Plunge In College

As a new freshman at the University of Evansville, time management stands as a recurring challenge of mine. Between taking 15 credit hour classes, which consist of three honors courses, working and studying, my time to live is pretty much gone. Since being in DISC 110 Student Success Strategies, which I found crazy at first to even be in, I have learned strategies to successfully manage my time management challenges to ensure I stay on track each semester and for the rest of my academic career.

Former first lady Abigail Adams once said, “the habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties” (Billmeyer, 2009, p. 115). The number of adults pursuing a college degree is constantly increasing with each passing year. Unlike younger college students fresh out of high school, adult learners are not only trying adjust to going back to school, but they must learn to balance their studies with other responsibilities in their lives such as their family and jobs. Knowing how to manage time wisely is an intricate tool for an adult attending college. Some helpful tips include prioritizing, planning ahead, making to-do lists, and avoiding procrastination.

College life became a nightmare for me when I secured a part-time job along with my classes. There were some few breaches, but that never stopped me from advancing into the future. I never gave up, but rather challenged myself to overcome all those barriers. I chose my classes in a way that my job won’t interfere with them. “Of

The acclaimed best years of a young adult’s life, holds within itself a paradox. Students can essential accomplish all the desires of their heart in college but at the same time these same individuals can falter under that same pressure and crack. Success is not easily attained; a keen sense for opportunity and the ability to utilize this opening are necessary. College presents a time frame in which students can develop this skill. Opting to take a course with a reputation for rigorous material and taking the necessary measures to thrive in that class will speak wonders about a student’s propensity to succeed. A small triumph such as this goes a long way in building a student’s professional

Many young adults who happened to just cross over into their eighteenth year of life, have had to overcome many life hurdles to get where they are today. Unfortunately, it has only just begun. As a young adult in their senior year of high school, one could assume that after thirteen years of schooling, that certain individual has already become sick of school and is ready to graduate. One could also assume that they can’t even fathom the slightest thought of trying to go for another degree beyond high school. To a graduated senior, at least in their head, they think it’s just four more years and they’re finally done. With this dreadful attitude already sunken in their mind, they’re already contemplating everything going into their first college

Defeat is an endless cycle that college students are persistently and relentlessly swept away in. Massive waves of books that need to be studied, classwork due-dates, and impending tests frequently make them feel as though they are drowning. These students become paralyzed, sinking into the despairing belief that they cannot possibly get everything done. Others find a way to accomplish all of their requirements, but even these “go-getter” students are not immune to defeat: their drive to succeed may be so strong that a bad grade on an assignment will make them question their potential for success. Whatever the case, college students are prone to wonder whether or not they can truly handle

There is a majority of university students worldwide who have something in common: they have no idea what they will do after they graduate. Some students may have several ideas came out, but they never make them come true. There are plenty of people who have difficulty to know what they are passionate in, and even they can do but most never have the extraordinary drive necessary to go for their dreams. At this difficult time, there is a book walked to me, “Major in Success” written by Patrick Combs, which is a book that is to help people find their true dream job and become successful, and also it helped me find the true purpose of studying in university.

In this class, College Seminar, there were new strategies for success I learned, but the three I am committing to are Mastering Self-Management, Organizing Study Materials, and Taking tests. The reason I choose these three is that I believe they are what I need to change and develop the utmost. The one I choose first is Developing Self-Discipline because although, I start with every intention of finishing a project and doing a grand job I often don’t. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for me to become distracted by work, family, and other issues and stop or become behind in my studies. For my second choice, I have picked Organizing Study Materials since the problems I encounter are because I am unorganized. Often I have difficulty finding

Having difficulty in perfecting time management leads to a lack of “Goal Orientation and Self-Direction” as Conley state's “Goal attainment hinges on the ability to exercise control over one’s behavior” (Conley 1023). With a crunch for time, this leads to the goals that I set up to be thrown out the window. Thus, setting up a hurdle to learn college readiness skills. Another weakness of mine is an occasional lack of “Motivation and Engagement” to learn. Even with a love for learning, I do find myself with a lack of motivation or engagement to get the work done. With a boring topic or a redundant project, I find myself constantly putting off the work in hopes that something new and exciting will come my way or the problem will disappear altogether. Sadly It does not with an ever-looming due date in the back of my mind leading to more time management faults. Conley claims “These skills are particularly important in a college setting where students are required to manage their own time and take responsibility for their own learning” (Conley 1022). With a poor development of these skills, I'm missing the proper development of important college readiness skill which could lead to a poor reflection of me in the future. Also, leading to more challenges when in college because I can’t become motivated to do my school's work. Last, my final

The college educational experience is both highly challenging and demanding. In order to record the required level of success, students need to be at their “A game” both physically and psychologically. However, being on one’s “A game” from a psychological point of view is an uphill task considering the various obstacles that students face and the impact of their motivation and emotions. Some students are also exposed to conditions that have adverse effects on their psychological well-being and makes it difficult for them to develop the necessary level of self-esteem and motivation to succeed in college. After a sequence of failures, some students might even feel that their coursework is out of their control, and they cannot succeed,

This course like my entire first semester of university have provided me with both many challenges as well as taught me many lessons not only for my university career, but for the rest of my life. As I reflect back on the semester, I recall telling myself at least once a week that I wanted to drop out of school, followed by many breakdowns, crying fits and calling defeat. The past few months, haven’t been at all easy for me, I have thought many times I wasn’t intelligent enough to be in university, I was disappointed with some of the grades I received and I was constantly engulfed in a swarm of stress. Despite all these tough times, I have had many good one’s as well, I have made new friends which are now integral to my everyday life and I have enhanced my knowledge to a new degree. Some of the many lessons that I’ve already learned in my short university experience include how to manage my time, the importance of meeting deadlines as well as the continuous struggle of balancing the various different facets of life.

The second theme that was threaded throughout the literature was the notion of students being off task and unable to self-manage themselves. Many authors connected this back to why they believe students with behavior disorders are academically challenged and behind their peers because they are unable to sustain on a task (Mooney, Ryan et al. 2005). The first piece of work I will focus on is a literature review that was done reporting on academic self-management interventions. Literature was coded and calculated prior to reporting on results. The results showed that implementing a self-management intervention improvements were made in the students’ academic skills (Mooney, Ryan et al. 2005). Although the study was not mainly conducted in students actual placement the authors did have evidence that could support the claim of generalization and maintenance of findings (Mooney, Ryan et al. 2005). Knowing that self-management is important for students to be academically successful Cancio and colleagues tested that theory through homework completion (Cancio, West et al. 2004). This study concentrated on working with parents and students around self-managing their own behavior and ability to complete homework. They argued that students who are unable to complete their homework will not achieve or preform as well in school (Cancio, West et al. 2004). Students who ranged in age from 11 to 15 and their parents were a part of this study and showed a massive improvement in homework

When a student is transitioning from the home life into the life of a college student, it can be very difficult. At home, one listens to their parents and normally has a very structured life. In college, parents make one create a structured life of their own. One of the scariest things for a college student is failure during this change in their life. Jim Rohn reminds one, “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” The fear of being on your own and having to take initiative can be overwhelming and one may fail, but change is a way to reach success. For a college student to successfully begin life on their own requires self-esteem, creation of self-image, and self-improvement. While many feel that failure is an indication in lack of self-improvement, Roth the author of The Achievement Habit, believes failure is a validating sign of improvement.

While studying Student Learning Success, I covered several tools that will help me in my academic career going forward. Two tools that I think will be especially useful are goal and priority management and time management. One of the issues that made me apprehensive about starting studies was how I would be able to juggle my career, family and my school, without feeling overwhelmed.

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.