In Chapter Seven: Lessons From My Year as a Freshman, Rebekah Nathan summarizes and answers questions on the knowledge she gained from becoming a freshman. The author begins the chapter with a cross-cultural conversation between professors and students. She discusses how professors are not aware of the students living conditions or the effort that goes into achieving a high GPA. Likewise, the students do not understand professor rank and advancement. Nathan also reflects on the time she spent as a student and gains a new perspective during course preparations. The writer continues the chapter with an analysis of student culture and conformity that she experienced during her field work. In the last section of the chapter, Nathan looks back
into college I think a lot of people have small mindsets including myself towards what takes
Who I am is divided into two distinct sections: the shy, reliant child I was before Upward Bound and the confident, independent adult I have become. Upward Bound (UB) is a college preparatory program for low-income, first-generation college students, but its effects go much deeper than that. The workshops during the school year provide opportunities to meet college students in an informal setting where they can be honest about their college experiences. My first year I remember a girl telling me, “The first week I got to college I cried myself to sleep every night,” which was terrifying to hear. It made me dread the summer segment of UB, when I would stay on Ohio University’s campus in Athens for five weeks to take mock college classes. However, I still participated because I needed to know if I was capable of living away from home.
Ages 18 through early to mid 20’s is a critical time in a person’s life. Some may go to college, some may go straight into the work force, and some may dwindle for a year or two until they decide what life path to take. In the article, “Who are You and What are You Doing Here?”, Mark Edmundson outlines the importance of choosing what to study, doing what makes you happy, to the “incoming class.” Edmundson’s words take a creative stand point on college and aim to inform, inspire, and persuade the incoming class about college and its actual purposes.
“The Privileges of The Parents” is written by Margaret A. Miller, a Curry School of Education professor at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. This woman was a project director for the Pew-sponsored National Forum on college level learning from 2002-2004. This forum assessed the skills and knowledge of college educated students in five states by a way that allowed the test givers to make state-by-state comparisons. Miller believes that “[a] college education has benefits that ripple down through the generations” and this has enabled her to work and speak on topics such as: college level learning and how to evaluate it, change in higher education, the public responsibilities of higher education, campus
Schlack sums up the issue in three key words, “status, economics and competition”. By identifying these three factors, schack strengthens his appeal towards the reader by letting them know that he understands what is false about their ideas of going to college. Additionally, Schlack gives an example of a student who is brainwashed by parents and teachers who push them towards going to college. “ college is like your life. If you don 't go to college… you can 't live a successful life”. This quote from an 8th grade student shows what most students are taught from a young age except with over exaggeration. However, this over exaggerated example helps in convincing students that they have been taught to grow up with a ridiculous and illogical mindset when it comes to
The Case Against College has a unique and interesting premise, exploring the idea that college is not necessary to be successful. In a country “obsessed with college”, American high schoolers often feel as if the next step in their lives has to be either college or failure. Lee, however, disagrees. In her essay, she explores the idea that college is expensive, unnecessary, and can lead to the same results as a path taken without college. Furthermore, she claims that the statistics showing that college graduates receive more money is biased, stating that many higher paying jobs such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers require a college degree. Though her arguments are interesting, there are some gaps in
Alfred Lubrano the author of “the shock of Education: How college Corrupts” explains the differences and difficulties of what students can go through while they are in college. Lubrano says that when a student arrives at college, they lose their connection to their families. This is due to the extreme workload put on the student by the professors they don’t have the time to really chat with their parents like they used to when they lived at home. Also if there is an enormous distance gap where the students go to college and where their parents live it may create that sense like they don’t know each other anymore.
Attending college right after high school or waiting to attend has no right or wrong answer. It would depend on the individual situation. It not only will have to do with some may not being academically prepared to attend college but not having the financial resources necessary to enroll. I went to college right away, my husband worked for about ten years out of high school before deciding to attend college. If you can transition well to a college environment right out of high school, then that might be the path for you. I believe continued education is the best.
Reflecting on my personal and educational goals I believe UNCW, Wilmington will not only allow me to grow as a student or person, but will create new challenges in my life that will lead to fulfilling my goal of becoming a successful woman someday.
Research shows that in the Washington post a reporter by the name of Linda Bank-Santali stated that over 4.5 Million First –Generation Students have enrolled in a post-secondary institution in the United States (Bank-Santali, 2015, para. ). Not all First –Generation College Students are all the same but many experience difficulty with four distinct domains 1) professional 2) financial 3) psychological 4) academic. First Generation Students have a lot on their plates and face many obstacles that keep them from succeeding in college. There are many Barriers that first generation students face such as Low-Income status, Lack of Motivation and Low-Self Esteem.
Helping out my mother with the bills, working full time and commuting to college, seemed like the destined plan for me after high school. Nonetheless, it came as a shock to everyone when I confessed, I had accepted my admission to Texas A&M. My family took it the worst at first, as it seemed if I wanted to run away from the responsibilities that had suffocated me up to the minute I pressed
In “College Pressures” by William Zinsser, leader of one of the residential colleges at Yale University, the author describes the different amount of pressures that students struggle with in college. Because of his position at the university, he constantly noticed the students around him and the anxiety that was radiating off them. He believes that economic pressures cause students to feel anxious about paying back student loans after college. However, parental pressure leads students to make decisions that their parents would be happy with because of the feeling of guilt and wanting to please them. Peer and self-induced pressures are also mentioned in Zinsser’s essay. Because students always worry about accomplishing more than the student
Judging someone or making assumptions based on physical appearance can never determine the environment they were raised in. Just because someone is in college it should not suggest that their family members are college educated. There are many people at The University of Louisiana at Monroe that are considered first-generation individuals. As of 2010 the National Center of Education indicated that 30 percent of college freshmen are first generation college students. First generation students are fresh to the ideal of college and they need a mental support system during so because most of them are not equipped to deal with tough situations.
with his or her family. All sorts of feelings come into play for young people