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Struggles of being a first generation college student essay
Challenges faced by first generation college students
Struggles of being a first generation college student essay
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I moved to the United States in 2011, seeking a better life and a higher quality education. Surely, being a first-generation college student, I felt an immense amount of pressure to succeed because I was the only one in my family who was lucky enough to get the opportunity to earn a college education. When I initially arrived in the United States I did not feel a sense of belonging rather I disliked the transition as it made me feel lonely. Of course, a large move like this one had a significant social impact in my life. But through these challenges, I constantly reminded myself of the reason I moved here and that is to attain an education and pave my way to success. On my first day of college, my life became centered around my classes and
College life is a journey taken by many high school graduate in effort to explore a higher form of education, and most importantly build a new life outside the boundaries of their families to sustain a long path of toward successful career and to some, building a new family of their own. In the United State we are blessed with an education system that is never available worldwide. Laws are placed to allow every students regardless of ethnicity, gender or class a chance to pursue education in among the most prestigious universities in the world such as Ivy League school as well as many large public universities with many programs. This vast number of education institutions available of every type of students create this big diversity leading the U.S. to be the frontrunner of education in the world.
When Chris Langan was faced with a tough decision in college, he decided, “that was the point that I decided I could do without the higher education system” (Gladwell 94). Chris made a decision that not many people in America want to do or nonetheless, actually do. He carries the risk of affecting his entire future by not receiving a college degree and getting a job that he can support himself with. Chris also knows what is best for himself, and that everyone is different. He does the best for himself, and others will see. This type of situation will hopefully help others by influencing them to do the best for only themselves in order for them to feel like they have achieved the American Dream. Another situation that people may come across where they have to make a life-changing decision is as immigrants. At a young age, a “Brilliant immigrant kid overcomes poverty and the Depression, can’t get a job at the stuffy downtown law firms, [and] makes it on his own through sheer hustle and ability” (Gladwell 119). As it is, it is really hard to adjust to a new life in a new country. People do not know what to expect when they immigrate to a different country, even despite what they have heard from others. This difficult decision to go to a completely new place and start over is one that has to be made and
In my community, El Sereno, college is viewed as an option as opposed to it being the next step in life. Most people in my area either begin working or start a family after they graduate from high school. Not always by choice, but in some cases by circumstance. Students in my neighborhood either lack the knowledge, financial support, guidance or even legal status that would otherwise drive them to apply or even go to college. About eighty-percent of students graduated from my high school, but only about twenty-percent ended up attending a four-year university (NINCHE). One of the biggest reasons for student’s low college entrance rate has to deal with their family's socioeconomic
College is not for everyone, although, everyone should have some form of higher education. "Should everyone go to college?" is an essay meant to inform students of the pros and cons of going to college. Owens and Sawhill state that the cost of a college degree may not be worth the money that students put into furthering their education. In their article, Owens and Sawhill use three different rhetorical appeals; egos, logos, and pathos; to persuade the readers to think consciously about attending college. Their argument was effective because it forces the readers to look at the overall college experience in different aspects.
As a college student facing graduation in a year, I’ve lost my faith in the accessibility of the American Dream. Thus far, I have been fortunate to surpass a large percentage of my peers from high school in my preparation for future success. I’m not still living at home. I did not get married at 18. In fact, I worked extremely hard in school and even harder in athletics so I could get a full scholarship to a prestigious university and graduate debt-free.
It has always been clear to me that education comes at a cost. The cost of going to school in the United States was not a price I had to pay, but my parents. Optimistic and eager, my parents immigrated to the United States in their late 20’s determined to lead a better life than the one they had back home; they craved the American Dream. As I have grown older, I have come to understand that the American Dream was not for them, but for me. I have a plethora of educational and career opportunities that I would not have if my parents stayed in Vietnam.
Every year, about 2.8 million students graduate from a United States high school. They have dreams of going to college or to the military to have an opportunity to make something of their lives. However, each year, there is also a group of about 65,000 students who will not have that chance to advance in their lives (CIR_DREAM paragraph 1). They are unable to do so because they were brought to the US illegally by their parents when they were children, and have the status of an illegal immigrant. Despite the fact that these individuals have lived their entire lives in the US, this immigration status hinders their ability to obtain a higher education.
When I was born, my family had just migrated to California from Mexico. In a new country, my father worked in landscaping earning less than $4 dollars an hour, while my mother relied on public transportation to take her newborn child to and from doctor visits. In the land of opportunity, my family struggled to put a roof over our heads. But never discouraged, my parents sought to achieve their goals and worked tirelessly to raise my younger brother and I. From a young age, I was taught the importance of education; this became a major catalyst in my life. My desire to excel academically was not for self-gain, but my way of contributing to my family’s goals and aspirations.
My transition to college was successful, but it was nonetheless one of the most stressful times in my life. Unlike many of my peers at Saint Louis University, my rural high school experience did not truly prepare me for the academic rigors of college. Despite extensive preparation, I performed rather poorly on the first round of exams. While I didn’t fail any particular exam, my performance was seriously lacking. I knew that getting C’s on exams would not serve me well in the pursuit of my dream of becoming a physician. I remember feeling, for the first time in my life, that I was unintelligent and incompetent. I was also heavily fatigued from the excessive hours of studying, which I felt were necessary to reconcile the problem. I managed to
Starting college is an intense and confusing event that plagues all recent high school graduates. It is like trying to run when all you can do is crawl, and for many freshmen, myself included, one can get easily overwhelmed by the daunting task of picking a major when less than two months ago some of our parents still packed our lunches for us every morning. The concept of entering college tends to be frequently skewed and expecting an eighteen year old to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives, without having them actually experiment in different areas, has the potential to create a generation of adults who are aggravated and depressed in their careers.
During my first semester of college I was enrolled in a freshman English class. I began to notice college was nothing like high school. In high school I could wait till last minute to complete an essay and still get an A on the paper with little to no effort. When my first college essay was due I waited till the day before to finally sit down and start writing my paper. I turned my paper in with confidence thinking I was going to get an A. We received our papers back two days later; I was stud to see I had gotten a low C on my paper.
As a teen, as a student, and as an American citizen, I can say with honesty that America’s gift to my generation is a purpose and an opportunity to do great things. With the protection from Veterans, the fairness among gender and races, generous education systems and freedoms given as every citizen's rights, I can have extensive opportunities to do great things in this country. Education in our country has blossomed into a hopeful grounding place for students’ foundation to learn, grow, and explore possibilities for our future. I am able to focus on an education without worrying about where my next meal is coming from, or whether or not I will have running water, or electricity or anything we may take for granted
Often times people inquiry us, “Why we're here?” I’m present in this world because I was destined to be here. I attend to this school because it was my decision to come here. I made it to my freshman year of college because I performed well in high school, studied, imposed all my work and dedicated my time to get a better future. When I came to the United States, English was not my forte. However, I did not want to let this obstacle to hold me down. I was determined to prove to my family that I can become someone to be proud of .
To better adjust to the new way of life in America, I focused my efforts on learning English. My mom and I would walk two miles to the local library for English classes every afternoon; I would sit at the table with a stack of kindergarten level books trying to form words in English and my mom doing the same. By tirelessly improving my English, I began to advance in my studies and intuitively, by trying to accomplish my own goals, I began to fulfill my parents’ dreams. My dedication and resilience resulted in my acceptance into the advance academic
Growing up, everybody gets to learn that the real world is not a fantasy that’s easy to cope with. While I was growing up I believe that life was really easy; not until I reached 12th grade. That’s where I got to learn how to be independent, and work hard to earn my things. 2015 was the year where I got a little taste of the real world. Growing up was a blur, and I barely remember everything from my childhood, so I shall tell my reader the important facts, challenges, and rewards I have faced in my life.