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Hi my name is Cihan Yildiz. I’m a nice and friendly person that likes to go out and spend time with people i like. I moved to United States three years ago from Turkey and when i first moved here I didn’t speak a word of English. It was really hard for me to adopt but now I don’t really have problems with the language. I’m a hard worker I always work hard for something i really want. I love spending time with my family, and girlfriend. Even if I am in a really bad mood, just seeing them can put me back in a good mood.

My top 3 concerns about college are getting good grades, enjoying the college life, and learning how to study. I need to get good grades to pass my classes so i don’t think I need to explain why I need good grades. I didn’t just come here to learn, i want to have some fun too. I don’t think I have ever studied for a test in my life, that’s why I always have to pay attention in class and get everything. After I get home only school work I do is my homework, I never spend any time going over the stuff we learned, and i know that that has to change for me to be accomplished.

Baruch College is not that different from the high school i went to. I went to high school for one year in Turkey and I can tell that that was so much harder than my freshman year here. The only difference I’ve seen so far from high school is that we actually have to do our homework. I think I only did like four or five homeworks in high school. I would just use the lie that my English is not good enough so I didn’t really get what we had to do so they wouldn’t really say anything, but here that probably won’t work. I actually want to do my homework because I believe it will help me know more about the stuff we learned in class so I don’t really have a problem with that.

I think my first year of College will make me a more mature person. I used to not care about anything and just think about having fun, drinking, going out, getting with some hot girls but since College started I’m trying to figure out what I want to be and I don’t have as much time as I used to, to do that stuff. I already feel more mature than I used to be. I respect people more than I used to do, I don’t make fun of people as much as  I used to. I also believe College helps us finds friends that we may be friends with for the rest of our lives, or the people that we’re going to do business with.

By Selin Celebi

I think I am a very well rounded individual. I think Im unique in my own ways, and Im very competitive when it comes to a challenge. I enjoy being pushed to my limits because then I feel like I always tried my best and thats all that matters. Im also a very fun person and I love to explore new things, and travel to new places and find out new things about myself all the time.

My top three concerns about my freshman year at Baruch would be time management, studying, and being able to keep my social life. I think time management is my main concern because everything else ties into that. I was never an organized person before college, but I think college is somewhat making me become an organized person. Its important that I manage my time accordingly, and I get all my work done on time so that I can have a social life outside of school. Studying is also another concern, because I really despise studying, but I’m somewhat forced to study now that Im in college and the work is a a lot more than in high school. My social life is my last concern because I think its really important that you have a good balance between work and leisure, so that your never too overwhelmed. I think having a social life balances everything out because its your free time to just get away from school and forget all the things you have to do for a couple of hours.

The one thing that makes the Baruch College experience different from High School is the freedom. I think in college you have a lot more freedom to do whatever you want. You have a lot more options to make choices on your own, and you don’t have teachers constantly bugging you to get things done, its all your own responsibility. I think having this freedom makes life a lot easier. You get to finally be an adult and do things on your own and make your own choices.

I think my first year in college will help me mature and take on my own responsibilities. I think it will help me “grow up” into an adult, and learn how to do things on my own, and realize that someone isn’t always going to be there to remind me that I have to do certain things. Its all my own responsibility now, and its up to me to get things done.  I think my first year here will change me in many ways, but all for the better, and in all ways which will be beneficial to my future.

My name is Michelle Persico. I don’t think I really know exactly who I am yet. I think that college is going to help me figure that out. I know that I am a good person. I feel better about myself when I help other people. I tend to put others before myself, and sometimes that does not always work out in my favor. I am an independent person. I like doing things for myself, like working. I work as a waitress but I really grew up a lot from my job. I am a lot more mature because I have had to handle money and other things on my own.

My top three concerns are

1) Adjusting to the different types of classes:

College classes are a lot different than high school. The teachers in high school are on top of everything you do. They always make sure you are doing your work. In college it is up to you to get things done. Everything is your own responsibility. I am a responsible person, but the adjustment might be difficult.

2) Studying more:

I am not the type of person that can sit down for hours and study. I was never like that and I never did that in high school. I know that I will need to figure out a way to study better. My grades wont be good if I just wing it on every test.

3) Meeting people:

Since I commute every day from Staten Island I am always going home after school. Most of the people I am meeting dorm. They all hang out in their building and go out together at night. I am home every night. I have been meeting people, but only spending time with them during school hours.

The professors are making a huge difference. They are not at all like high school teachers. They don’t check up on you to make sure your doing your work. If you don’t do something in high school you are reprimanded. In college the professors don’t say anything, you just won’t get a good grade. I am used to being around a lot of people because my high school had 4,000 students. However I was with the same people everyday for 4 years. I feel like every time I walk around Baruch I am seeing different people.

I think that I will grow up more in my first year. I am going to be on my own. This will force me into becoming more mature. I also think that I will introduced to a mixture of different people, and that is going to help me learn and grow more too.

My name is Joseph Catarcio though I don’t think anyone says Joseph, most people just call me Joe or by my last name. I consider myself a quiet person that usually keeps to myself especially if I’m around people I don’t know. Once I get to know someone though, I can become extremely outgoing.

Some of the concerns I have about Baruch and college in general are ones that have already been brought up by others. The first one is the amount of work I’m going to get and how I’m adjusting to it. I did take AP classes in high school (five to be exact) and I was also in honors classes so I already have a feel for what college may be like. The thing that worries me is going from senior year of high school to freshman year of college. Admittedly, I slacked off in senior year not doing much of anything. People I knew that had graduated the year before said one of their hardest adjustments was doing nothing their final year of high school to doing tons of work freshman year. So far, I’ve done pretty good in that aspect but it should get more challenging as more reports come up. The hardest part was getting into the groove of doing work again which I believe I’ve done.

Another concern I have is managing time. One thing that I’m big on is getting things done on time and early. In my four years at high school, I was never late to school once nor handed in any major assignments late. As I start college though, I have a job which takes away some time where I would do homework and study and I get home later now than I had in any of my previous years of school. I have to figure out how to balance my increased workload at school with my job as well as downtime for myself. It won’t be easy and it’s something I’m still getting adjusted to at this moment but it’s something I have to do in order to get good grades.

Though there are obstacles and adjustments to go through this year, I feel that this is the easiest transition from school to school for me so far. It helped that I already knew people here and that I knew what I was getting into work wise. Also, Baruch did a good job showing us around the school’s campus and library prior to classes starting so that we get a feel of where everything is. The first semester is usually rough with all of the things I’ve listed but I’m already starting to feel comfortable in the school.

My name is Nicole Gluck. I think I am a very strange person. The only thing I need for satisfaction in life is humor, and I don’t take many things seriously out of habit, which can sometimes get me into trouble. I think a lot, probably more than a person should, and I am very erratic in my decision making. I have a very addictive personality, however, which causes me to be a routine-oriented person, despite the inconsistency of the choices I make. I am an easily bored and confused person, but I believe I can also have a very stimulating personality when I eventually open up to people. I like to chill.

My top three concerns about my freshman year at Baruch College are: 1. getting enough sleep 2. getting good grades 3. actually learning something

1. I love to sleep. It might be my favorite. So far I’ve been sleep deprived and it’s not fun, because I can’t function as a normal human being without an adequate amount of sleep.
2. Everyone wants to get good grades so this is self explanatory.
3. I want to manage to retain all of the knowledge that I acquire my first year at Baruch. I don’t want to forget all of the new things I learn (I have a terrible memory).

College doesn’t seem to be that much different from high school, actually. The classes (for the most part) are the same size and the homework (for the most part) is very similar to what I did in high school. The only different things are the fun parts. For example, I have known every single person in my graduating class since preschool, I know everything about them, and have seen their faces every day since then. There was close to no on in my entire high school whose name I didn’t know. At Baruch, however, you see a new face every day so it’s pretty interesting. Also, there is a lot more freedom here, which forces students to practice responsibility and time management. So, I suppose it is different in some respects but surprisingly similar in others.

I think my first year of college will probably change me a good amount. I can’t tell you how, though, because it’s just the beginning. I’m sure that the experiences I have and the people I meet and all that stuff will have a large effect on me, but usually I’m not one to change. I like to keep myself in a particular mind-set at all times, whether that is beneficial to my development as a person or not. So, I’ll definitely still be myself, I guess maybe just a little bit smarter.

Hi, my name is Wasim Salim and I am someone who is approachable and trustworthy.

Things that I am concerned with during my freshman year at Baruch is getting used to the college course load.  So far my college course load has been very similar to the coursework I received in high school. I went to a IB school so this is probably why college courses aren’t that new to me. Another concern that I have is about making friends. Not that making friends is hard for me its just that I feel that people at commuter schools keep to themselves. I also worry about not enjoying my time at Baruch because of its characteristic of being a  commuter school. However, I have been told by Baruch seniors and alumni that the only way to enjoy yourself at Baruch is to get involved.

My high school was really small and we had a pretty bad building. So most things that stand out to me at Baruch has to do with aesthetics. The vast amount of resources and facilities Baruch has makes college different from high school. Academically, Baruch is different because of the variety of courses that are available. In addition, the community at Baruch is much larger then the community I had in highschool. I hope to meet many new people and get involved in many new activities.

My first year at Baruch will probably help me individualize myself more. College is where your supposed to find out who you are and how you learn. This is because the college learning environment is much more looser then it is in high school. There is nobody breathing down your neck and no one to hold your hand so you learn how to help your self in college.

My name is James Selig. I think I am a quiet and shy person, and having conversations isn’t exactly my strong point. I also think that I am misunderstood. Often, people mistake me for being reclusive and somewhat antisocial. I don’t mean to be this way; I just have trouble expressing myself sometimes.

I have many concerns about my freshman year at Baruch College, but my top 3 are:

1) Adjusting to a new found sense of independence.

2) Adjusting to the “college culture” (i.e., figuring out how to fit in)

3) Passing all my classes with reasonably good grades.

Based on the first few weeks, I think my experiences in Baruch will be entirely different from what I experienced in my high school. For starters, no one is there to watch over you. In high school, the teachers all wanted you to succeed and went out of their way to make sure that happened. My high school had many guidance counselors and other staff that were always more than willing to proffer advice and, well, guidance. Here at Baruch, the professors all seem to genuinely care, but the fact that there are many more people in each class seems to hinder their ability to help individual students. Also, the classes are much longer in college than they were in my high school. It definitely takes some adjusting to be able to sit through an hour-and-a-half class without losing focus. Lastly, the sheer size of Baruch College is very different from my high school. There are classes spread out amongst two different huge buildings in the middle of busy Manhattan. Crossing the street to get to your next class is truly an adventure and can be a matter of life and death, with cars whizzing by as we cross the street.

I think my first year at college will change me for the better. I hope to become much more outgoing and more open to new things. So far, college has forced me to become much more independent. In Baruch, I feel like I am a minuscule small fish in a big, enormous, and massive pond. I think that my first year in college will teach me how to fit in to that pond and adapt to my surroundings.

What is going everyone? My name is Nick as you may already know and this is our blog for everyone in our for class. Lets have good semester and have fun in our class. Peace!