My First Week as a College Student

The college experience is something that I never thought I would be exposed to until I was graduated from high school. The Summer Scholars Program has given me the opportunity to experience this before most even imagine what college life will be like. Going to class on a college campus is so much different than high school. The parking, the walking to class, the students, and the independence, are all things that change when transitioning from high school to college.

The past week of classes have been more stressful than I ever imagined. Long reading assignments that are hard to concentrate on due to the length and how late it may be. Another thing is that, taking a class during the summer makes it harder, I would think because most of your friends don't have homework like you. So balancing a social life with classes in summer is a part of being independent. Also, when taking a summer class that is condensed into around five to six weeks like ours is, it is really accelerated, which makes missing one day of class like missing around three to five of a normal school year class would be. Another thing that makes class so different in college is that the teacher makes it apparent that if a student needs help, they need to come find him or her, and that they won't go looking for the student if they are falling behind.

Another thing is that assignments aren't really anything you can turn in, such as worksheets. It is independent reading that is optional, but you have to realize there are consequences to that as well. These could be failing a pop quiz over the reading, not understanding parts of the test or the discussion the next day due to the laziness of the student.

Yet another thing that is different is that students have full responsibility when being late to a class. They drive themselves, park (possibly far away at times because their is not much parking), and then walking/running to class (depending on how much time they have until class starts). This brings up another point in particular that is unlike high school. Students walk across campus to different buildings in order to get to class, instead of all of their classes being in one building. This is much harder when trying to find your class on the first day of school, especially when you don't know your way around the campus.

The most challenging thing for me the past week was being motivated enough to get my homework done. All I wanted to do was relax and do something with my friends. I did most of my homework, and for the things I didn't read the night we were assigned, I went and read them for the test.

College life is very difficult at times, but is also very enjoyable. Experiencing this type of life so early really puts me ahead, and I greatly appreciate what the Summer Scholars Program at UNO does in order to make sure we get the full experience.