I was attracted to the Norlin Scholars community over any other opportunity at CU because I fit the Norlin Scholars program academically, socially, personally, and in terms of what I want for my future. None of the other programs I researched came as close as Norlin Scholars to matching my ideal vision for my time at CU. From my experiences in high school, I know the kind of academic environment I want for my college experience. For the last four years, I’ve thrived as part of the International Baccalaureate program at Poudre High School, which bears significant similarities to the Norlin Scholars program: both involve a community of engaged, academically motivated students who take rigorous core classes together and live within a larger school community. The IB program has been instrumental in my development as a student and as a person during my time in high school. I’ve found that being surrounded by brilliant, motivated peers is both motivating and intellectually invigorating for me, and drives me to reach new heights. When your peers are all incredibly well-informed and passionate, …show more content…
I’ve wanted to study abroad since I was in middle school, and accordingly I’ve completed five years of Spanish to put myself in the best possible place to do so. But without the assistance offered by the program for these kinds of experiences, it’s unlikely that it would be financially reasonable for me to study abroad. Additionally, as a student studying a STEM field where careers are based on research, the opportunity to do research projects with faculty was a major draw for me. While research experience is available to all students, being part of the Norlin Scholars program would give me unparalleled access to mentoring and resources to explore ideas and equip myself with the skills I’ll need as a full-fledged biomedical
While first-generation college students are over half of all students in postsecondary education, exclusionary practices block their admittance into elite institutions. The outliers who receive admittance to the Ivory Tower may think they have made it—that their American Dream and long-held belief in the meritocratic ethos has finally paid off. Instead, they are confronted with educational stratification and social reproduction that was stacked against them long before they received the piece of parchment granting them access. The onerous task of navigating through unfamiliar academic and social situations often results in leaving. Can first-generation college students learn how to activate, manage, and accumulate social and cultural capital to navigate elite universities?
While college times today are faced with more and more peer-pressure there are ways on getting through this. Everyday college students are pressured to either not go to class or leave work till the last minute for a little bit of fun. Surrounding yourself with positive people who share similar values helps a lot in overcoming this. I...
After my first few months of college, I realized I enjoy being a college student much more than I enjoyed being a high school student. However, the transition between the two extremely diverse worlds, was challenging at first, I found out how to overcome it. Originally, I couldn’t realize how different the two were, but as time went on, I was about to notice the differences. Not everyone is able to be aware of the many similarities and difference. Some differences include: cost, amount of freedom, and reasons why people are there. On the other hand, both high school and college have similar class structure and both require time management. The better prepared a student is to challenged with these many similarities and differences, the more
Admittance into the University of Georgia’s Honors Program would push me to continually test my potential in the pursuit of my Pre-Medical studies. I take pride in challenging myself to completely master a field of study that enhance my capabilities, and therefore, prepare myself to strive for my next goal in life. In order to grow into a better and improved self, one would need to test unfamiliar waters and reach new heights. The Honors Program ensures this growth by bringing in unaccustomed, rigorous, and beneficial material one cannot simply find in a traditional setting with their head in a textbook. Students are more able to grasp information through exploration and peer discussion which the Honors Program would provide. I believe that
At the turn of the 20th century, the majority of college students were white male adolescents, primarily the sons of doctors, lawyers, ministers, prosperous merchants, and well-to-do farmers (Jenkins, Miyazaki, and Janosi). First generation college students are a new demographic when it comes to the college population. First generation students are the first in their family to attend college and plan to be the first in their family that graduate. According to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, First Generation Students make up 43% of the student population (Nunez, Cuccaro-Alamin, and Carroll.). This is a completely new demographic compared to the prior population of student bodies. Today’s society stresses the importance of college degrees and has been a drastic increase in first generation students. Despite the fact that many students have already passed the initial barrier of applying and being admitted to college, there are many challenges these students face that non-first generation students do not experience. However, the majority of these students face risk factors in their college experience that non-first generation college students do not experience. One of the main differences I have notice is the lack of participation of first generation college students in campus activities, clubs, or organization. Campus engagement is known to enhance a student’s academic and personal development. Student’s involved in extracurricular activities learn to work, communicate, and problem solve with others. They have more developed ideas, beliefs, and opinions. They also have more self-esteem and speaking skills which will definitely help them once they graduate and enter the job market. With all of the benef...
How will you contribute to the mission of the National Health Service Corps in providing care to underserved communities?
"The more we know the world around us, the more successful we will be." This quote, from the introduction of my high school chemistry book, was my driving force as a teenager to attend college. My expectations of college were to gain insight into a world that I had not yet discovered. I had high aspirations of receiving a good education and obtaining a good job when I graduated. But four years later when graduation day arrived, I felt unfulfilled. In evaluating my education, I realized that I learned how to get good, but not great grades. I learned how to study to make the most of my time. The focus I shared with many of my peers was not always to appreciate the information received, but rather, to value the counsel from someone else who previously took that professor's class and maybe to be lucky enough to get a hold of last semester's examinations. Basically, I acquired useful skills for any job: to follow directions, to give the boss what he or she was asking of me, and to network and gain insight from other colleagues. It was still disturbing to me that after four years of schooling, I felt I had not received the education I initially expected. Overall, college does not bring out the full academic potential of the students who invest the time and money into an education. Teachers need to set aside their biases and restructure and develop curriculum, as well as student-teacher relationships, in order to truly develop college students into freethinking, exploratory people.
The primary trait that I lack is confidence. In my mind, others are always smarter, prettier, more driven, and just better than me. Because of this attitude, I do not usually voice my opinions, state my ideas, or take control of anything; I automatically assume that anything I say or do is wrong or stupid. Although I still need to work on strengthening my confidence, SMU’s community atmosphere, specifically the Hilltop scholars program, has given me the enormous confidence boost I need to step out of my comfort zone and make my ideas a reality. A gain of confidence through supportive communities is apparent in the films Legally Blonde, Renaissance Man, and Higher Learning because each film includes individuals who need greater self-confidence, which comes from the support of their communities. In “The Quest for Community in Higher Education,” Parker Palmer outlines specifically how community can build up confidence. Additionally, in “The SMU Community According to Etzioni,” Christiano Gallo illustrates that confidence promotes involvement, which promotes confidence. The support I feel from various members of the SMU community has provided me with experiences similar to Elle, Rago, and Malik’s and has helped me understand how Palmer’s ideas foster confidence. Also, encouragement from others has opened my eyes to how involvement can instill confidence. Community gives us somebody to lean on. Somebody to lean on gives us confidence.
Additionally, prestigious institutions need to take initiative to create new programs that will make college a painless transition for first generation students by implementing new policies such as mentorship or clubs. While many colleges and universities have not taken the initiative to help first-generation students, North Carolina State University is one of the few exceptions. As a fellow first generation college student at North Carolina State University, I have reaped many benefits from the different organizations they have around campus. At the Poole College of Management, I was assigned a professional mentor in my future line of work that made the transition into college a better experience for me. After listening to his forums, I was able to use the skills I had learnt from my parents and apply them to college and my study habits, benefiting me in countless ways.
A palette of hues: shades of reds, greens, blues, and yellows reside in the College of Arts and Sciences. Like van Gogh painting a masterpiece, I intend to incorporate multiple colors into my academic journey at Vanderbilt.
College for an incoming freshman is exciting, however, it is often focused on the social aspect such as the connections that can be attained through Greek life, parties and independence. Due to the social interactions, freshmen tend to drop out of college after their first year. Focusing on what college is meant for can prevent these situations. The pressures of college such as impressing parents, and maintain a high standard GPA-wise can lead to stress and freeze a student from achieving the proper academic performance. During the mid 1900s, college was considered more of a luxury than anything; people would attend college exclusively to acquire knowledge in hopes of obtaining a career after graduation. People in the twenty-first century, however, attend college to get away from home and enjoy freedom at parties. Education is taken lightly, and those who feel that education isn’t the main focus of college should not apply for sakes of the greater good.
The creation of study groups and learning partners creates friendships and trust amongst Millennial students. Wilson goes on to mention that the millennial need to learn to transition from their high school mentality where they barely studied to finding the appropriate length of to study time. All through this principle she [Wilson] continues to stress the need for student faculty interaction and the impact that it has on the students. She continues to deviate from the subject to go back to the first principle.
“AC is almost like high school. You go to a few classes for an hour or two and study. Nothing is really different,” Sarah explained during a conversation among her friends. Sarah, like many suggest, observes Angelina Community College lacking uniqueness and an inviting atmosphere. Although community colleges are generally defined as simply building blocks or prerequisites toward bigger-and-better things, Angelina College would benefit from a well-invested dedicated student activity center. A dedicated student center could ignite that “Campus-Life” generating motivation within an individual’s work ethic and Roadrunner esprit de corps while promoting the college’s name.
So it began. Ever since the first day of freshman year, I put forth all my energy towards academics: I payed attention in every class, asked questions if I didn’t understand anything, took notes regardless if the information was or trivial or not, and studied rigorously until late in the night. To my amazement, my hard work payed off extremely well and yielded well above passing grades and a prideful place in the top
As years pass, more and more high school students are continuing their education by going off to college. The importance of earning a college degree is higher than ever. College gives these young adults the opportunity to start a new life and work towards a career of their choice. With this new experience, these students have to learn how to balance their schoolwork, social life, and any other extracurricular activities they are involved with. As a result of this, students start to feel pressure from many places. Economic, parental, peer, and self-induced pressures have been problems faced by college students for many years, but since the late 1970’s, they have only got worse due to tuition rising, students overexerting, the use of