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Challenges faced by first generation students
Challenges faced by first generation students
Challenges faced by first generation college students
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In Jennine Crucet’s story, “Taking My Parents to College” she really explains to the reader how challenging it was leaving home and starting a new chapter in her life. When the author and her family first arrived to Cornell University, they were sitting there when the dean ended his speech with: “Now, parents, please: Go!” Being a first generation college student Crucet nor her family had any idea that they were not supposed to stay for orientation and had to leave her as soon as they got her settled in. They did not even have all the right materials and supplies that she needed to begin with by stating, “Every afternoon that week, we had to go back to the only department store we could find, the now-defunct Ames, for some stupid thing we hadn’t known was a necessity, something not in our budget: shower shoes, extra-long twin sheets, mesh laundry bags.” Both Crucet and I suffered from similar issues during our first few weeks on our new journey in college and we both had no idea what was ahead of us. Crucet says, “I don’t even remember the moment they drove away,” but unlike the author’s family, mine left after I moved in, they did not stay the whole first week into my classes. After the first day of being alone, I wish they …show more content…
The author and I both became very homesick, just like Crucet felt as if she had made a terrible mistake, I felt the same exact way. While I was sitting there reading Crucet’s story, I read over and over where she had mentioned,“They’d use all their vacation days from work and had been saving for months to get me to school and go through orientation.” As I sat there and thought, my parents had already paid for tuition out of their pocket also, so no matter how bad I wanted to get out I could not go anywhere. I could not let anyone down but at the same time I was desperate and trying to search for another
My father, Tom, was the eldest brother and was the first to attend college. He had been an alter boy in high school and a football player. When it came time for him to attend college he chose Millersville University . There he played football and was well known as a student who knew how to throw a party. Two years into his college career he decided to go into the navy. After serving his time there he went back to Millersville only to drop out near the beginning of his senior year because he found college to be “boring”. To my father there is nothing worse than being bored. His biggest accomplishment in college, as far as he saw it, was when trying to write an original poem in a certain style on one of his English finals, he wrote a limerick instead which went as follows:
Jeannette Walls has lived a life that many of us probably never will, the life of a migrant. The majority of her developmental years were spent moving to new places, sometimes just picking up and skipping town overnight. Frugality was simply a way of life for the Walls. Their homes were not always in perfect condition but they continued with their lives. With a brazen alcoholic and chain-smoker of a father and a mother who is narcissistic and wishes her children were not born so that she could have been a successful artist, Jeannette did a better job of raising herself semi-autonomously than her parents did if they had tried. One thing that did not change through all that time was the love she had for her mother, father, brother and sisters. The message that I received from reading this memoir is that family has a strong bond that will stay strong in the face of adversity.
That did not go nicely for Crucet at all because she did not understand a single thing. Crucet states, “I might as well have been my non-English-speaking grandmother trying to read and understand them. “The language was that that exotic to Crucet. She called her mother and told her, “I had to come home, that I had made a terrible mistake.” Crucets mother could not help her with her paper because she did not know anything herself. Crucets mother tells her, “You’re right, you’re screwed.” Crucets mother never went to college so she did not know what to tell her. Crucets mother did not know about the many things the campus had to offer to students that needed with papers. I am guessing Crucet did not have any friends at the time because if she did she could have asked them for help. Cornell University were the ones that recruited Cruet to come to college there. I feel like they should have done a better job with that. The university should have given her a better tour, and let her know all the many help support systems the school had to offer for her. I could not imagine being in her place because I call my mother every time I need help with something. I would not know what to do if she told me I was “screwed” or “I cannot help you with this.” Crucet finally got through the paper by herself. According to Crucet “She did o.k. on it, earning a
Once students arrived to college they were like kittens with a pack of lions, on their own with no one around to tell them what they could or
Rimer’s “A Lost Moment Recaptured” (2000) provides readers with stories of women’s lives who have returned to college through Smith College’s Ada Comstock Scholars Program. These stories intertwine with evidence supporting the implied claim; the typical college student is no longer the 18 to 20 year old. Providing intimate details about the lives of these diverse women, Rimer leaves the reader admiring their triumph over gendered expectations of generations past by going back to college.
How imperative is it that one pursues a traditional college experience? Although it might appear that Charles Murray and Liz Addison are in agreement that the traditional college experience is not necessary for everyone, Addison provides a more convincing argument that higher education is necessary in some form. This is seen through Addison’s arguments that college is essential to growing up, that education is proportional to the life one lives, and that community college reinvents the traditional college experience. Not only does Addison have her own opinions about college, but Murray does as well.
In the 21st century, if an individual decides to make a major commitment or resolution, they have the utmost support from their peers and family members. However, when a first-generation college student decides to further their education, the dearest people close to the student seem to disappear. Linda Banks-Santilli (2015) claims that first-generation students apply to a single college without the help of a parent (para. 13). The syllable of the syllable. Although Banks-Santilli does not say so directly, she assumes that the students can not afford multiple application fees and the students are unsure on how to determine which college is a good fit, as their parents have not taken them on a college tour.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
It’s two in the morning, you are on the fourth page of your ten-page research paper but at the same time you remember that you must send an appeal letter to financial aid plus you almost forgot about your exam tomorrow. College life is not easy at all and William Zinsser provides realistic and true examples of how difficult it can be. From the desperate letters of anxiety under the dean’s door to the late night screaming “Does anyone care?” Zinsser furthermore explains while studying for exams in one thing college students also have to ponder about how to pay for school, and the debt they will amass over the course of their studies. Education is supposed to be fun and interesting, an experience to enjoy and remember.
Many students all over the United States of America have trouble transitioning from a high school to a college lifestyle. Whether it is classroom performance, personal adjustment, stress, health, etc. Students have a hard time moving away from home and starting a new chapter in their lives making the transition into adulthood and college life. A new student in college may also be introduced to time management and personal responsibilities. Adjusting to college life can be difficult for some students they may be overwhelmed with all the new aspects of life now that they don’t really have an adult figure watching over them at all times.
According to Huang. Y. et. al., College students in their undergraduate years typically have a difficult time balancing their self identity when first leaving home. Many psychological and psychosocial obstacles may arise during the transition of their departure from living under their parents household.
Being accepted to college can be the most exciting time of a person’ life while also being the most disappointing. According to an article from Forbes, titled “Too Poor For College, Too Rich For Financial Aid,” author Robert Farrington wrote a story about his daughter’s college application experience. She patiently awaited to hear back from her top choice school, the prestigious John’s Hopkins University. After months of pure anxiety, a giant envelope arrived in the mail. The colorful exterior gave away the seemingly great news that the envelope enclosed. After opening the envelope, her acceptance letter revealed itself. According to Farrington, at first, the family was over joyed. Their kid got into her top choice college! But after moving
Katharine Butler Hathaway once said, “A person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places. One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change.” In doing this, I broadened my horizons and changed my outlook on life. Now, as I move on to college, I am leaving my family and friends again to educate and better myself so that I am prepared to walk down any path on the road of life.
Recently I was asked “Was it worth it?” in reference to my first semester in college. I quickly began reminiscing about the day I loaded up my car with most of my belongings and headed to “Buggy Town” (Barnesville). One day I was sleeping in the comforts of my own room at my parents house and in a matter of a three hour drive all my comforts of home were gone. Despite all my attempts to bring a little of home to my college dorm room it still felt cold, naked and uncomfortable. My Dad tried his best to help me get it just right so it didn’t feel like I just moved into a cell but despite his efforts it was so far from my comfy room. In addition to my new room, I quickly realized I was responsible for feed myself every time I was hungry and
College is an exhilarating time, especially for the students at the University of Iowa. Young adults are finally out of the house and given the freedom to do whatever, whenever. They have the option of going to new places and staying out late, all without the need of parental consent. This is the time for discovering new interests, meeting new people, learning, and finding oneself. College may sound like the perfect place, however, not everyone is excited for this change. Many students struggle adapting to this new environment full of choices. Not only are they having to leave their families that they have lived with for the past eighteen years, but they are also having to leave behind their homes, pets, schools, and friends. To top it all