First Generation Students On February 2nd, 2009, I attended a seminar given by Stephen Jenkins, PhD, LP about “ Finging Success for First generation Students.” The name is almost self explanatory. First generation students are students whose parents did not attend college, parents who have a high school diploma or less. Although I am not a first generation student, it was really interesting learning all about the pro’s and con’s of being a first generation student. Approximately 30% of students in public 4 year colleges, like SCSU, are first generation students. Seventy five percent of these students are white female.
Entering college can be one of the scariest, yet liberating experiences of a young adult’s life. It’s a time to branch out and grow as a person and really figure who one would like to become. The largest and most substantial moment in my life so far has been starting college. This is because college is a mature environment where a student has not only many freedoms and responsibilities but a chance to learn, socialize, and get active in the university community. The first year of college forms students into well-rounded individuals.
Giving High School Dropouts a Second Chance Many American students start off their high school career with a plan. Their plan is to graduate high school and go to the college of their dreams. Unfortunately, many students end up dropping out before they get to carry out their plan. According to Alliance for Excellent Education, “Every school day, nearly 7,000 students become dropouts. Annually, that adds up to about 1.2 million students who will not graduate from high school with their peers as scheduled.” As you can see, the number of high school dropouts is skyrocketing.
Allison Perrymond Archer ASC 101 29 November 2011 I made it through my first semester The first year of college can be a new and exciting journey for many students. Students can also take on new experiences in their first year of college; it can also come with bumps along the way. As a student he or she must find a way to balance their new life as a college student and their transitions. There will be difficulty transitioning such as adapting to new the new environment, trying to make new friends and difficulty with class work. Adjusting to an environment that you’re not used to can be too much for some students.
Including room-and-board expenses, and the total cost for a student, at a public university, averages $11,354 and at private colleges, $27,516. Most students, who struggle to keep up with their payments, eventually get a job. Freshmen who are in need should look for campus jobs that can both bring educational and financial benefits to them, a job from which they learn something and a job from which they receive a pay. However freshmen that need the money more should stick to jobs that just pay them, if they are not able to find these educational jobs. As they continue their college life they should keep searching
Choosing the family option, I felt that going to college was something I had passed up for my children, but now that my children are grown I am starting college, which I would have never believed this when I was in high school. Today, it is not so uncommon for people to return to school after twenty-five, some even wait until their sixties to undertake going to college. Between the years of 1999 and 2000, the National Center of Education Statistics states that 40 percent of all students were over 25, and most were attending part-time and had dependents(NCES). With that in mind it is interesting to observe that the non-traditional students are more likely to perform higher academically , even with the added responsibility, than there traditional counterparts(Carlan, 2001). One of the challenges faced by the mature student is financing their education; this is probably one of the biggest considerations to be made.
Below, I will make an explanation of why intra-personal-conflicts, adaptation to college environment, and abuse toward students are potential causes of stress in students who start a path to the future. The beginning of a new stage in life, can generate stress on anyone. In this case, the freshman college student must face the huge impact of this situation, just as it must find ways to overcome it themselves. During this period, the individual may experience a range of feelings such as depression, worthlessness, lack of confidence, excessive concern, or conversely, anxiety for succeed, too much self-confidence, control sensation, etc.. As a result, when all these factors get together in one person, is generated intra-personal conflicts, triggering negative stress that can affect the
Gap Year Did you know, that Gap year before college gives grads valuable life experiences (MacDonald)? “A gap year is a period of time a person takes off between or during their education years. It’s most popular to take after high school graduation and before starting college” (McKay). Gap year is used take a break from formal education to increase self-awareness, learn from different cultures, get prepared for college, and experiment with possible careers. Typically these are achieved by a combination of traveling, volunteering, interning, or working.
Yet at this seminal moment, we can't help looking back. . How do we measure the time we've spent in high school? In the beginning, we measured it in class periods, counting down the day to eventual freedom. Most of us have grown from this experience, making us better candidates for our future.
Dropping out is a lot more common than people think it is. Five out of every one hundred students enrolled in high school of October 1999 had dropped out by October of 2000 (National Educational Association). Dropping out is a big dilemma all across the world. On the United States’ drop out problem, in Allen County, Indiana eight to ten percent of their students dropped out in the school year of 2004-2005. Then, in 2006, 23.5% of their students did not graduate (Success in Education).