My Experience At The University

College is a life changing adventure, and I want it to be the best experience I can possibly receive. Attending Medgar Evers College, I have set high hopes and expectations. I hope to interact with people of diverse ethnicity. I want to learn more about different cultures and the individualization of people. And so far getting to know people on campus has been one of my greatest experiences. I have met so many wonderfully different people here. I hope to develop more independence. To be more responsible for keeping up with my schoolwork, preparing for tests, and making most out of my classes, even when they start early. Being successful in college is about more than handing your work in on time and passing classes. It’s about staying motivated. I know for a fact there will be a lot of demanding of my time. I know that procrastinating is not the best way of approaching situations. It is my responsibility to try to regularly motivate myself, even if it’s pulling

During my high school days and the last few semesters when I was at Sandhill Community College I was way too comfortable. I slacked off and all I was thinking about was just getting doing the minimum to just be finished already. Recently, I was pushed by the looks of my grades that I just needed to get things done; I wanted to be free, not to do my best, just to finish so I could say I passed all my classes. Now I realize life isn’t about just getting by, but about bringing all you have to be able to become successful in what needs to be done. In the next paragraphs I will explain what I expected to happen, what actually happened, what I learned, and how I will apply what I learned to future plan.

Entering freshmen year, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, but I was lost regarding how I was going to do it. This is a sentiment shared by many students entering collegiate studies. Some students may not even have a direction or general idea of what they wish to achieve from college. Others, are either overconfident or hold a disillusioned perspective regarding course selection, work load, study time, time management, and the equilibrium between social and academic life. My first semester at Randolph-Macon began as a series of failures that lead themselves to success largely due to the influence of upperclassmen pursuing the same goals as me and continuously pushing me to hone my strengths and reevaluate my weaknesses.

“There are no secrets to success; it is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure” (Powell). The experiences that I have went through have not been an easy route. I have learned many things, ranging from mathematics to science, English, and history. As I have progressed through grade levels , each subject was instructed in different ways. When I reached high school, I started to learn the major details that I needed to know in order to prepare myself for the next level. For the past three years of high school, I believe this experience has helped teach me the responsibility which I need to know to prepare myself for a higher education.

During the first semester of my college experience, I believe taking Composition 1 greatly improved my skills as a writer. The confidence I have in my writing ability has soared, my time and stress management has improved when taking on an assignment, and I have learned several techniques and tools that will carry on in my future writings. From the beginning of the semester I underestimated the depth topic exploration, drafting, and revision had on the success of a final essay. However, I believe I have successfully organized my thoughts to coherently write each essay from early on. I took every process assignment seriously to help determine what techniques work for me, and I stuck with what worked through the remainder of the semester.

At 17 years old I entered UCLA as a biology major. With my prior successful academic performance and younger age, I was overconfident and immature going into college. During my first 4 quarters my social pursuits smothered my academic ones; I lived a very unbalanced life, and my grades suffered. My second winter break was the turning point, and I realized that committing only 50% effort to academics would not be enough. I acknowledged my mistakes and became entirely determined to change my path from that point forward. I created a list titled “How to Succeed at UCLA,” which outlined the steps needed to regain balance and ensure academic success. I changed every aspect of my life from what I ate, to who I spent time with, to what time I went

Being that this is only my second semester in college, I can rest assure that high school and college are two completely different scenarios. College possesses a whole new level of independence and for some, like myself, it takes a whole school year of getting used to. Not only does college course work differ from high school, but online college courses are a whole new ball game. While wanting to work as well as go to school, I felt as though the flexibility and convenience of online school was just my cup of tea. Well, I sure did receive a nice whiff of the morning coffee instead! Throughout this course, I’ve noticed that I have made rather poor choices that hindered my full potential in the long run such as poor planning and procrastination which are like oil and water. The two don’t mix!

During my first two years of college, I had no idea what I wanted to become in life. I didn’t know what I wanted out of life. I entered college only because I was told by my parents that I had no choice but to attend college. I went into undergraduate school with the mentality that it was all just fun and games. My freshman and sophomore years were filled with partying and all other sorts of nonacademic activities. My grades were suffering tremendously. By my junior year of college, I had finally made a decision on what I wanted to become in life; I wanted to become a Clinical psychologist.

I found out that persistence is the best thing I can do in order to accomplish any academic goal during college. If I really want to accomplish what I want, I will do it. I am starting to understand that there is always difficult times in life, but as soon as they got fixed I need to work on what I was not able to do before, take advantage of the time that I have free and use it as much as I can for academic purposes. In order to be a more strategic learner for this summer semester, that I know that is going to be fast, and the next fall semester I will keep doing this monitoring, by buying a planner and taking notes of what I need to complete every day, and stablish goals for every

Coming into college I knew there was going to have to be changes that took place. Throughout my high school career I never felt the need to study. I was usually fairly successful without ever having to put too much effort into any sort of preparation for assignments or tests. I knew that once I began college things would be different. I knew I would need to study and work harder on my assignments. This semester's triumphs and failures has given me an idea as to what I need to do in order to successfully move forward with my college degree. I must be always open to change and adapt in order to succeed.

People often mention how hard college is, but nobody ever indicated the kind of barriers I would have to break through in order to be successful in college. I have always had commendable grades, but I have also known that I have the potential to do better. I let my barriers be an excuse to not tap into that potential. I have never concentrated on my barriers and how they affect my studies. Overcoming my barriers is important for me so that I can continue on my path toward my desired career. Modifying consistent habits is tough when I am used to a certain routine nevertheless, altering these habits is important so that I do not waste my time. I have three immense barriers that prevent me from college success, which areprocrastinating, finances, and lack of study skills.

How has Service, Scholarship, Leadership, and Fellowship influenced my educational experience? To be truthful, these Hallmarks didn’t really register with me until my second time around in college. Before, I spent most of my time trying to find myself, or what major I wanted to be in and then finally making sure that I completed all the required classes so that I could finally earn my college degree. I was the first person to go to college in my family. I wanted to make something of myself and still do.

American society values higher education. College provides many opportunities for developing a variety of social networks, both formal and informal. Obtaining a college degree will be such a valuable and

I had the opportunities to utilize my knowledge and skills, which I have learned and acquired from the university. It was a great experience and a chance for me to approach and have a real feeling with the actual patients. They gave me feedback about my communication and problem solving skills, which I think is very important in the nursing career. I found that there were many situations, which taught me valuable knowledge that I can never learn from books or university. Every placement provided me valuable experience. Now I can be confident in my communication skills and decision-making, as these practices have taught me the way to approach and talk to patients. These have given me a place to apply my critical thinking skills into the real situation.

One of my favorite sayings is “dare to be different.” I have two older brothers, both of whom have attended and done well at Indiana University. I have enjoyed visiting the school, but I don't plan to follow in their footsteps. I'm more of a do my own thing kind of girl. While considering where to attend college, I’ve often thought that I’d like to find a school with an outstanding academic reputation, the feeling of a big school atmosphere, plus the many benefits of a small school. Tulane is such a place.