Imagine you could go back in time to talk with yourself from high school. What would you tell your younger self about college from your current experiences? I am sure one thing you may mention is the abundant amount of free time there is in college. Our schedules may look different, but one thing that we all have in common is less class time on our day-to-day schedule. We no longer must follow the strict high school schedules that we were given but instead we are graciously given the opportunity to choose our own schedules as incoming freshmen. One thing that distinctly separates high school from college is the flexibility students have on campus. With this new freedom and flexibility comes great benefits and some challenges. One of the benefits is that we have more time to ourselves as students to explore campus, join clubs, and advance in our career. However, with much more time on our hands, it can be difficult to expertly manage our time, which is one of the reasons many students find the transition between high school and college challenging. As we become more independent it is important to develop our time management skills, and college is the perfect place to nurture that.
What else can you tell your younger self about the opportunities at college? One thing that is more apparent is the higher access to research possibilities. In comparison to an average high school education, where you would have to look for external opportunities and, in most cases, students are not given enough guidance during the process. Here at Stevens, you will be exposed to research in your Writing and Communications Colloquium class during the first two terms. Not only can you research in your own time, but you can make the most of resources such as the Writing and Communications Center and the Research Desk in our Samuel C. Williams Library.
If you do not have experience with research papers, then college will be a great starting place as you can connect with professors about opportunities. A sheet produced by Macalester College from Minnesota organizes many key differences between high school and college. One of these differences is identifying and citing sources for college papers in contrast to high school essays. The sheet states that “you will want to develop a personal reference library to facilitate on-going research interests.” What this essentially means is that it is important to research the latest findings and sources that match your career path. Being able to find these research opportunities, whether it be through an external program or by asking your professor, will help your future growth. Future employers will be able to marvel at your experience in your career path, especially when they see your time management with schoolwork and external research.
Lastly, this leads us into employment opportunities and workload on campus. With greater independence it is crucial to equally balance jobs with studies. This also relates to the amount of free time that we have in our schedules, because many of us have one hour plus gaps in our schedules. In these gaps we may choose to study in the library or to work a part-time job to cover any costs that we may need to cover. Not only are part-time jobs the only employment opportunities, but with the Co-Op program offered at Stevens for selecting degree programs, internship opportunities are more abundant with great companies. In addition to the current five-year Co-Op program, there are Networking Nights that will be setup on campus to bring recruiters to us Steven’s students.
As you have read this article, I am sure that you have begun to realize the number of opportunities and freedoms that college offers in contrast to high school. There is no doubt that we will be able to take advantage of this and make the most of our college career at Stevens.
