How Different Can It Be? And Other Famous Last Words
Aug 08 '00
“Reality is all about perception,” she told me. “If I don’t perceive college any differently, it won’t be.” These famous last words occurred at the end of a conversation that was supposed to be advice to my sister, Avril, who is starting college this fall but ended up being a debate. I won’t go into the specifics of the argument but they contained such Avril-isms as: “You take things way too seriously,” “I’m not you. It’ll be different for me,” and “I asked for advice not orders.” So, in the hope that someone is interested in my opinion, I give you my thoughts on college academic reality.
Your Professor Has A Life. And You’re Not It
When I was a senior in high school, I was chopping at the bit. I imagined, like so many students, unlimited freedom and the ability to study whatever I wanted. However, what freshmen really want (or a majority of them, anyway) is not unlimited freedom but freedom with strings attached –- selective adulthood.
As much as students complain about a teacher being on their back, it is something that we come to depend on, something we always expect to be there. Your high school teacher is always looking out for you to make sure your homework is done and that you got the notes from the day you were out sick. So, when you come to rely on something, it is hard to imagine a time when it won’t be there. But there is a time and it’s called college.
Being a college professor and being a high school teacher are two entirely different experiences. Although they both share the common denominator of being challenging education professions, being a college professor is akin to being a member of a bureaucracy. Your professional life depends on being a member of more committees than you have time for and publishing journal articles -- first to ensure you’ll have classes to teach next semester, next to obtain tenure, and finally to lobby for the chairperson position when it opens up. Being a professor is a life-consuming, publish-or-die profession. This aspect becomes more apparent in larger universities with either adjunct professors or teaching assistants teaching entry-level courses.
Whether you are attending a large university or a small liberal arts college, your professor has many responsibilities that are not related to the courses they are teaching. It is not that they aren't concerned about your academic or personal well-being but, rather, they, usually, don’t have time to be. This will come as a shock to many freshmen who count on constant feedback to alert them to possible problems or areas of weakness. Your professor will only come to you if the quality of your work has declined to such a degree that you are in academic danger. Trust me, this is not the kind of feedback you should be craving. If you want to get some positive feedback or advice, you have to take the initiative and monitor your own progress. Then take your questions and concerns to the professor after class or during office hours. Professors appreciate students who take the initiative and the control over their education. It is never too early to make a good impression on professors who could be possible references (Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. I think that’s another Avril-ism.)
For Your Listening Pleasure, The Musical Stylings of Your Alarm Clock
Who doesn’t have childhood memories of their mother gently waking them for school and serving them a hot stack of pancakes on a cold morning? Well, I don’t. Both my parents had (and continue to have) careers that require them to be at work before I had to get up. So, I didn't have the luxury of having a parent guide me through the morning to make sure I woke up on time and had all my books packed for school. However, many people do and having to monitor yourself can be a difficult concept to handle. This reality is compounded by how college classes are scheduled.
Unlike high school, one (though, not freshmen) can choose the classes they can take and when they can take them (within reason and the discretion of your registrar). This freedom can lead to: (A) you scheduling your classes in the way your schedule in high school was arranged. You, then, realize what time you have to get up and skip the majority of your morning classes or (B) you deciding to fill your schedule with easy (“How to Make Tea in 3 Easy Steps”) classes and realizing in your senior year that you actually have requirements that you have to fulfill in order to graduates (these are extreme examples, of course, and are based on the reality of friends who were, uhm, misguided in their college careers.)
Nobody is going to force you to go to class. You’re not going to be grounded if you decide to play hooky for a semester. Nobody in college forces you to do anything (except the financial aid office, which forces you to go into debt). This is one of the great freedoms of college. However, if you don’t follow the basic requirements for graduation (i.e. passing all your classes), you will have to deal with a lot more than your parents’ disappointment. You will face expulsion.
College has a way of making the most reasonable people do the most irresponsible things. Whatever you were supposed to do to academically survive in high school, take those guidelines and bolster them by 100 %. As fun as college should be (and, if you’re not enjoying it, you’re not doing it right), you are there to get a degree so, don’t forget to bring an alarm clock. You have to wake up in order to go to class (whether you are awake when you’re there is up to you).
Keeping all the above in mind, formulate a class schedule that works around your quirks and habits. If the thought of waking up at 7 am does not fill your heart with joy, do not schedule an 8 am class because you had it in high school. You didn’t like doing it high school so, why would you do it now when you don't have to?
Don’t Be Ridiculous
Don’t enter college, no matter how small, with the belief that it’s like high school minus your parents. It’s not. However, despite the rather autonomous nature of college, your professors and advisors do care about your progress. But you have to make them notice you. So, make them notice you in the right way -- make Dean's List, be a Research Assistant, join the Honors Program, anything that shows you are interested in your academic career. Show them you care so they can care, too.
Take control of the academic of college and you can spend your weekends doing whatever you want (within the boundaries of state and federal laws, of course).
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Epinions.com ID:
nylawgirl
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 129 members
About Me:
Giving my unsolicited opinion since October 1977. Being paid for it since April 2000.
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