Overcoming College Barriers

Being a freshman in college, I set impractical and unrealistic goals for myself. Throughout the year, I had to overcome various obstacles to strive in meeting the goals I had set out for myself. One of my goals during the first year of college was to earn a 4.0 GPA. I thought this would be an easy feat as I was able to academically grow throughout my academic career—excelling from being roughly a 2.6 GPA student to roughly a 4.0 GPA student. One of the biggest obstacles I had to face was taking exams. In high school, I did not need to prepare for exams as much as I do in college. I underestimated my midterms and finals as I did not know that I had to study at least a week ahead of time in order to obtain suitable grades. In high school, I was able to study one or two nights beforehand and still manage to achieve high grades.

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.

Finally, the most difficult challenge students face in college is a financial hardship. Many students come from various walks of life and sometimes determining one’s financial capability to offset college costs during the early stages of can be problematic. Some students come from well to do families who have a tremendous capacity to pay full tuition without external assistance. These particular students do not require financial aid or scholarships, as they can meet the institution’s financial requirement regardless of what level in college they may fall under as the source of wealth is derived from the family or families. Other students, however, come from impoverished families whom solely depend on financial aid and work full time or part time

Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle in their book “Rereading America” feel that commencing college is a very disturbing experience. So many things we have to deal while starting college, but the major challenges are expanded difficulty levels and higher expectation which we are not familiar over the years of high school. In order to solve this issue, we have to remodel ourselves by taking up the challenge and rethink about our strength and flaws. To succeed in college we need to be mentally strong and dedicated towards our goal.

Through the course Strategies for College Success Cpd 150 taught by Michelle Garland one can learn many things. Despite this course possibly being more helpful to others then it was to me it did still teach me multiple things. At the beginning of the course I had been dealing with relationship drama and figuring out how online college works, now halfway through the course the drama has subsided and I understand how online college works.I have learned that one of the most important factors of college success is determination. It is a person's ability to keep trying as hard as they can no matter what comes their way. I say this because college can be difficult and even seem pointless at times, but those who are determined enough to keep going, to keep trying, will eventually succeed. Although I am stubborn I have issues staying determined, I do generally accomplish what I need to. Another skill going along with determination is the ability to seperate the various areas of ones life. For example the ability to have a fight with your best friend then go to class and learn just fine. Now while this can be harmfull as well, since it does involve temporarily bottling your emotions, it can also

With the varying costs of college in mind, the topic of how to cover financials comes up. Many loan types are out in there in the world and deciding whether to apply for those or to pay my own way is a crucial decision to make. I, personally, will be taking out loans and applying for scholarships because I am not able to strictly pay my way. Although, my parents have reassured me that they will help pay for portions of my college education. Once I arrive at KSU and begin schooling, I plan on getting a job whether it be in an office or a work study. There are many positive and negative aspects to both decisions and I believe that everyone has to do what’s best for them. Loans can have a positive effect, although, borrowing more money than necessary

In most of the letters that I read some said the advice "don't procrastinate" and, that is one of the things that I use to do. I use to procrastinate most of my days with out even realizing it especially on homework. Every time that I had to do homework, I would always find an excuse for example "I'm hungry let me eat first", "I

“Why are you even bothering to go to college? Seriously.” “There’s a party tonight. You have to be there.” One of the obstacles to academic achievement that I face on a regular basis is a lack of support in some areas of my life. Actually, sometimes it isn’t a lack of support that is the problem, but more a pervasive attitude that education isn’t that important or is a waste of time. My coworkers are happy working in retail forever, and good for them, yet seem resentful that I have made my education a priority. At times they seem bound and determined to lure me off track with invitations to parties during exam week or offers of promotions if I cut my course load. At school, many of the students in my community college courses don’t seem to

Taking control of procrastination is something I constantly find myself fighting with. Some helpful tips that I just finish reading include breaking large obstacles into smaller ones. Breaking a large task into smaller assignments seems a lot easier than tackling a large one head on. Another helpful tip is finding a quite place that does not distract you from your studies, while taking one or two breaks in between. One other helpful tip that I find myself doing from time to time is reminding me of the consequences of not completing the task at hand. Take this Team Assignment for example. By not completing this assignment, my fellow team will not receive a passing grade. By identifying good behaviors it will help you to fight procrastination.

As a college student there are many hurdles to overcome while in school. These obstacles can be dealing with school work to maintaining adequate funds to having different levels of friendship and even discovering what is the next step in life. One major hassle is no longer being able to completely rely on your parents. Every students conquers them in different ways because no one student will have all the exact same issues.

There are many obstacles in life but in college there is specific things that can prevent you from reaching your goal. Time is the biggest issue with a lot of people that go to college. Money is another issue that makes college a difficult obstacle to reach. Last but not least decision making is a huge obstacle to face in college. Obstacles may be difficult but it’s not impossible to achieve.

Have you ever been injured? Well, everyone gets injured at some point in time, whether it be a minor injury like a sprained ankle or a severe injury like a torn ACL. Some injuries may take you longer to recuperate from than others. Have you ever been injured while playing a sport? 3.5 million Children ages 14 and younger get hurt annually playing sports or participating in recreational activities. Even though you may get injured in a game you shouldn’t counting to play, it may cause even more damage. If you do have an injury while playing a sport you should rest for a little bit, but do not give up keep being persistent.

Attention Getter: A famous author by the name of Wayne Dyer once said, “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is incredibly heavy.”(1) In todays society it seems as if procrastination has become a normal and acceptable thing to do. It is often joked about amongst schoolmates and co-workers around the world. Nothing seems to get done until it absolutely needs to get done, then everyone runs around getting things done quickly and often times inaccurately. The trouble with this mentality however is that some things will never get done because something will come up tomorrow or the next day and what you are putting off now gets pushed even further back. Today I will persuade you to stop this habit from continuing. I will be explaining the problems we face when dealing with procrastination as well as how to deal with it and actions you can take to prevent it in the future.

Barriers are things that are blocking anything from being achievable. Dealing with the financial aids and time management will distract me from college success.

Students can avoid procrastination by following the S.M.A.R.T. goal guidelines. All of your goals should be specific (s), measurable (m), achievable (a), realistic (r), and time-sensitive (t). A specific goal is clear, focused, concise, and well-defined (“Ensure Your Success”). Instead of a general goal like “I want to get my degree,” turn that into something more specific like “I am going to get my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from George Mason University” (“Ensure Your Success”). To make goals measurable, establish timelines and dates so you can measure your progress and stay on track to meet targets. Goals need to be achievable. Evaluate your own work ethic, see what you’re willing to do, and shape your goal around that so you know it is something you’re capable of doing. A goal needs to be realistic, something that you are