My Transition To College

For first year students coming straight from high school, college life can either be very exciting or overwhelming depending on how well one prepares for it. Some have the notion that college is fun and is all about partying, while some believe that it is an environment in which they can achieve the ultimate freedom thus escape the stringent rules made by their parents at home. Others look forward to experiencing a different learning environment while being exposed to different cultures and sharing different academic knowledge. Successful assimilation into college life is determined by the student’s capability to transform into the new role of a college student. Numerous students face challenges they have never experienced before which can

According to Lupien, McEwan, Gunnar, and Heim (2009), going off to college involves significant adjustments to their daily routines; sleeping and eating habits, time-management skills, and stress levels will be altered in one way or another. First-year students have to adjust to the new school environment, different social settings, and new schedules, all without the help and guidance from their parents, who have been there for them for eighteen years. Over 30% of college freshman report that they feel overwhelmed (Klainberg, Ewing, & Ryan, 2010), where some students even opt to work as they juggle their class and work schedules. Some students work at a job or study harder than others, but they are all trying to get degrees so maybe one day they will have meaningful and significant lives. It is a constant struggle for everyone who is trying desperately to make him or herself into a success. And every college student wants to be involved in society in a positive manner, allowing contribution of their ideals and values to others.

In life we will encounter difficult situations and we must learn to adapt to changes and embrace opportunities. My transition from middle to high school was a difficult and intense period of growth in my life.  As I reflect on the experience, I remember making several important decisions for embracing this transition. I assessed the situation to determine my expectations for my life, my best interest and my approach to this transition to meet my personal and academic goals. This transition was difficult primarily because I was in a new environment which posed personal and academic challenges. I embraced the opportunity and purposed to make the best of the academic experience and my development from middle to high school student preparing for

As I am transitioning to college, I have quickly realized that I am solely responsible for my own life and everything that comes with it. There is no one to remind me to do my homework, no one to make sure that I brushed my teeth twice a day, and no one to monitor whether or not I am eating well balanced meals. With this complete independence, I have realized that I am not as good as I originally thought at structuring my time effectively. For example, on Mondays I have two classes from nine to eleven in the morning but the rest of my day is free. I have found myself only doing homework and studying during the entire day until eventually it is time to go to bed. This is not a productive day. Yes, I get my homework done, but I am not budgeting time for my friends or working out. My goal is to try and structure my time better going forward in my college experience.

College pressures dominate our lives. They begin to levitate around us and slowly derail our lives. William Zinsser elaborates about the college pressures that modern generations are facing. He reveals multiple commonalities that the typical college student encounters on a daily basis. Zinsser states, “They want a map-right now-that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, social security, and presumably, a prepaid grave” (12). He is spot on, the pressures demand my attention and won’t take no for an answer. So far I’ve gone head to head with these pressures every day since I started my freshman year in college. For the time that I’ve been here, my mind is overwhelmed and distraught with the amount of stress that gets piled on top of me every single day. I drown in these unrealistic expectations written in those faulty suggestion bars about how to be successful in college and college 101 tips. College pressures surround me like a dull gray cloud. It showers me with expectations and unfinished checklists. College itself is similar to carpooling to hell and back, but with no actual guarantee with a ride back.

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

The transition from high school to college is a notoriously daunting experience for students entering, arguably, the most important years in their lives. Everything that a student has come to know about academics, for the most part, are to be radically challenged. Many different factors go into the change, and any particular one can be enough to overwhelm any given student into becoming an emotional wreck. Whether it be living on one's own for the first time, drastic schedule changes, or becoming socially involved, these responsibilities are just three examples, among the seeming hundreds. However, a perfect balance between these responsibilities is a major key in not allowing the stressors to take one captive.

Introduction Entering college can be an overwhelming experience. For some entering college, the greatest fear is fear of the unknown. For others, the thought of adjusting to a world where you are forced to be an adult can be a terrifying reality. During this time, students adjust to balancing the demands of life while striving to find their place in the world. With this comes the prospect of both gains and losses.

For a year now I have worked as a waitress and a hostess at the independent living side of a retirement home. This has been a very large impact on my life financially, emotionally, and academically.

Do you wonder if you’ve improved from the transition from high school to college? I know I sure have. When I was in junior high, I was the shy quiet type of person. During high school I started talking to people more and more thanks to a special friend, but in high school I had nobody to give me encouragement. I did not care; I was not planning to go to college, and I made lots of other excuses. But now that I'm in college I feel I have accomplished so much thanks to the nice, kind, and generous people I have met. My transition from high school to college has turned my life around.

A college student is either a teen, straight out of high school who attends an institution of higher learning or the non-traditional student who is anyone else. In order to survive the pressures facing both the traditional and non-traditional student, they all need to be a combination of a rugged workhorse and a happy-go-lucky fun-seeker. Whether traditional or non-traditional, a large percentage of college students are pursuing a full time course load and are trying to get an education so that they can get into a good profession and/or a good paying job. Many are working full time and are pursuing an education part-time, and many are working part-time while in school full time. Walk into any food market, electronics, department or drug

Drop. Drop. Drop. That’s the rate of college students dropping out of college, or not attending in the first place. We get told from the start to attend college, but who can afford such an education without some type of loan and with the prices dramatically increasing each year? We get asked from when we’re little to now, what we’d like to be when we’re older. Lots of jobs require or encourage college backgrounds. With college tuition and prices increasing it makes the opportunity for low income students to go to college drop drastically without aid to help them but likewise, if tuition and prices were decreased and made more affordable, the number of students being able to attend college would drastically increase.

With an increased demand for skilled labors, many students nowadays find themselves needing to complete some form of higher education at college to ensure their success in the workplace and their future career goals. Although freshmen students often enter college with high expectations and ambitions, many eventually drop out of college. Why does that happen? In an ever-changing and more competitive environment, the demanding expectations on college students now soar at unprecedented heights, creating stressful and unpleasant experiences for many of them as they try to keep up with all the burdens inflicted upon them. In their writings, Dr. Christine B. Whelan, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alan Schwartz, and Nisha Ramachandran explore and illustrate some of the stress-creating challenges that freshmen struggle with today. Even though many factors contribute to the huge list of problems for first-year students, many of the problems that create stress for college freshmen fall under the categories of academic factors, (what adverb to add) teachers, and personal-life conflicts.

The transition to college can be a difficult one. In addition to taking more difficult, more complex classes, many new college students are also experiencing a much greater degree of personal responsibility and independence than anything they have ever previously experienced. For some students, this transition is an easy one, and success in college comes with little or no effort. However, for many students, the transition is very difficult one, and those who are unable to develop greater personal responsibility may find themselves failing or in danger of failing. Therefore, it is important to incorporate effective strategies that highlight personal responsibility and make accountability a routine facet of daily life, in order to be successful as a student. These strategies include: 1) taking personal responsibility for success or failure; 2) choosing appropriate goals; 3) establishing a study-life balance; 4) maintaining personal health; 5) ensuring financial ability to cover school costs; and 6) overcoming obstacles.

College students often find themselves overwhelmed with large amounts of stress pressing down on them. From the cost of education including loan debts and cost of materials, the amount of workload from each class and the responsibility of staying on top of everything, and the stress of social acceptance in a new environment. To help with this growing issue, parents and schools need to better prepare their graduates for what they will face in higher education schools by implementing college preparatory classes into senior year and colleges supplying higher numbers of academic and financial advisers. With a better understanding of what they are about to face, students can be smarter about the choices they make.