Written by Julia Hornyak and Tejas Patel |
Each year college freshmen return to Morgan to share their experiences from their first semester. Alumni from the class of 2015 spoke to juniors and seniors about college life and gave them advice on what to expect. The alumni included Bailey Shea, Hayley Haggerty, Chase LeMay, Charlie Bencivengo, Chris Seales, Tulsi Patel, Raegan Riley, Jess Acceta, Abby Andrews, Lucas Cummings, and Shelby Mehmet. The Guidance Department runs this event so that juniors and seniors can relate to those their age and see how they have transitioned from high school to college.
The panel started off with the Morgan grads stating their names, the college they attend, their major (if they have one), and their housing situation. All the students lives on campus unless they attended a community college in which this case they commute.
If you were not able to attend the College Panel, here is a video below with highlights from the event!
[wpvideo S0hm1skq]
Below are the questions asked followed by a sampling of the responses:
- Was there any special orientation at your school? What was it like?
- orientation has lots of icebreakers
- it can be either all day or overnight
- some provide first year experience class which is similar to Freshmen Course here at Morgan
2. How was the first month of school? What did you go through emotionally and how did you cope with the transition? Sometimes kids may be lonely, were you?
- you need to put yourself out there and actually do stuff
- go to club fairs
- find a friend group
- dorms will do activities to bring everyone together, and that is a good way to meet people
- make friends with those in your classes
3. Do you have any roommates? What is your roommate situation like? Did you have any issues?
- you need to set guidelines with your roommate
- respect each other’s possessions
- actually communicate with each other to make it less awkward
- you can coexist with your roommate. You do not have to be friends
- you will grow apart from friends at home, and they will become your friends
- do not be turned away if you have more than one roommate
- keep your door open to make friends with others on your floor
4. Do you share a bathroom? Were there any issues? Was this an adjustment?
- definitely invest in some shower shoes
- if you share a bathroom, be respectful of other’s belongings
- keep it clean
- beware of the Sunday morning bathroom
- do not take long showers
- always knock before you enter
- be friendly to janitors
5. What is the party scene like at your school?
- half of the students had dry campuses while the others had “wet” campuses
- they set up sober ride groups for the safety of the students and will cost a few dollars
- remember school comes first before anything else including partying
6. What is the workload like at college? How is it different from high school?
- you get the syllabus on the first day and figure out when everything is due. So make sure you save all papers from teachers. They are important! Teachers will not remind you when you have a quiz or paper coming up. It is your responsibility to know the deadlines and have everything done by then.
- there are a lot of online quizzes
- you need to actually study for tests
- can get a tutor
- study what you learned after class to absorb information because quizzes are usually before class the next time it meets
- invest in a planner
- do not buy textbooks
- get an Amazon student account and rent them
- usually there will be a buy and sell Facebook page (not solely for books can be furniture or anything else people are selling)
- students use Facebook more often. It becomes popular again
7. Any advice or last minute things you want to say?
- sports teams become your families
- drama does not change
- make an effort to get to know your professors
- size of class does not matter unless you get to know your professor
- build relationship with the TA as well if you cannot always talk to your professor
