Transitioning into College
Jennifer, a second-year college student from at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, explains the troubles she had as an incoming freshman. As she describes these reasons, a few stood out, these were the most important. There are academic, mental, and social transitions incoming college students need to think about.
According to the Huffington Post, “the freshman myth results in disenchantment when new college students’ academic expectations are not met.”(Harke, Freshman Myth). The freshman myth is the outcome of students not being guided into what classes they need to sign up for and not having the professors hold their hand when they are failing or having a hard time understanding a topic. First-year students must realize that college counselors have many more students to worry about and can only help so much when it comes to scheduling classes and preventing students from being first-hand proof of the freshman myth.
One of the first steps of transitioning into college is creating a class schedule that fits what the student needs academically, while keeping in mind of time management. This may be a tricky concept for some students if they do not know what classes are required for their desired degree. Thankfully, one does not fully focus on those classes until the third year of college, depending on which university they go to and how many college credits they had as an incoming
Farr 2 freshman. What does this mean? This means that freshmen have it easier than juniors and seniors. All the freshmen have to worry about academically are the required courses that all students take in their first couple years, no matter what their degree is.
When setting up their schedule students will begin to realize t...
... middle of paper ...
...nstead of being with that crowd of people, remember to join clubs that interest you and you can find the people you are meant to be with. Another tip is to try to distance oneself from high school friends, as hard as it may be one must leave them behind and find others that attend the same school. This doesn’t mean to stop talking to them but remember that there are other people on campus that don’t have anyone to hang out with that could be even better than the people in high school. The social aspect of college is a lot more important that one would think.
Farr 7
When transitioning into college remember the ways to get through academic, mental, and social struggles. When one does these things they will be more likely to succeed. Jennifer had to overtake these struggles, hopefully incoming freshman will be prepared and know how to react to different situations.
William Zinsser’s essay “College Pressures” emphasizes the struggles students have in trying to conquer the college milestone in life. Zinsser believes that college has lost the authenticity of the overall goal of gaining knowledge for one’s own interest, rather than the overall need of going. He sympathizes with struggles college kids go through and hopes to provide insight on the overall situation. One of his major points are that succeeding the first time is not always the best way in learning, and that sometimes students need to fail in order to properly learn. The author mentions the “Four pressures, economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure” and how there are “No villains; only victims” that fall
Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life. The first is the financial aspect of college. Second, is the relationship between the professors and students. Third is time management. These three factors play an important role in why people are afraid to go down the path to college.
A typical expectation of the college life is more freedom in choice. Classes are taken upon his or her own schedule. Everyone, besides getting the general education out
Throughout the length of schooling, students go through various changes. In their first year of school, children are required to make the transition from being at home for the entire day to being in school for a number of hours a day. These transition periods happen many times through the schooling years, but the most drastic changes occur during the transition from high school to college, where students weather numerous lifestyle changes. While each individual student goes on their own journey, certain themes remain common between different students. Studies are done to look at these themes identifying the numerous differences and similarities.
Most students are introduced to a whole new world when coming to college. For many, it is the first time they are on their own. College is a very different culture than high school. It takes time for most students to get acclimated to the college lifestyle. During a college student’s years at college they will partake in situations they never dealt with before. Most have never been to parties that last till about 4am with all the alcohol they can drink. A lot are also not used to having to share a bedroom with one or more persons, the heavy work load in the classrooms, and for some actually paying school tuition. The day to day college life is different for majority of first time college students.
Students entering college for the first time become concern with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These student are now responsible on how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands from college. Students are becoming more stressful due to academic demands, social life, and work. First-year college students should receive more help from school to learn how to help themselves and become independent.
The transition from high school to college is a crucial step of any student’s academic life. The two differ in several aspects, but, are however, not entirely different.
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
Many high school seniors are excited about going to college. Meeting new people, trying new things, and finding who they are, are all things they look forward to. But, not until a few days before the big move out, do they become nervous. To me, overcoming the transition to college was very difficult, and would have been more difficult if I did not have friends to encourage me.
While I wish finding my way around the school was my only problem, I was faced with some internal challenges. As the school year started, my friends slowly started to leave to these “big shot” colleges or simply move away to other community colleges. I, too, wanted the complete “college experience” somewhere in Arizona or across the country; yet I felt stuck and unaccomplished. I also felt jealousy which could have been because I did not get to decorate my dorm room.While talking about dedicating hard work to your education, Gina Rodriguez said “Just remember, during those times of fear and doubt, that you are right now discovering your true strength.” And in those times of doubt, I reminded myself why I could not just move and leave everything behind. The root of my challenges and concerns are my family. As I enrolled as a full time student, my family was fighting some financial problems which created marriage troubles for my parents. I could not leave at a time like this. I knew it was not the first time my parents were talking divorce but somehow I knew it was best to stay. I got financial aid from the school which saved me the fuss of asking my parents for money. It really meant so much to not put another worry on their
In “Choosing Success in College and Life”, Carol Kanar exposes students to the foundational skills that they will need to develop in order to be successful in the college setting. Effective interpersonal skills and understanding that people are the biggest resource can be two of the biggest factors in how a student assimilates to campus life. Students can be intimidated by all of the offices and professional titles that surround them when entering this new surrounding. It is important that students understand that their desire to succeed is met by college professionals’ mutual desire to see the same. The blueprint for this success should first begin with the students’ inner belief in themselves. Second, the student should familiarize themselves with all that the college has to offer by way of various supportive offices, support groups, and clubs. Finally, the students should begin to set scholastic, life, and financial goals for themselves.
As a new freshman entering this Community College, you will be discovering and experiencing many new things about the world in which you live and yourself. The jump from high school to college can be a very scary but exciting experience. I have some valuable advice for you on how to make this transition smoother and an enjoyable experience rather than a scary and lonely one.
Obviously, there is a major difference in the level of academic responsibilities between high school and college. In terms of expectations and responsibilities placed upon you in high school, they are more of a guideline and carefree, whereas college it is more complex and is individually based. What I mean by this is that in high school you can count on parents and your teacher in order to guide you in setting priorities and remind you of your responsibilities. It was part of your parents’ and teachers’ responsibility to make sure that you succeed in high school. Students have fewer duties to worry about, and fewer requirements where they could depend on others for help. In class, you are usually told by the teacher about what you need to study and how you are doing with your grades and attendance. Furthermore, in high school, many of the classes are assigned to you, and you are supplied with many of the materials and books. It’s an entirely different story once you enter college. In college, you have to set your own priorities and have much more responsibilities to carry out. Students ar...
The college life certainly has its share of fears, cheers, and jeers, but it really can be a worthwhile endeavor. The most important task is to find the college niche, that little place that just feels right, and not just the first time. Once I found clubs, organizations, jobs, and social circles in which I felt like a valued participant, I really seemed to be at home, and that's not something I could have found just by being matched with good roommates or schmoozing at a toga party.
If you miss home within the first few weeks of school, whatever you do, stick it out and stay at school for at least the first month. The first month is the time where everyone establishes their group of friends. I wrote a poem called “Friends till’ the End” which discusses how to make friends in college that will last a lifetime. I learned that the first month of school is the most critical and optimal time to establish a group of friends. As one of my stanzas