Personal Statement: Going To College

My parents think of themselves as primarily self-sufficient. Because of this, we live on the peak of a hill in the middle of nowhere, far away from the hustle and bustle of our old home in the city. Although this is their ideal life, they realized that it may prevent me from expanding my own horizons. They have always encouraged me to follow my interests, even when it meant moving away from home at sixteen to go to college. Throughout my entire childhood, they have done everything in their power to ensure that I am prepared for the future. I believe that my parents have crafted me into a well-rounded individual by proving to me that any person can define their own version of success.

My most significant endeavor since attending community college has been has been protesting Capitol Hill at Washington, D.C. demanding congress to pass a clean Dream Act. As a member of the organization United We Dream, I went with them on a 16 hour long bus trip to the capital from Miami. Once we got to the capital, we went to a local church to practice how the protest was going to happen. At the church, I met many students like myself who all came to voice their demands to congress. During the lunch break, I met a student my age in the same grade. He noticed I was wearing a University of Southern California jacket and asked if I went there. I told him that I was a community college student at Miami Dade College planning on transferring there, that's when he told me he also attended a community college in Colorado and was planning to attend the same university.

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.

Graduating high school was an exciting time, but I felt lost. I wasn't sure of my career goals or what I wanted to accomplish at University. When I first decided to attend community college, I felt hesitant because I did not take the traditional route like my other classmates. However, community college was cheaper and would give me time to figure out the career path I wanted to take.

Pursuing college has always been one of my biggest goals to achieve in life. After high school, I will higher my education by attending college. My ultimate goal will be to one day become a veterinarian. The love and compassion I have for animals plays a big role in choosing this course of study. Growing up on a ranch, I am exposed to animals such as horses, cows, dogs, chickens, and rabbits. Tending to the animals and keeping them in good health gives me the experience I need to see if the veterinarian study is fitting for myself. Furthermore, I plan to attend BYU-Idaho which offers a pre vet course that gives students who are seeking to become veterinarians the opportunity to intern at a vet

I have always been a fun and happy person. I loved to dance, go shopping, hang out with friends,watch movies with my family and go on vacations. Many people go through adversity that change them in significant ways and I was one of them. My way of getting through my issues was going to activities such as dance, cheerleading, and wrestling and it seemed to be working until one day at wrestling practice where I hurt my foot and had to go to the nurse. At the nurses office I had to take a survey that asked if I had ever been sexually assaulted, I answered truthfully and circled “yes.” I figured they would ask me about it however I didn’t expect them to call my mom and social services. I cried

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.

In the beginning of the term the class had a discussion about why we are attending college and why they choose the major we are in. Many of the students answer that because they wanted to gain knowledge but also other responded because without an education you cannot get a lot of money. In the article “Making college relevant” by Kate Zernike quoted that in a survey done in Los Angeles, California to 400,000 incoming freshmen in 1971 their answers were that only 37 percent went to college to get money and 73 percent to gain knowledge. The same survey was done in 2009 but the percentages flipped 78 percent wanted money and 48 prefered to gain knowledge. Our percentages were very similar to the 2009 ones. We are in a society where you are expected

When going into the 5th grade, I would drive by kipp every single day. Every time I would drive by, I would constantly tell my mom that I wanted to attend kipp my 5th grade year. When I got accepted into kipp, I was so excited. At the age of 10, I was being introduced to college. My very first homeroom was Brown University. Kipp pushed students to want to attend college to better their futures. I stayed in kipp from 5th-12th grade. Those years in kipp, we went on plenty of college tours so that the students could get a feeling of how college is. In high school when preparing for college, kipp offered so much help when it came down to ACT prep and also preparing for college interviews. Kipp offers plenty of support, they want to see their students shine. For instance, in my 12th

For the past two years I have maintained a part time job as well as being a full-time student. I have been promoted within my job due to the dedication that I have displayed during the last few years. Due to my busy work and school schedule I have not had the opportunity to become a part of any extracurricular activities. However, I hope to become a part of volunteer services during my time at SF State particularly with children because I have a desire to help children and the community as well as gain experience for my future career as a teacher. Attending college is important to me because I believe it is the best way for me to help others and myself.

Beginning college is like being reborn into the world. You begin your first day with a blank slate, and a thousand fears to go with it. Last year, I started my new life at Saginaw Valley State University. As a fresh graduate of New Lothrop High School, I had no idea what to expect from the world past the cornfields that used to surround me everyday at school. With a deep breath, I gathered everything I learned from my time at New Lothrop and jumped into my new world. My past lessons of leadership, responsibility and dedication prepared me for college, but I still have many more to learn.

Everyone when they were younger say what they want to be when they older right? My plan was to always go to college after high school. I choice to go to College now because it's at the right time graduating right after high school this year , might as well start college now and take no years off to get things moving quicker and hopefully get my career if I do well in college which I hope . In my opinion it's better to start soon then later. There were a few individuals in my life that continuously tried to influence me to attend college. I had several family members that were attending college, and a couple that had already graduated. Being around my family always made me think about my lifetime goals career and education wise

I am applying for college admission, educational opportunity programs, and special opportunities following high school graduation. I would appreciate your recommendation to include in my applications.

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.

Now that I am reaching the end of my undergraduate career I feel like it’s fit to reflect on how far i’ve come and some high and low points during this time of my life. Some people may say that these four years of college are the most wonderful times of their life, and for the most part that is correct. But there is this whole other part of college life that is super stressful and even scary. During this paper I will address my personal development and how certain experiences played a role in those developments. Even though I feel like i’ve grown a lot and have developed and learned new things, I have run into some issues. Those issues being family/culture, social and emotional growth, intellectual growth, values and beliefs, citizen and community member.