The Importance of Going Away to College
Imagine the senior year of high school when students are poised to enter college and become adults. It's a time of responsibility, of being on one's own, and of shaping lives by making daily decisions. One of the major decisions is where to attend college. Should a person stay close to home and attend an in-state school where people and even campuses are somewhat familiar? Or should the decision be to start a completely new chapter in one's life by attending a college farther away, with totally new challenges? I believe the answer is definitely to leave town.
Of course, I can only speak from own experience to date. I thoroughly enjoyed high school and had excellent teachers who
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Over the Columbus Day break, I went home to Bismarck and realized that nothing had changed. Twenty of my friends met me at the airport and were excited to see me, as I was excited to see them. Through our few days together, I found out that they had remained friends with the same people from home and really hadn't met anyone new. They had not all stayed in Bismarck, but everyone I saw over the Columbus Day weekend was attending college in North Dakota.
They told me that they thought college was not really any different than high school. Not only were their classes based on most of the same materials, but also the people and surrounding reminded them of high school. They hung out with the same people and did the same things on weekends.
I asked if they regretted their choice of school, and almost all of them told me that they didn't until I told them how much I loved MIT and Boston and the new experiences I was having with people from all over the country and even the world. They wished that they could be going to school somewhere outside the Midwest.
Going to MIT really has made me grow as a person. I now have met and become friends with people from many different ethnic backgrounds. This was impossible for me to do at home in the mostly homogeneous city of Bismarck.
It's not that North Dakota didn't offer any experiences or lessons, but it couldn't offer the same things as MIT. At MIT I have
Seniors have a tendency of taking their last year of high school for granted. They do not realize that the relaxed classes and fun filled weekends with their best friends will all soon come to a devastating end. They have applied for college, bought miniature refrigerators, and sent in their housing applications, but none of them have really thought about college in the way that they should. When asked about college most high school seniors image the huge parties, attractive people, and freedom; however, college is much more than that and, in a way, much less. College and high school are completely different when it comes to a student’s actual lifestyle, but they have many of the same traits that most high school seniors do not see coming.
A majority of people these days are planning or are going to college. These people have many reasons for going to college. The option of going to college is a major decision and there are many factors that are considered in making this decision. One of the many reasons of making the decision to go to college is to receive a bigger salary. Another reason is for the opportunities that become available from going to college. People also decide go to college to be better prepared and successful in the future.
After high school students have the opportunity to attend a college. Today, it seems like fewer people go to college. People will say “It’s too expensive or I don’t have the time” however that's just not the case, in my opinion, college is worth it because if someone is seeking a long-term job with security, mobility, and pay increase must attend college. Having the degree is better than not having one at all.
This website will give me statistics of the level of education that Americans have completed in various years. The statistics vary by age, median earnings, and poverty rates giving me various groups of people to look at and compare. The source is credible as they get their statistics from the United States Census.
Now, here I am, a junior at Mineola High School, and I feel ready for whatever will come after high school. As I try to figure out what I want to do with my future, I now know how much I love travelling and people and hope my career includes that. Moving helped me see my flaws and strengths. It helped me recognize that I am sometimes too diffident and circumspect. While in Mineola, I managed to ameliorate my social skills enough to be voted by my classmates as “Class Favorite” and have also joined activities I normally would have been too shy to take part
In Life today a college education is no longer an option or privilege, but rather it is a necessity. We are raised to believe that a person needs higher education in order to succeed in life. There is a saying, “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” You may ask is college necessary? There are people out in the real world that have never set a foot on a college campus before and they are doing better than others that have their master’s degree. There are many views from both sides that have a good argument.
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.
Growing up, I never had a “Dream school”. It seemed as if all of my peers around me knew what they wanted to be or knew where they wanted to attend college. Then there was me, as indecisive as ever. Do I stay in state where I could be close to family, or should I step out of my comfort zone and travel far?
As the time for applying to colleges rolled around, my parents pushed for my sister and me to look at schools all over the United States. They wanted to give us a good education and also give us the opportunity they never had. Both of my parents had to attend college in Hawaii. I knew we were just a small island and that there was so much more to experience. I grew excited to have a chance to move away and embrace new knowledge, memories, places, and friendships that would last forever.
My transfer process from the dreary and jaded feeling halls of my High-School to Isothermal Community College was drastic. Rutherford - Spindale Central High made me feel trapped and like none of my choices mattered in the slightest bit. When I finally graduated I knew my life would change and it has quite a bit. I make my own decisions and I am responsible for important things, such as my education and grades. I am thankful for the freedom that my college life gives me as well as the responsibility.
Often students take high school for granted; consequently it shows when they reach college. For example, in high school, teachers may accept late work, tardiness, and continuous inappropriate behavior. The college classes that they will have to face will not tolerate such things as this. Preparing for the work load and lifestyle is the two most important objectives to grasp early.
Time after time you hear about going to college; whether at work, family, friends, and even when you are in high school you might have been repeatedly told of how it can benefit you in the long run in regards to your future. They say a good education can take you far in life. Students in high school may still question the importance of a college education. In the world of today people find themselves asking, “Why is it important to go to college?” An important aspect of succeeding in today’s world is getting a better education, and it’s much more than just a degree - in college you also learn how to better prepare for assignments, perhaps one of the most important things you can get out of attending
Moving away from home has been one of the biggest challenges that I have had to face so far in the eighteen years of my life. Moving from my home town to the collge dorm was a difficult transition that was necessary for growing up both mentally and physically as an individual. The little more than five hundred miles that separates me from my friends and family has allowed me to become the person I am today, and the distance allows me to grow and become more familiar with things that are a whole new experience for me. One of the many new things that I have had to deal with was making new friends in my environment.
The hardest decision a student has to make during their senior year of high school is which school to attend and whether to live on campus or commute. There are both advantages and disadvantages to both scenarios. The entire college experience is a learning trip and it is oftentimes a young adults first step towards independence. Living on campus is an adjustment and is a huge eye-opener to the real world. The college dorm life is considered to be part of the "full college experience," but the costs of living in a residence hall can persuade students to remain home while they are in college in order to avoid housing fees.
After discovering that I did intend to pursue a career in business, my dad moved onto a new ambition - persuading me to attend his alma mater. Naturally, I again declined his suggestions and stubbornly remarked there was no way that would ever happen. While I have always loved WashU and its beautiful, Midwestern campus, I was determined to escape Saint Louis and was entirely opposed to the idea of graduating from the same school as my dad.