LC 23

1) I never really had high expectations for college to begin with, so Baruch has surpassed my expectations. I did think more people would be in the school spirit promoting people to come to basketball games that sort of thing. I didn’t realize I would be getting this much work. I knew I would have to put time into work but I am really not used to getting all this work at once all being due around the same time.  I knew commuting to college would be irritating but I still haven’t managed to get used to it. Hopefully, that will change in the next couple of weeks.

2) I think my first semester is going pretty similar to many of the other freshman this year. We’re all still trying to adjust to the work, and time management is a bitch. I’m enjoying this semester because of the friends I made, and the clubs and team I have joined. I did slack off which resulted in me doing poorly in classes I did not think I would have done that bad in, but that’s my own fault. I should have spent less time doing work, then just going home and relaxing. I now know for next semester.

3) If I could go back and change something, it would definitely be trying harder, and putting in 100% into all the work I do. I would also not procrastinate as much, because i did that a lot. Putting more effort into my homework and studying would have made this semester less stressful.

4) I don’t think I changed since college started. I think I became more aware that college isn’t all fun and games and that you need to put in the work to do well unlike high school.

5) Next semester i hope to get my act together and keep a very high GPA while doing well in softball. I hope we become the  CUNYAC championship. I hope that i learn to manage my time well enough that I can start playing the piano again, and become as good as i used to be.

The experience at Baruch did not live up to my expectations. It is not so much the school but more of my fault. I think I have yet to experience the things I’m supposed to when I’m in college. I think it is only because I didn’t endeavor to do so. I didn’t join any clubs or make friends (to hang out with). Many people told me that if they can go back and repeat a time of their life, they would go back to college. I want to look back at my experiences and say the same thing.

The first semester went by quickly. Before I know it the end was already approaching. I think I got mediocre grades. I can’t be too proud of myself when I know I could have done better. Next semester I’m determined to change my ways. First I would spend less time doing useless things and read more. The results in my works really reflect on how much time I spend on it. Studying should also be the same. Perhaps dividing up the work would be a better method to study that would fit into my work and school schedule. Another lesson I learned was always communicate with you professor. They are there to help you. Furthermore, sitting near the front makes it easier to participate and ask questions in class.

If I can go back in time and change something, I think I would spend more time in the library than at home. I recently realized the satisfying feeling when one is being productive with time. If I did maybe I could of slept more and participate in other school related activities.

I’m did not change much since I started college. I see the world a little bit different from before. Anthropology and Philosophy works have open my mind to question what I had deemed as natural and fixed. In a way it helps me understand how the world functions. I guess what I’m trying to say it encourage me to be skeptical.

My goal for the next semester is the same as it was when I started college that is time management, the key to a successful college year/ social life. I want to feel healthy and free of stress. I want to enjoy what college has to offer and more, so I will strive for improvements until the day I graduate.

Based on my experience at Baruch College, I felt that it has lived up to my expectations. As a high school student, I often thought that college would not be as hectic. There would be a lot more gaps in between classes, instead of that 5 minute break to run from one class to another. I also thought that being a college student would promote one’s sense of self independence and the ability to juggle one’s work load more efficiently. So far, these expectations have all been met, especially as the semester draws to a close. These gaps helped give me a break after long lectures, although at times, I do feel that some of these breaks are longer than I had expected. Being in college made me realize that we have to do everything ourselves and can’t keep relying on others to do them for you, and so in a sense, I became more independent. As for the workload, I expected the workload to be far greater than in high school, but now and again, I would still have trouble keeping up with it. Hence, my expectations have been met, but at times, I still needed to make adjustments.

I think my first semester went pretty well after I became adjusted to the environment of the school. So far, I do not think I am doing badly in my classes, but there are times when I know I could have done better. I felt that my first semester at Baruch College gave me an idea of what the rest of my experiences would be like and I think that is a good thing. It helped prepare me for what I should expect in the future and hopefully, this would reflect positively in my grades.

If I can do my first semester all over again, I would definitely stop my habit of procrastinating sooner. During the first few weeks of college, there weren’t much work and this gave me the notion that there really is not much work during the first year of college. However, when work started piling up towards the middle and end of the semester, I realized quickly how off I was. If I had gotten rid of the lingering effects of senioritis and my procrastinating habits, I would have been more prepared instead of feeling like I’m playing catch up all the time. Another thing is I would have chosen a different schedule, one that would not have such big gaps between classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is because at times, I feel frustrated that I have to be in school and wait two hours or so for my next class to begin, while I can be somewhere doing something.  

I do not think I have changed much since being in Baruch, although I have to say, I became more opened to the opinions flowing around me. I find myself learning more by just observing people and hearing what they have to say instead of sticking to certain facts and not budging on my view of them. I have not changed much in other aspects of my life, although anything can happen in the future.

My experience at Baruch College has certainly met my expectations. Upon entering college, i had an inkling of the work load i was to encounter. Friends and relatives already attending college forewarned me of the work, but my high school experience had not prepared me. With time i have adjusted to college life, and balanced my priorities. As of now, the grades for most of my classes are relatively high, with the exception of one class: public administration. The grades for this class are not very low, but can definitely be better. I hope to raise my grade in this class by doing well on the final exam. I dislike the seniority based scheduling system because it is difficult to acquire a class with a good professor, but i respect it.

Apart from adjusting to the level of work, my first semester at Baruch went well. I like the Baruch business/profession atmosphere. I joined the MSA (Muslim Student Association) where i made friends with upperclassmen who have been ‘showing me the ropes.’ The folks at the association are very welcoming and a great way to learn about the school, in addition to the learning communities. I am not involved in school activities as i would like to be, but i hope to change that in the future semesters.

If i could relive my first semester, I would become more involved in school activities. There are a plethora of clubs at my disposal, and i have not utilized them. I would also have visited the STARR career center to begin building my resume and interview skills.

Since i entered college, i have become more of a hermit. It is difficult to balance work and play, but i am developing punctuality and time-management. I cannot remember the last time i spent quality time with my friends. It saddens me to have to reject my friends persistent requests to ‘chill’ during the weekends. I am also focused on my work, as i wish to lay a strong foundation for my college career with a high GPA. College has also opened my eyes to the world of grammar. I must credit professor Hentzi (my writing professor) for his patience in dealing with a room full of chirping crickets when he asks questions regarding the mechanics of grammar. As time passes, i am beginning to notice myself become more comfortable talking in public. Before, i would prefer to keep to myself, but i realize interaction is key in networking, which will allow me to find jobs and make life-long friends.

Thus far my experience at Baruch College has met my expectations. I entered with a set of goals, and I appear to be on track for meeting them. I didn’t really expect anything I could have encountered here to be an obstacle of any sort, though the scheduling of classes could have been better. I prefered my high school’s scheduling system, wherein I had classes continuously from a set time until a set time with little breaks in between. I think the considerable temporal gap between classes (especially on Mondays and Wednesdays) isn’t the most conducive to my performance, for once my brain leaves academic mode it can take a while for it to return.

I think my first semester has gone decently well. My grades are all high, but I’ve recently developed grade-anxiety. After taking tests or handing in other major projects I tend to over-ponder about it even though I realize no amount of thinking can now affect what’s in my professor’s hands. I am relieved when my professors return things to me, but soon the cycle repeats when something else is due.

If given the chance, I would have either grouped my current classes more contiguously or taken more classes to fill the time gap between my classes as they currently are. Though the latter proposal would squeeze out work-study (which can be readjusted accordingly), I feel that, at the same time, it would have been a better vehicle for the achievement of my goals.

Since I arrived here, I have become more focused in my schoolwork. I have also had to become more independent, for now I have more decisions to make. For example, lunch wasn’t an issue in high school, but now, given the overall high prices and dearth of local dining options, I have had to adapt accordingly (but I won’t reveal my secret plan). I also participate more often in college than I did in high school, though it’s hard to pinpoint the precise source of the newfound confidence, which I hope will carry over into other aspects both now and in the future. Further, because of the spare time I have between classes and workstudy, I have had more time to read many interesting literary works (though most are from the philosophy anthology–I might not finish the entire thing before I have to return it, for it is a library book) such as Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols. My English teacher also recommended the author in passing, but I probably would have read him on my own anyway.

As a closing comment, I’d like to say that one of the positives is the integrating nature of the learning community system. In high school most of my classes were isolated contentwise, but here I have been able to incorporate many instances of history and philosophy in multiple classes.

Baruch has not lived up to of my expectations. I knew when I was going to start college, the workload would increase but not to such a high degree. At the beginning, it was extremely hard for me to make the transition into college mostly because of the difference in the workload the teachers give in high school than in college. I also didn’t expect to find so many business and accounting majors in the school. I knew that Baruch was business oriented; however, I didn’t think I would meet so many freshmen, who already know they are going to major in business management or marketing. Considering the liberal arts school at Baruch has many more majors to offer than the Zicklin, I have met very few students who plan to go in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. I have also recently discovered that Baruch doesn’t offer a lot of time for a student to explore because if one plans to apply to the Zicklin School of Business, he or she are required to take a number of courses before the student is able to get in. This aspect of Baruch has really disappointed me and has even led me to consider transferring because I feel I need more time to explore in college before I choose a major that I know I’ll love and cherish.

I think my first semester went pretty well, even though I know I could better. I am satisfied with my current grades, considering that I had to transition and become accustomed to the workload. However, I feel that I have been improving throughout the course of the semester and I know I can do much better next semester because I have an idea of how it would be like.

I wouldn’t have taken five classes because I hate spreading myself too thin. I understand that in order to graduate in four years, one has to take at least five classes per semester. Despite this fact, I would have preferred taking four classes because then I would have been able to concentrate more on my classes and not have to worry about another class. Although it might take me a little longer to finish school, I preferred graduating with a high G.P.A. Also, the additional time will allow me to work or do internships, which I was unable to do this semester.

I don’t think I have dramatically changed, if anything, I would say I’m more educated in grammar and in government policy. Before, I didn’t really care about the rules of grammar; I just wrote whatever sounded right to my ears. However, my English professor gave me some insight of the mechanics of grammar and I understand it more clearly than before. Moreover, I became more outgoing in trying to do things for myself and no longer depending on problems to just magically disappear. I am also more open to other ideas and perspectives because of the diversity in Baruch. My high school consisted mostly of only Hispanics; however, I was exposed to different cultures and religions.

Some aspects of my experience at Baruch did not live up to my expectations. I was absolutely not ready for such a great load of work. The transition from high school, where seniors did almost nothing, to college, where students have to complete almost 2 intensive/critical thinking essays weekly and read many chapters in a very short period of time, was terrible! It was very difficult to organize myself in the beginning. Thankfully I met a wonderful, enthusiastic, supportive friend who helped me through the tough assignments, encouraging me to be more focused on the tasks and not fool around during my spare time. There was actually a time when we spent 13 hours straight (with about 10 X-tra large cups of 7-11 coffee!) in the library studying for midterms! Thank you, (you know who you are). I’ve heard rumors saying that professors in college are very ignorant and do not really care about their student. However, I did not particularly find those rumors to be true; or maybe I just got very lucky this semester… All of my professors promptly responded to my emails and tried their best to help me understand the materials which I inquired questions about.

The first semester of college could definitely be better than it was for me. I didn’t have a great transition from HS, as I already mentioned. Also, I always felt rushed about the homework to the point where it seemed as if I wouldn’t be able to get anything done on time. Since I am, or at least was in High School, an A student, receiving B’s for every class (with one exception) is not the most fantastic feeling. And most certainly, I am not too proud about that either. I did meet a few awesome people without whom this semester would be a total disaster!

If I could do it over, I would most likely not work! Those 20 hours are very precious and could be productively used towards completing the homework. I realized that SO MUCH can be done in those 20 hours. However, it is impossible for me to stop working because then there wouldn’t be anybody who could pay for my college tuition. Even now, I do not make enough to cover all of my expenses. Another thing I could try to do differently is delete my Facebook account, or at least limit the amount of time I spend on browsing through it! That social network is extremely addictive and time consuming. Rather than sitting on FB, even for 5 minutes, I could’ve contributed to finish the assignments and study for exams. In addition, I could have been more dedicated to school work right at the begging of the year, not a month into the year. That would have saved me some nerves and wouldn’t put me through as much stress and pressure.

I think I changed a lot since the beginning of the semester. My level of commitment and devotion towards school increased tremendously. My work ethic improved as well. For example, instead of simply reading the texts, I began to annotate and outline them. It actually proved to help a lot in understanding and drawing connections in relation to the material. I also started spending more time in the school library after my classes, because it seems like I can concentrate better in a quiet, undisturbed environment. I have also become more independent, and stopped relying on professors and advisors to spoon feed me and hand everything on a silver platter.

Despite the negative aspects mentions, I am most definitely looking forward to pursuing my education and career at Baruch College.

            My experience at Baruch College has lived up to my expectation. I expected that study process in college will be harder than in high school. I also expected that there will be many new friends and many different classes that I like to take. In reality, as I expected, to study in college is really hard. There are a lot of reading assignments, essays and home works. I am having hard time to do those school works but I am really happy that I met many new friends. I like the classes that I am taking right now. Also I like the environment of Baruch College. It is clean more quiet than high school.

            My first semester at Baruch College was really hard for me. Before I started to go to Baruch College, mentally I was not ready for starting my college life. I could not get away from lazy habit that I had during the senior year in high school. And, right before the day of beginning of class, I had problems with college tuition bill and class schedule. I got stress from those problems so I could not adjust the college life quickly. Because of the lazy habit, when I have many assignments, I procrastinated. Of course, I did not well in my classes during this semester. I feel really bad for it.

            If I can do my first semester all over again, I would do better. I would sincerely do the classes assignments and I would never procrastinate. I had really hard time to prepare the tests in class during my first semester. I would prepare the tests in long time before the day of the tests if I can do my first semester over again. I would pay attention to classes and what I learn from professor more.

            I have changed since I started at Baruch College. I spend my most time with doing the school works. I barely contacts with my friends because of a lot of works. In my high school year, I usually slept at 11 or 12 but now I sleep at 2 or 3. Sometime I do not sleep at all. And I always anxious about school assignment, even though I complete the assignment, so I just got insomnia. But there are many good changes since the beginning at Baruch College. I become more responsible and social. Because I read many texts and books for class works, my knowledge become abundant.

My experience as a college student at Baruch College has been so-so.  It has certainly met my expectations.  I expected Baruch College to have a very busy and active environment filled with many different classes and events participated by a variety of Baruch College students.  I feel that my time at Baruch College is going to be much like my four years in high school.  Both my high school and Baruch College is crowded and noisy at most times.

My first semester at Baruch College was much different than my four years in high school.  The amount of work in college definitely surpasses the amount of work in high school.  As my first semester at Baruch College is almost over, I realized that my senior year in high school was one of the best years of my life.  I barely had any homework to do last year, but this year is completely different.  Everyday is filled with tons of work.  After completing one assignment, there is another assignment due; the work is nonstop.  Despite the constant amount of work everyday, I believe I did average in my first semester.  Most of my classes were fair and average; not too easy and not too difficult.

If I had the chance to do my first semester at Baruch College all over again, I would definitely not procrastinate as much as I do now and learn to manage my time more efficiently.  As of now, I have completed all my assignments on time.  However, there is never time for me to rest because the work just keeps on coming and piling up.  I also need to learn to use my time more wisely, since the limited amount of time in one day is as precious and valuable to me now as a college student.  Furthermore, I would definitely devote more of my time to my Public Administration class.

My first semester at Baruch College has definitely changed me in some aspects.  I have become my sociable; making many new and great friends this semester.  In addition, my fear of public speaking has become less.  Most importantly, I have become more independent.  Realizing that I have to be on my own more often now and in my future, I learned that no one will be giving me “handouts” in college.

My experience in Baruch College has hardly lived up to my expectation. Although this college is great, i did not satisfy my performance this semester at all.

 To be honest, college is not an easy work. I can even equal it to the nightmare-like senior year in Chinese high school– Homework-filled abyss, well, in fact, it’s not that bad. At lease, we developed a precious friendship among classmates, had memory of dealing with troublesome together, getting through difficulty side by side, chasing the same dream hand by hand. Friendship just like breeze when I got frustrated in school works. However, in college, I have to learn to digest all stresses by myself. To be independence is a big lesson in college. I think I did not get a good great of it in first semester, but I still strive for it.

I promised to myself no matter how hard it is. I would never surrender to the challenges. But i did not do well so far. I’m a little bit frustrated. At the beginning of this semester I told myself that I should go to have more communication with new friend; I should be more activated in class; I should spend more time in practicing English; i should preview before class and review after clas; I should talk to professors when I have any problem; I should memorize more new vocabulary every day. But these “shoulds” which were I push myself to do before I came to college were ruined by my characters.  I still cannot make a breakthrough of my individual personality. Until now, I am still unable to feel any improvement on my English.

 My first semester is soso. It seems that I was working on essay every single day, even when I was sleeping, it’s definitely a nightmare. I think my problem is time management; sometimes, I hope I could have 30 hours a day. College is a place to gain knowledge and abilities. I should make full use of these 4 years. Grade is not important; the important thing is that you indeed learn something and you have tried your best. I do not want to be sorry for myself. Life is short, college is shorter. But college is not all about academic performance. i once describe myself that “play like a crazy, study like a lady.” now, i almost forget how to be a crazy. If I can do it again, I would make more friends in club, be more easy-going, and find a way to be myself.  I believe that Each of us has a fire in our heart for something, it’s our goal to find it and keep it lit. I will find my fire sooner or later.

 This semester is almost there; I make a conclusion about my “give” and “take” in this semester and try to do better next semester.