Transition+Into+College

Garrett Rawlings Wiki Post 2 http://www.educationhq.org/articles/college-life.phpI read an article about the best way to be successful in the transition into college. Most people are making the transition from high school to college these days. Many students I've found out are being pampered by there parents and have trouble performing or getting used to simple tasks such as laundry, cooking food, and other things of that nature. Another problem new college students are facing is time management. This was a big one for me in my experience from high school into college. Living in the dorms was a huge distraction and me as well as many other of my peers faced the same issue. Its very hard to concentrate when all your friends are being loud in the dorm or are doing something fun that would distract you away from your studies. Another thing the article touched upon was the amount of stress that goes up from when being in high school as oppossed to being in college. Exams and tests are way more intense then what students had faced in high school. I barely ever studied for a single test or exam in high school and now that i'm in colllege I have to prepare for an exam two days ahead just to get a decent grade. The first semester of freshman year is probably the biggest leap you can face in terms of being on your own for the first time. You never have to check in at all with your parents no one is going to tell you when to go to sleep, when you can go out, or basically anything you do. Some students adapt welll to this very new lifestyle and others don't. An important piece of advice they give you is to try and get to know your teachers or professors. By doing this it allows for your teachers to put a face on whoever's paper they are grading which can actually get you a better score. I wish my first semester I got to talk to my professor's more because I felt like maybe two of them actually knew me by my face and name. The transition into college can be good or devastating for some students.

Martin Morales Wiki Post 2 [] I really think that each person’s view and experience will vary widely. Besides the old basic cliché advice of, “do your work, go to class” I feel that the only advice an alumnus could give to a freshman is about their own personal experience. The alumnus could tell them the process of which they went through and how they reached college, but then the freshman could ask a different alumnus and that story could be completely different, his road may have been rockier or smoother on his journey to college. The alumni reached the same goal but did it in different ways. I find this to be true because it is what has happened to me. I realize that my journey will not be the same as an advisor. There will be extreme similarities but that would be all. Coming into college I had a lot of misconceptions. Had I known the truth when I started I think I would have done better; but college is a place to learn and grow. This article seemed really condescending. It would have crushed me if I read it before coming to college. Even though I only have one full semester under my belt I believe only a few of these misconceptions are true, for example the dorms, food, and Greek life. I thought these things were going to be awesome and a whole other to me, turns out it’s not. I don’t like either of the above and it’s very expensive. Unfortunately, some of the things that the author wrote about I feel are “the brute truth”. But I disagree with some of this article also. I have grown and have become a different person since I left home. I do have a lot of useful resources here and I feel that I am being prepared. If all of the things that the author stated were true, then that would defeat the whole purpose of going to college. One thing that I am still confused about is the community college debate. My whole life I was always told not to attend a JC because a 4 year would look better. Is it so? Are we just wasting our first two years at a university?


 * Brian Dean Farley**
 * The article I read was called, “Best Way to Transition into College Life”. It discussed many different techniques and strategies to help “fresh” students adapt to the college atmosphere and responsibilities. It goes into great detail concerning what some of the new student pressures are, such as; new location, new living quarters, new people, having no parental authority, and basically being on your own. It seems as though the transition into college for most students is the most influential and most hard time of a young student’s educational career. With have growing up in the same area and spending your whole life with the same friends you grew up with, always having mom and dad behind you in conflicts, and then suddenly not having any of those things tends to be tough for a lot of students. Students are forced to rapidly catch on to multiple characteristics in life that can either** **define success or failure in the future. If this transition from high school to college does not go smoothly it can drastically change how the coming years result. Some techniques to counter this are to just simply stop and just take a deep breath and relax. Just remember that you are not the only one in that position. In fact you are one of millions of students from all over the world that are experiencing the same change in their lives as well. This articles suggests new students to not stay bottled up inside and to share their emotions and feelings with others in their same position, and even more so talk to people that have been through it already and seek advice from them.**

http://www.educationhq.org/articles/college-life.php

Crystal Hollinshead February 19, 2010 = 4 Tips for Making the Transition to College = By [|Christie Garton] Posted August 19, 2009 [] I read an article from U.S. News by Christie Garton who explains what she believes to be the pointers on how to start college with confidence. Garton’s four tips for going to college are; let the school pick you, roommate doesn’t mean best friend, you can’t take it with you and academic success is important, but not as important as you might think. As I read this article I didn’t complete agree with any of her so called “tips”. The first tip not living with a friend; living with a friend is not what keeps a person from not expanding themselves or keeps us from making new friends, but they do help with the home sickness. I do agree with how your roommate is meant to be your best friend, but things happen over a year of living with a person and by the end they may just be your BFF. I also agree that living with someone you don’t especially care for helps you grow as a person. And I like how Garton said, “It'll usually go better if you speak your mind from the beginning, rather than suffering in silence." College is a place to make new memories and leave, but not forget the old ones. Instead of thinking high school being the best years of your life, now college is and soon we’ll realize that everyday is the best days of our life and that we can’t bring our life from home and high school to college. Chico State is known for being a very diverse school and with that comes many skills for us students that we’ll need to stick out when applying for jobs like being confident, flexible, friendly, responsible, punctual and reliable, persistent and energetic as well as being able to discuss ideas and options without being defensive. All in all I believe the foundation of Garton tips for transitioning to college are helpful, but what we feel right will probably help us more adjust to college life even if it means bringing all your high school yearbooks, living with a friend or sleeping your favorite stuffed animal.

Wiki Post #2** I watched a home-made video on youtube titled 'Transition into College Life" here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LylB3SkCVXs The video discusses what might be very different when coming to college from what you are used to in your previous years. The video touches on topics such as alcohol consumption, tips for dealing with roommates, avoiding finacial problems with roommates, etc. In the alcohol consumption section, a scene is played out where a roommate has a couple of friends over, and they are smoking and drinking, listening to loud music, and playing loud drinking games. A roommate in the room over is trying to study and complains to the drunken young adults next door. The drunk characters simply talk back to the responsible college student because they are biligerant. Something i learned from the youtube video is that 1,400 college student deaths are linked to the use of alcohol each year. Something i enjoyed in the video was the portrayal of a bad roommate situation. In the video, a roommate constantly has her boyfriend over and the boyfriend is rude and acts as if he lives there himself. These types of situations can be very disruptive to the lives of roommates and can also be difficult situations to confront. I myself had a difficult roommate situation last semester and didn't get along with my roommate what so ever. I never confronted my roommate about what was bothering me and it continued to get worse until i couldn't stand to be in my room any longer. Eventually my roommate moved out, but not everyone is so lucky. If you have a problem with your roommate, it is best to discuss the issue with them in the very beginning before it progresses into something much more unbearable. This video did a fairly good job at portraying a college life. I did notice, however, that it was not completely accurate. I think that this would be an interesting project to work with, and maybe to make even better.
 * Elizabeth Watters 2/21/10

Ian Gilbert Wiki Post 2 http://www.collegecrunch.org/feature/college-misconceptions/ There were a lot of misperceptions and ideas about how college life was before I got here. This website that I found goes over many different aspects that have a reputation in the media but in reality is much different in real life. For example, one misconception is that everyone is involved in fraternities and sororities. In reality, even at Chico state, only approximately 1000 students of the 17000 are involved in Greek life. Also, greek life is so much more then partying and dating around. Brotherhood, honor, and discipline are some of the morals that lead fraternities. Greek life helps with employment and networking. Also another misconception I had was that all of my professors were going to be highly experienced and highly knowledgeable individuals. When in fact many of my general education classes are taught by teacher’s assistants who are graduate students or even undergraduate students only being a few years older than me. These students more often than not have never taught any class before and are inexperienced in that aspect. I believe colleges should be more up front and detailed about the actual college experience when recruiting new students. I never received any type of guidance before I came to Chico so knowing what I know now makes me want to go out and educate those who are younger than me.

John Brunk Wiki Post 1- In the article I researched, I found that there was a lot of emphasis on responsibility and attitude in aspects of college. The article states that a person should have a very strong sense of responsibility in order to maintain all the activities one has to juggle. Also it stated the importance of time management and class attendance. In the time management aspect, it stated how students have so much time to do their work and just sit and watch television and let the day waste away. Attendance is very high on the to-do list as well. In my humble opinion a lot if not all of this article is true. In my own experience here at Chico state I have experienced many things, and had tons of things to juggle. With this new life, you do have new responsibilities and new obligations that only you can fulfill. Your parents are not around to help you anymore. So essentially a college student is now taking on adulthood in many ways. Your whole future is now entirely up to you. For example in high school, your teachers baby you along and hold your hand, this is nothing like college. The professors teach the class and if you are not there then that is too bad…you missed out. Also you are paying for your education so to not go to class is a waste of money. This is why the attendance is important. The more you go the more likely it is that you will have a better grade. This can be useful to many people especially the people who are freshman and are having some troubles adjusting to the whole college life. This article and also insight from me should be fairly beneficial and I will probably refer back to it. So remember…with new opportunities come new responsibilities. One shot. Give it all you’ve got.

John Brunk

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