Phew! I just finished my freshman year of college. In all honesty, college.. . . MUCH better than high school. But like
some people have said, there are some not so great things. Unless you're aspiring to get into a very
expensive/advanced college, don't stress out too much over your entrance exams. Most colleges are pretty lenient.
As for the professors. . .hmm. . some _are_ crazy. :D But don't stress. Sometimes you'll find some really cool
teachers in college. Depending on whether you go to a college based on quarters (3 or 4 if you go in the summer) or
semesters (2. . .3 I guess if you go in the summer), you'll be spending a lot less or about the same amount of time
with a teacher as you would in high school. Some of these teachers, based on your major, you will see MANY times over.
Definitely learn to be noticed as a student. No, I'm not saying kiss up and be the annoying kid who knows ALL the
answers. :P Just be able to approach a professor when you have a question. Even if you don't completely like them
or they're teaching style, always summon the guts to ask for help. If they pretty much suck in general and
don't offer any, then always seek help from classmates or tutors. ^_^ In the end, you have to remember that you
wont have them the whole time, so if you don't like them, just suck it up and suffer through it, you only have to
do this once. . . if you don't fail. >_<
Sleep. . . ahh. . . It really depends. When You set up your first quarter/semester of classes, be careful. If you have a
hard time getting up in the morning DO NOT schedule an early class. If that's the only one available, so be it, but
if not, don't. Yet, if you're a person who wishes to work on campus (like a Federal Work Study job) you might
want to consider thinking about taking early classes so you'll have enough time to work at night AND do any
studying you might need. . . and . . . oh yea. . . SLEEP! It's true that 5 hours of sleep can be a luxury
sometimes, but its only that bad when you waited too late to study for a test (aka PROCRASTINATION and some late night
cramming ^_^), but its only really bad around finals and midterms. Then everyone is practically dead, but mostly from
frying your brain from studying too much (again from doing it too late). So in general, your amount of sleep depends on
how well you balance your time.
So in the end, I think college is well worth it. Don't stress out so much about it. It seems really intimidating at
first (I wanted to go home the first few days), but it becomes an experience unlike any other. Those who are priviledged
to go are in for a world of eyeopeners, but as long as you study enough (cramming works too! ^_^), don't slack off
too much, and learn to relax without getting into trouble, you'll have fun.
Hope this helps and I wish you good luck on your entrance exams.
Ciao. ^_~
