Being A Young College Student Essay

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

I recently found a list of goals that I had written 20 years ago. Most of the goals were realistic and I was able to achieve them. While I was checking the items off my list that I accomplished, there was one that I have debated about for many years—returning to school to earn a degree. Returning to school has always been achievable; however, as each year of my life sped by and I got older, I always came up with more and more excuses as to why I should not return to school. One day I received a course catalog in the mail showing online classes at the college. I decide that an online class would be the first step to my future. I am so grateful for the first day of that class. All the excuses and delays regarding returning to school

One question that comes to mind when graduating high school is, “should I attend college?” For many graduates this question have a very obvious answer. A high school graduate may state that, “college is the best option if one is trying to get a higher level of education, and will help one compete for a higher paying job.” However, in my opinion most graduates do not consider the fact that going to college is a very big decision to make and that the schoolwork will not be easy. Going to college is not the best choice for every high school graduate because many students cannot handle college, colleges’ lower standards, and not all jobs require a college degree.

I remember waking up that day and that feeling in my stomach, knowing what was about to happen. Growing up I knew about my father's sickness. My family, I recall, was always supportive. No one ever thinks about how one day, everyone you’re around for years, can just vanish. I cherished my friends as I was growing up. I lived there for a majority of my life, up until fourth grade. I remember sitting at a neighbor's house and having the mother come into the room and inform me that I need to be home swiftly. As I ran home, my head was crowded with thoughts to the point where I could not even think about why I was supposed to be home quickly. That day marked the transition of what would be the biggest change in my life. As by dad became sicker,

College is an opportunity to truly discover who you are. Often enough, you hear people saying “You should really major in this field, I think you would really enjoy this career.” or, “Do you think you really want to study that? Have you thought about what you will be doing ten years from now?” filling your mind with self doubt, uncertainty, and the anxiousness of not knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life. Mark Edmundson wrote an article titled, Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?, published in Oxford American addressing college students and their families how the most important thing college students should focus on is personal growth. When students take their courses seriously their engagement can help finding out who they really are and which future career will lead not necessarily to great financial success, but to a career and life that is very satisfying. Edmundson wants to inspire his audience and have them take what he is saying seriously. Edmundson uses satirical informal language and hypothetical situations to effectively persuade college students to focus on their personal growth in order to create a life and career that is deeply fulfilling.

Being that I am a first-generation college student, finding guidance as I matriculate through college has been tough. I do not have any family members that have went to college, therefore I solely depend on my university for guidance in my college endeavors and my career path. Due to this, I want to be a part of the TRiO Scholars Program so that I can gain valuable advice, counseling services, and guidance to graduation. The experience that I am seeking in this program is the ability to meet and connect with other students like myself. I believe that to be able to identify with students who have come from various hardships like myself, allows for personal growth and a sense of community. I hope to gain this sense of community by participating

I am a first generation college student that has made it to a higher education. I see myself as the second daughter, that has come out the land of pride and production. I am from Richmond, California, but that’s just where I geographically from, when in reality I came from a strong family of immigrants. My parents both came to the United States as a young 26, and 24-year-old parents of one child. I did not come until two years later that I came, I came into the world, and was already marked with the name of an anchor baby. As I grow up I did not really know what I was, what I did was always question myself, am I just a reason to keep my parents here longer? Why am I called an anchor baby? I felt that I did not fit in but my schools I went to school always had a mixture of students. I did not know what I was or who I was, I had not direct connection to any ethnicity. When I was in elementary school there where a mixture of Whites, Asians, Latinos, and African Americans ethnicities, grow up in a multicultural area I didn’t think about race or class as much as late in life. Race was a topic that I did not really think and talked about until I was placed into a private school that class was visible, and I began to be more aware or class and race. I would not talk about race or class at school, but I would wait to talk about it when I would get home.

So far, the college experience has made me a changed person. College changed me into a better person on many occasions. I have learned to be more responsible, when it comes down to getting work done. In college you must be responsible. I have also changed my attitude. Moving from high school to college is a big step; if you don’t change your ways for the better then you might not be successful in college. When you reach college then is the time that you become an adult.

The words “You can’t”, have been apart of my mind set since day one. I was always told that it isn’t possible for me to be as smart as my sister, or on the same level of my brother who is special needs. I was always in the in between, but the main reason I am striving for success is because I know I can and even though at times I don’t think college is for me, I know I can achieve anything I set my mind to. In less than three years I will have a whole new life started for myself, all because I made it possible for myself to receive a college degree and start the perfect life full of success, money and happiness.

Beginning with the fatalistic discourse utilized by my family, peers, and educators, I internalized such thoughts, and implicitly understood that, quite naturally, I would make the predestined transition to college from high school. Finding

"Tomorrow is the first day of what I will become." I wrote this in my diary the night before my first day of college. I was anxious as I imagined the stereotypical college room: intellectual students, in-depth discussions about neat stuff, and of course, a casual professor sporting the tweed jacket with leather elbows. I was also ill as I foresaw myself drowning in a murky pool of reading assignments and finals, hearing a deep, depressing voice ask "What can you do with your life?" Since then, I've settled comfortably into the college "scene" and have treated myself to the myth that I'll hear my calling someday, and that my future will introduce itself to me with a hardy handshake. I can't completely rid my

College is a competitive environment; in order to succeed in it a student needs certain skills. Those skills can only be learned. A college professor mentioned that there five basic rules that need to be followed in order to become a good student: study, do all the homework and the assigned reading, attend class, and, most importantly, develop self-discipline and time management 1. In the following lines, a detailed analysis of those different steps will be done. So, let’s get started.

At some point, someone has said that high school will be the best four years of their lives and college gets even better. So with that idea in people’s heads, they come up with their ideal image of the college. They start planning the perfect scenario of what college they will go to and what their roommate will be like. They often try to compare an unrealistic image and turn it into a realistic image, but they are unlike in many ways. Once students step onto the college campus, they will soon face what it is actually like to be in college.When people understand that college is not the perfect movie scene, then they will take advantage of expanding and furthering their education seriously. Going to college is a whole different experience and there is a lot more to it such as the rigorous classes and overwhelming school work, being more independent, and forming new bonds with others.

What are the challenges college students are facing today? Students are under a lot of pressure

As I graduated high school, I thought college would just be yet another four years of high school, and I was wrong. College opens many new doors in a young man or woman’s life. There are new responsibilities and pressures that you will have to deal with, and with more freedom these responsibilities and pressures can be difficult to handle. College has changed a great deal over the years and these changes, such as more freedoms, make college a much more challenging experience. You need to start preparing for college now by making yourself more responsible and having more self-control. Although you think college is merely partying with easy classes on the side, I have experienced pressures and work loads that make the experience challenging