray does as well.
Since I grew up in a household with two parents who are college graduates, and even two grandparents who had graduated from college, the idea of attending college was never seen as a unique opportunity, but rather as a necessary part of my future. I’m not going to complain about growing up with parents who valued the pursuit of knowledge, but it certainly never exposed me to the mindset that maybe college is not the best option for everyone after high school. Today, there is a huge debate over if the price of college is really worth it in the end, with the high cost of tuition and the number of people who just aren’t prepared for the demands that college has to offer. And on the other side, some say that college is a necessity not just in one’s
...as gone through those very same experiences. I arrived to college with many common misconceptions about the so called college experience. Similar to William Dereiewicz’s argument, for me college became this one thing everyone must do to earn more money. To be more successful I had to look towards the “STEM fields – science, technology, engineering, and math” (27). I am personally guilty for falling into this common misconception but have since learned that college is more about experiences. College gives you the necessary skills to function in your chosen major. I came to Montevallo as a Biology major but have now began to question that decision. Looking towards the future I am hopeful that I will adapt to my newfound independence and develop my own set of moral beliefs and similar to my parents provide my future children with better opportunities than the one I had.
Many Americans today tend to believe that a college education is valuable financially, yet some others strongly oppose this, since they look at the college education as being both time and money consuming. A person who successfully completes a college education may obtain one or all of the following; an associate’s degree after two years, a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or a PhD. The institutions that provide the college education can be public or private. Whereas a college education might be seen as being very expensive, it actually increases people’s chances of getting higher paying jobs, instills knowledge into them, and raises their enjoyment levels.
As a young girl in school, I always believed that I would one day would be successful and had the hope that a college education would assist me in being successful. I exceled in school even with circumstances such as hurricane Katrina and September 11 and had a thirst for knowledge. At the same time, the teachers that influenced me in life convinced me to attend college for the betterment of knowledge and a potential for a job or a career. However, those same teachers were teaching me textbook methods and no real on hand training that is essential in an education especially a college education. In "Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College”, Alina Tugend ponders the idea of college being either Vocation—job training— or Exploration learning. She starts off by referring to her oldest son is about to graduate high school, but quickly goes straight to the point of her essay with “What exactly is a university education for?” She provides answers such as college is a way to automatically receive a job if one majors in science, technology or a major that can be applied to a changing world that we live
While universities require their applicant to be somehow professional before they admit them, community colleges allow their students to enter the college experience as rookies-inexperienced- and give them the opportunity to reach professionalism. Addison herself writes “you will grow up with your first English class a bit more with your first psychology class, a whole lot more with your first biology, physics, chemistry”(257). Addison’s point is that community college are built in a way to help its student start from where they finished high school without having to get use to a whole new environment. How can we expect an adolescent to focus on their studies while they have a lot of changes going on in their life? Is it even possible for them to succeed with all those changes going on in their life? In Addison’s perspective, that is why community colleges still matter, because they can help those student, who have to learn to live like adults while their academic success is not affected.
Self-discovery, preparation for life, effective education—this does not happen in college, insists Liz Addison in her work, Two Years Are Better Than Four. The best years of character growth essential in the transition to post-secondary education commonly take the form of college in the eye of the public; however, Addison believes this misconception is a result of community college not receiving fair consideration. Building a foundation for life begins most successfully at American community college, and as Addison puts it, “the philosophy of the community college, and I have been to two of them, is one that unconditionally allows its students to begin. Just begin” (212). In other words, a successful
This report looks at college from the prospective of adults who have not attended college but are considering obtaining a degree. The research results give several statistics related to adults wishing to continue their education and the main concerns that they face in doing so. They mentioned many of the factors that influence adults’ decisions to pursue a post-secondary education and how they will pursue that education. Facts presented in this report show that many people wish that they could further their education. This report will allow me to broaden my viewpoint by not only viewing college’s worth to students recently graduated from high school but also to older adults seeking to return to college.
Most people today think of college as simply a place to get a better education, or merely as a steppingstone to financial success. College is far more than that. College is an experience that shapes a person, which can have both positive and negative outcomes. It is all up to the students to make the college experience worth their time and effort. Students must realize the importance of the responsibilities now demanded of them by higher education.
During the past three years of college, my interest in counseling has been affirmed through a variety of experiences. One important experience that influenced my decision to pursue a career as a school counselor was my involvement in my community service sorority, Chi Delta Alpha. Through Chi Delta Alpha, I volunteered on several occasions, among them I babysat children to provide parents with a night off; I was responsible for a group of elementary students as they experienced college classes and I painted a caboose for a local playground. A theme that has remained constant throughout all my different experiences is that making a difference in a person’s life is a rewarding experience, and I know that I desire a career that enables me to support high school students as they face difficult situations.
In current times, children are told from a young age that college is imperative to getting a good, stable job. However, this is not always true. Therefore, it cannot be determined if college is always the best choice. Because each person is different and learns in a way unique to themselves, it’s up to each individual to decide whether or not they think they need further education based upon their goals, aspirations, and desires in life. There are many benefits to attending a college or university. For example, college graduates earn about $17,500 more each year than high school graduates. College degrees also give you more options. Not only do you have many career options after obtaining your degree, you also have differing options of how you acquire your degree. Colleges and universities have created many diverse programs, offering traditional classes, online classes, semi-online classes, and night and weekend classes. One of the biggest benefits of attending college is the real world experience you gain from being there and living partially on your own. For most people, college is a time where you can gain experience living with new responsibilities that you don’t have at home, without the pressure of having to pay bills on time
Additionally, it also helps me navigate college much more easily by allowing me to gain cognitive skills such as study habits, time management and stress management that has allowed me to grow as a person and to continue to reach higher education. One of my academic goals is to do research what drives people to do what they do. As well as, the psychological effect of their actions. My interests is to learn more about the human mind not just from the individual perspective but how society and the government system views and treats people who are suffering from a mental illness. Coming from a community college has given me the knowledge to empower my community and to give back by motivating me to earn a college degree and to return back as a leader or a mentor. Hopefully by five years from now I have completed my undergraduate and graduate degree on criminal justice and psychology. My future goals is to obtain a career as a criminal profiler, forensic psychology, or as a
Having a college education is very beneficial for a person’s future. The degree itself is not the most beneficial aspect of a person’s success in the future nor is the type or rank of school attended will be most beneficial. The education received throughout the years in college will be the most beneficial reward in a student’s life. The education a person receives from a college experience is not only the textbook education or the education provided by the professors but also the real-life experiences. The real-life experience benefits are what will truly matter in the future. A few specific benefits from a college education are the life experiences, the commitment to someone/something other than yourself, the skills achieved such as time management and organization, and also the self-sufficiency a person profits. College is also a great time to find yourself through the chaos of balancing life and maintaining passing grades. “Another one of the many benefits of a college education is meeting others from distant places with diverse backgrounds.” (McGuire) In high school, students do not have the wide range of people from different backgrounds. In college, students are introduced to everything new to life and along with that comes other students from different areas of life. Going to college and having the
It is true that there are things that need to be learn in everyday life, but that does not necessarily mean going to college will not advance that knowledge. Not only does attending college advance one’s mind, 69% of college students say it is very useful in helping them grow and mature as a person(Pew). It tells that people who attend college will mature more and have the knowledge of financial means that is being dealt with everyday. When asked why college is important, 39% say it is to help a student grow personally and intellectually(Pew). Obtaining a higher education will weigh on progressing one’s education.
There can be benefits to a college education, some quantifiable and others perceived. Stated in an online article about the gain of college, “If you give it your best, college can help you learn to distinguish fact from opinion and credible argument from emotional rant, and acquire or strengthen the kind of analytic and reasoning skills that will serve you well for the rest of your life.” By immersing oneself into a college program, you are inevitably going to be around an eclectic group of people. While on the surface this may sound like a chore, it actual has the ...