Social Creatures The crippling effects of isolation in university students make it essential for colleges to provide Living Learning Communities in order for the students to prosper. The goal of Living Learning Communities is to provide a social environment for college students who share an interest, value, or characteristic. Some types of Living Learning Communities include Women in Science and Engineering, LGBTQA+, the Fine Arts Community, and ROTC. While some people believe that Living Learning Communities limit the variety of viewpoints a student will receive, they actually establish an invaluable support system for college students. Making the transition from high school to college involves change in almost every aspect of a student’s …show more content…
They believe that supplying them with a niche narrows the college experience, and that students should not be able to segregate themselves. Yet, by looking at the situation as a whole, this argument becomes feeble. People are not defined solely by the one characteristic of their Living Learning Community. For example, one could be in the Women in Science and Engineering Living Learning Community and meet people from different nationalities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and political statuses within the group. Diversity still exists among the subcategories. In addition, the Living Learning Communities are only for housing, so students will continue to have classes with people from an array of majors, especially in first year general education courses. Being a member of a Living Learning Community does not pull a blindfold over their eyes, but allows them to feel like they have a place in the university. In Lori Alvord’s Walking the Path Between Worlds, she describes the copious amounts of comfort she felt by having a community to turn to during her transition between living on a reservation and attending a university where she was a minority. Being a part of something like a Living Learning Community connected Alvord with other Native Americans, where she found solace from her fear and confusion. Her experience is evident to how essential they truly
Entry to community college allows just that. Addison explains, “just follow any one of the 1,655 road signs, and pop your head inside—yes, independent film, a first independent thought, a first independent study” (212). Many potential college prospects are turned away because this self-discovery found in community college cannot be found in private college; however, Addison insists that community college is the golden ticket to regain these would-be scholars. To begin, acceptance is necessary for admittance to many colleges—not community college. In the words of Addison, “down at X.Y.C.C. it is still possible to enter the college experience as a rookie” (213). Any student desiring education, preparation, and self-discovery does not need to look any further than community college, which, for some students, is the only shot at the college experience. On top of this, community colleges provide opportunities like no college—public or private—could. Community colleges provide introductory courses that could not be found in regular institutions; this allows students to explore and get their feet under them. To find and pursue an interest proves more difficult at a college because intense classes are provided from the beginning, whether students have declared a major or have yet to decide. In sum, Addison claims that an atmosphere designed
Colleges try their best to form a sense of community, but the reality is that everyone has their individual path and schedules, and one must really put in effort to have similar paths and schedules as their peers. For example, Nathan writes that everyone has different classes, meal plans, as well as extracurricular activities, which makes it hard to form a sense of community. In addition to a lack of community, Nathan also notices the lack of diversity. Again, colleges try their best to have very diverse communities, but the reality is that the majority of students are Caucasian. The lack of community and diversity shocked Nathan, because colleges make it seem like the
Humans are like play-dough they start off average but with the right guidance they can become what they were meant to be. Telemachus in The Odyssey by Homer, had many obstacles he had to overcome and with guidance from his mentor he followed the path to becoming who he was destined to be. Transitioning from high school to college is also a difficult journey and requires a great ordeal of time and effort put into it. Although faintly dissimilar, Telemachus’s initiation into manhood and the initiation of transforming from a high school student to a college student are dubiously alike because they both transition into confident and independent people.
Throughout the length of schooling, students go through various changes. In their first year of school, children are required to make the transition from being at home for the entire day to being in school for a number of hours a day. These transition periods happen many times through the schooling years, but the most drastic changes occur during the transition from high school to college, where students weather numerous lifestyle changes. While each individual student goes on their own journey, certain themes remain common between different students. Studies are done to look at these themes identifying the numerous differences and similarities.
And finally, colleges and universities have to be inclusive of varied student subpopulations. They need to determine and address the special needs of groups such as racial/ethnic minorities, women, athletes, Greeks, students of different ages, and gay and lesbian students.
Anxiety ran throughout my entire body the morning before my first class of college began. Not knowing what to expect of my professors, classmates, and campus scared me to death. I knew the comparison to senior year of high school and freshman year of college would be minute, but never did it occur to me how much more effort was need in college until that morning, of course. Effort wasn’t just needed inside of the classroom with homework and studying but also outside of it where we are encouraged to join clubs, get involved and find a job. Had I known the transformation would be so great, I’d have mentally prepared myself properly. It’s easy playing “grown-up” in high school when one doesn’t have to pay expensive tuitions, workout a
Students entering college for the first time become concerned with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These students are now responsible for how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands of college?
The primary trait that I lack is confidence. In my mind, others are always smarter, prettier, more driven, and just better than me. Because of this attitude, I do not usually voice my opinions, state my ideas, or take control of anything; I automatically assume that anything I say or do is wrong or stupid. Although I still need to work on strengthening my confidence, SMU’s community atmosphere, specifically the Hilltop scholars program, has given me the enormous confidence boost I need to step out of my comfort zone and make my ideas a reality. A gain of confidence through supportive communities is apparent in the films Legally Blonde, Renaissance Man, and Higher Learning because each film includes individuals who need greater self-confidence, which comes from the support of their communities. In “The Quest for Community in Higher Education,” Parker Palmer outlines specifically how community can build up confidence. Additionally, in “The SMU Community According to Etzioni,” Christiano Gallo illustrates that confidence promotes involvement, which promotes confidence. The support I feel from various members of the SMU community has provided me with experiences similar to Elle, Rago, and Malik’s and has helped me understand how Palmer’s ideas foster confidence. Also, encouragement from others has opened my eyes to how involvement can instill confidence. Community gives us somebody to lean on. Somebody to lean on gives us confidence.
Essentially, students may have the tendency to have similar or more significant interests in front of peers in order to feel accepted when participating in class. In Sheen S. Levine and David Stark’s article, “Diversity Makes You Brighter” the authors emphasize how participants in a study who were in diverse company had 58 percent more accurate answers in a stock project (2). If colleges were to begin diversifying their campuses, students would be surrounded by individuals who do not share similar characteristics. Expanding the amount of diverse students on college campuses make a student feel more independent which can lead to an increase in honest results in the knowledge of college students. Evidently, broadening the diversification of colleges contributes to educational
The article by Bailey (2017) gives context to the barriers some community college students face and a possible reform that can be implemented by the community colleges. Due to the article, I gained this curiosity of exploring the campus more in-depth. I approached Dr. Mosqueda and Seranda and they gave me various recommendations on places to visit. One of the main barriers to student success is the lack support they receive from their campus (Bailey, 2017). Therefore, I found the writing center the most interesting because it was one resource that is vital for students to succeed during their time at El
Mobelini, D. C. (2013). Community Colleges: Partnerships in Higher Education. Community College Journal Of Research & Practice, 37(8), 629-635. doi:10.1080/10668921003723151
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
College is something that many high school students anticipate; A new transition between two very similar yet diverse worlds. This transition can be something very exciting but also very nerve raking and difficult. Students, Ready to leave behind high school, being researching to find the most prestigious schools and programs available, soon forgetting to remember that although the two, high school and college have their similarities such as doing classwork, and homework the differences are endless.
High school, along with college are two major stepping stones in a person’s life. Many individuals are able to make the transitions from high school to college pretty easily, while there are others that find the transition into college to be somewhat challenging and hard to adjust to. When I made the jump from high school to college, I found that there are vast differences between the two, and both had very diverse environments. I found the key differences concerning high school and college to be the level of academic responsibilities, time management and scheduling, as well as the methods learning to be the main differences.
College is a collection of diverse people, new experiences, and learning how to be an adult. While it is completely different from anything I have ever done before, I feel like I have adjusted well and am getting into the swing of being a college student. The transition from high school to college is difficult and I have faced some challenges including, learning good study habits and accepting who I am as a student, time management skills and putting myself into new situations where I can meet new people. While these have been difficult for me to encounter, they have taught me valuable lessons about myself and who I can and want to be.