Highacres Colleg
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Voi.3 N 0.5
FRESHMEN SPEAK
ABOUT COLLEGE
EXPERIENCE
The annual countdown has this
once again winded down to
the last week before
finals. It is time of
year that brings to most
of us a sigh of relief,
and often, a tear of two.
For 601 of us, this week
is particularly important
in that it signifies the
end of our first year in
college. As I sit here,
writing this article, my
mind drifts to all the
special events and people
I have encountered in the
past 9 months. For all
of us, I'm sure, the
people and places we've
seen this year will stay
with us forever.
So how well did we
actually cope with the
pressures involved with
going to college for the
first time? Undoubtedly,
it wasn't easy, as I'm
sure we'd all agree; but
what parts were particul
arly difficult, and which
made the transition from
high school easier? What
expectations did we have
upon entering college?
How were the se
expectations fulfilled or
disappointed? To find
these and other answers,
I decided to decided dis
tribute a survey among
some of the freshman pop
ulation.
Academically, most of
the students surveyed
expected harder classes
and the need to study
harder than they actually
did. What many freshman
found was that the
college classes taken
ear were easier
fact, than high school
classes. While many
incoming freshman
expected to study all the
time their first year,
instead, they found that
they didn't study nearly
as much as they'd
expected.
Many of those surveyed
expected a higher GPA
than was actually achieved
this year. While this
may have been due to the
minimal studying done by
most of the students sur
veyed, I suspect that
more so, this was due
more to social implicat
ions involved in one's
first year of college.
Perhaps students had a
difficult time adjusting
to college, and living
away from home. Perhaps
the mere change of
lifestyle was difficult
to adapt to. Often, I
suspect that one's social
life interferes greatly
in one's academic life.
Socially, most fresh
men surveyed overestimat
ed this aspect of their
first year. Most
students surveyed expect
ed to socialize and party
much more than they
actually did. I suppose
that the grand illusion
of the "forever partying"
wasteland of college
fooled us all. The harsh
reality of it is that
without at least some
kind of effort put into
studies, you can't get
anywhere in college.
cont. on pg. 3
ufro
Editorials
2... Where's the calender
3... Teacher of the year
4... Meet Paul Grazio
5... Teacher biography
5... The New Deal
5... Professor to China
5... Summer Blahs
6&7... Personals
8... A Year in Pitcures
lan
7PB$