A homeschooler's first year of college -- an interview with M.
Q. Did you feel well prepared for college?
A. Yes. I felt prepared better than some people. I enjoyed my classes and didn't feel they were too difficult.
Q. How about living in the dorm and making friends?
A. Living in the dorm was quieter than being at home sometimes. (And I didn't have to clean the bathroom!) I didn't have any problems with my roommate. Everyone can find their niche at college.
Q. What was most surprising about going to college?
A. The lack of communication between departments. Each department seems to be in their own little world and there is little collaboration between them.
Q. Is there anything you wish you had done to prepare for college but didn't?
A. Nothing comes to mind.
Q. What were people's reactions to hearing you had been homeschooled?
A. I actually found quite a few people who had been homeschooled at least until high school. It wasn't really a big deal. More people were more surprised when they heard how many siblings I have. What high school you went to didn't really seem to matter.
Q. Is there any piece of advice you'd like to give to someone about to start college this fall?
A. Don't stress out about it too much. The first few weeks may not be the best, but give it some time. If you don't hear about any activities you would be interested in, start asking around. That's how I got involved in media services and in theater... by asking students who had been there a couple of years.
It's also completely possible to have a lot of fun with your friends and not drink. If you say you don't drink, often others will just accept it and not make a big deal out of it, or they will be relieved you said that and they will join you.
I also never pulled an all-nighter. It is possible to plan your time and not have to do that. Besides, I wouldn't be at my most productive and would probably have had to redo it anyway.
A. Yes. I felt prepared better than some people. I enjoyed my classes and didn't feel they were too difficult.
Q. How about living in the dorm and making friends?
A. Living in the dorm was quieter than being at home sometimes. (And I didn't have to clean the bathroom!) I didn't have any problems with my roommate. Everyone can find their niche at college.
Q. What was most surprising about going to college?
A. The lack of communication between departments. Each department seems to be in their own little world and there is little collaboration between them.
Q. Is there anything you wish you had done to prepare for college but didn't?
A. Nothing comes to mind.
Q. What were people's reactions to hearing you had been homeschooled?
A. I actually found quite a few people who had been homeschooled at least until high school. It wasn't really a big deal. More people were more surprised when they heard how many siblings I have. What high school you went to didn't really seem to matter.
Q. Is there any piece of advice you'd like to give to someone about to start college this fall?
A. Don't stress out about it too much. The first few weeks may not be the best, but give it some time. If you don't hear about any activities you would be interested in, start asking around. That's how I got involved in media services and in theater... by asking students who had been there a couple of years.
It's also completely possible to have a lot of fun with your friends and not drink. If you say you don't drink, often others will just accept it and not make a big deal out of it, or they will be relieved you said that and they will join you.
I also never pulled an all-nighter. It is possible to plan your time and not have to do that. Besides, I wouldn't be at my most productive and would probably have had to redo it anyway.
Comments
She's right, it's totally possible to have a lot of fun and not drink in college. I never drank and have wonderful memories of my time in college. Isn't that what 24 hour Walmarts were made for anyway? :)
It is also possible to plan and never pull an all-nighter. A friend and I made it through without any all-night study sessions, and then spent our last night of finals week senior year staying up all night. We just wanted to experience it! Well, and there was that education binder that we just chose not to do until the very end...
So glad to hear that M is discovering her niche and enjoying school.
I'm graduating college in 2 weeks and have yet to pull an all-nighter or even a partial-nighter. Be smart during the day, so you can have fun and sleep at night.
And the alcohol: It seem to take only one person saying they'll stay sober for others to feel comfortable not drinking also. It just takes that one person being brave.
Leslie