College Preparedness: Is It Possible To Be Motivated By A Lie?

According to The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, the national high school graduation rate in 2002 for all public school students was about 71%. Although students appear to be doing well at the secondary level, they don't even get a chance to experience schooling at the undergraduate level. The evidence for this phenomenon is that the requirements to graduate from high school are not up to par with the requirements to apply to a four year university; hence limited enrollment (Greene and Winters, 2005). Is it possible to be motivated by a lie?

Suit Up For War

Over the past 5 weeks, we've conversed about countless thought-evoking topics. We've discussed everything from stress management to time management to financial management, so now what?

Peer Pressure! Which is extremely hard to resist...especially when you're smack in the middle of it.

“Why resist?” you ask? I’ll tell you why!

To successfully graduate college! Why else?

But there are so many other important reasons too- -for a better life, to become self-independent, etc. The options are really endless.

So DO NOT waste your whole entire life on just one stupid decision! 

Should you REALLY be drinking that? 

• Did you know that 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries? 

Should you REALLY be fornicating? It's not like you're the only one who isn't.

• Do you know that approximately 25 percent of college students in the United States have never fornicated?

Yes, it’s true. College is stressful. Not everybody can stand the stress (or so they think), but we each must find our own source of inspiration and perseverance, which can be hard since now we can actually think for ourselves (we are no longer told what we WILL do). For me, my inspiration comes from religion and my perseverance is driven by the financial stability and independence that will come along with my Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Everyone is different. Find what works for you; but through it all, be tenacious and don't lose faith!

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Money On My Mind

Man, I wish I had a money tree growing in my backyard! 

Being a college student is not cheap!

Wells Fargo believes that the expenses of the average college student are:

• $9,047: Room and Board (dorm or apartment costs, water, electricity/gas, cable, Internet, phone, and/or food)
• $1,137: Books and Supplies (books, school supplies, lab fees, and/or a computer)
• $1,989: Personal Expenses (clothing, laundry, toiletries, haircuts, and entertainment)
• $1,073: Transportation (vehicle fees, parking, gas, maintenance, and travel costs)
• Variable: Miscellaneous (insurance premiums,monthly cell phone bills, or health expenses not covered by insurance, such as office visits, treatment, and/or prescriptions)

So the average student spends an additional $13,246 (AT THE VERY LEAST) plus the cost of tuition, which is already high enough!

And have you thought about what students who pay for their own bills must go through on a monthly bases?

College is one of those times when you are really tempted to splurge (i.e. going out to eat daily, shopping all the time, having lots of extra curricular activities, etc.), yet you shouldn’t (financially speaking)…but you do anyway.

Money management is one of those essential life lessons that we must begin to practice starting NOW because once we become “full-fledged” adults, we won’t have anyone to fall back on when we make poor financial decisions.

Ways to lessen spending and actually conserve money include: 

• Cooking instead of eating out
• Renting textbooks instead of buying them
• Carpooling to save on gas
• Only have a limited amount of money in your wallet, so that you aren't tempted to spend your life savings at the mall 

Utilizing these tips will definitely keep money off your mind.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Shut Up and Drive

HOOOOOONNNKKKKK!

To this day I still don't understand traffic--do you?

Being a commuter, traffic is one of my worst enemies. There seems to be traffic only when I am on the road. Crazy right?

And at this point, I’m done for. Traffic or not; mom can no longer write fake notes about having doctor’s appointments at 7:00 am. I’m sure that we've all been there.

College is hard enough as it is, but being a commuter is a whole other job in itself. Not only must I get my work done at night, but I have to make sure that I’m up and ready to leave AT LEAST an hour before my first class. you would think that that allotted 1 hour time slot  would be enough but the scary part is when it takes me over an hour to get to school.

Yikes!

Being a commuter also means that I can’t attend that midnight breakfast in Rockland or participate in an all night study group the night before the big BIO 113 exam. It’s all good though.

Although it may sound that being a commuter is a bad choice, I would heavily disagree. Personally, I enjoy having a separation between home and school. I also enjoy my personally space as well as cleanliness and occasional solitude, which cannot be guaranteed if you are sharing 1 suite with up to 6 people. 

The Washington Post recently wrote an article on the pros of being a commuter and basically concluded that commuting is the best choice financially. 

Although commuting probably IS the best financial choice, you should consider your personality and sociability as well. Everybody is different so do what works best for you!





“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Don’t Worry Be Happy

Have you ever felt as if your mind was about to explode? That’s how I felt when I was trying to juggle all those college applications and Advanced Placement classes simultaneously. The stress ends in high school? 

This week I had 3 assessments and countless assignments all due around the same time….nope, it continues throughout college and pretty much for the rest of your life.

-- Sorry

Since we’ve only been told about the positive side of college (and life in general), I’m sure that this is quite shocking to you.

National Public Radio conducted a study on stressed Americans and found the following information: 

• 9% of Americans are stressed due to life changes or transitions
• 36% of Americans are stressed due to an income < $20,000/year
• 70% of Americans are stressed due to a lack of sleep
• 47% of Americans age 18 to age 65 are stressed due to financial issues
• 65% of Americans age 18 to age 65 are stressed due to having too many responsibilities overall

Well gee--that’s us…

According to the study, maybe we are more stressed; maybe even more stressed than we actually think.

The transition from childhood to basically adulthood is not easy. I will be the very first person to tell you that it is not a simple adjustment that is made over night. It takes a lot of devotion and dedication. 

Maybe we should follow Robert Frost’s advice and take the road less traveled by [others]…maybe it actually WILL make all the difference.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Found Myself Dreaming

Beep…beep….beep...beep! Your alarm clock wakes you up 6:00 am in order to make it to you 8:00 am class. You have class literally all day long. You conclude your already LONG day with a 4-hour photography class from 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm. You get in your car and drive home, only to do it all again tomorrow.

If your schedule is anything like that, then I know for a fact that you are tired. My longest day is from Wednesday, where I'm in class from 8:00 am till 9:00 pm. Thank God I have a few breaks in between there but as you know, a break doesn't equal free time--reading emails from teachers, finishing a lab write-up, studying for a quiz, etc. It’s ALL SO TIRING!

In Sleep and Breathing, we are exposed to the idea that the students with the highest academic performance had significantly earlier bedtimes. While this is fine and dandy, WE ALL ASPIRE TO GO TO BED EARLY! IF IT WAS THAT EASY, WE WOULD’VE DONE IT BY NOW!

Poor time management skills definitely contribute to cases of sleep deprivation. As young adults, we should be getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily? Do you get that much sleep? I know that I don’t!

Looking for solutions? Have any solutions to share?

Something that I do is use weekends to work ahead so that during the week I can actually sleep.

So go ahead, go to sleep…but don’t forget to turn in that last assignment on Blackboard before 11:59 pm.

Goodnight.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Mommy, I Want To Be A...(Part 2)

Does your major in college determine what your life profession will be? You tell me because I still don’t know! 

When I was applying to college, I changed my major at least 3 times--from biology to psychology to neuroscience. It’s funny because my current major is none of those 3. 

About a month ago I was exploring my school’s website when I came across a major I had never heard of called Interdisciplinary Studies. As I read into it further, I realized that I could technically construct my OWN unique major! I could pick from 2 major disciplines and take classes applicable to both AND still graduate college in 4 years OR LESS! Phenomenal right?

The National Center For Education Statistics (NCES) states that 59% of students who began seeking a 4-year bachelor’s degree in 2007 actually received their degree by 2013. This statistic is astonishing…why would it take 6 years to get a 4-year degree? 

The University of La Verne declares that “50% – 70% of students change their majors at least once, most changing [their] majors at least 3 times before they graduate.” So the issue is choosing a major…

Most college students cannot even fathom what they'll be doing over spring break much less for the rest of their lives. I, for one, do not know what I actually want to do in life. For now I’m pursuing neurosurgery, but that may very well change. My advice to students deciding on a major would be to plan your major around your career goal as opposed to planning your career goal around your major. In other words, your major DOES NOT determine what career you may possess in the near future. 

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Mommy, I Want To Be A...(Part 1)

What do you want to be when you grow up? I’m sure that we all remember being asked that question as a tender-hearted child with lofty goals. All of our responses to that question were always something farfetched or something that just seemed cool--I want to be an astronaut, a firefighter, a superhero…what do you major in to be a superhero?

Forbes polled elementary school children on their dream jobs and concluded that 7 out of 33 5-year-olds want to be superheroes; while, 5 out of 33 6-year-olds say they want to grow up to be firefighters which make $44,130 a year according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Children are very indecisive and are incapable of making such important decisions due to their young age. Before you know it, it’s fall of your senior year and you are forced to pick 1 out of the hundreds of majors out there.

In high school they place such a large emphasis on choosing a major, but is your major really that important? An 18-year-old does not know what he/she wants to the do as a career, which explains the frequent change of majors seen in undergraduate students. I have already changed my major 3 times and it’s only my first semester!

Should you compromise your passion for practicality? The NY Times conducted a study in which 9 out of 10 students claim that picking an interesting major is way more important than picking a practical major. What would you do?
It is best to find a common ground.

We all want to be “successful,” but success is in the eye of the beholder. As long as you are happy and content, you ARE successful.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

Turn Down For What?!?!?

While many of you may be asking “Turn Down For What?,” most of us are wondering “Turn Up For What?!?!”

Last week Tuesday in my biology class, some kids were talking about going to the beach the weekend before midterms…the infamous line, “I’ll just wing it.”

Yesterday, I was in the library talking to one of my chemistry classmates about an upcoming assessment. His response: “A test? The week of Homecoming? Obviously I’m not going to study.”

I was utterly amazed. How could someone just blatantly trade preparing for an assessment for socializing?

The American Freshman Survey conducted a survey and found that only 18% of students spend more than 16 hours per week socializing while a whopping 38.8% of students spend less than 5 hours per week socializing.

I can definitely attest to this! I have been in college for 9 WEEKS now and I still have yet to “socialize”. NO! I don’t just do school work 24/7 but with college comes a whole new lifestyle (at least for most of us that is). Personally, I am drained after having class literally all day long and then when I think about homework, exercising, dinner, and then doing it all over again tomorrow, I am just too weak to even fathom socializing BUT I  know I’m not the only one. My friend A.D. is a Communications major at UMD and my other friend is a Biochemistry major at SU--both feel that the talk about college is simply hype.

It may seem like everyone is parting but in reality, very few are. Don’t feel like you are the only one studying, because you aren’t. Try to socialize as much as you can but also, stay true to yourself  and don’t try to be someone that you aren't.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

To Be, Or Not To Be: That Is The Question

Where has the time gone? My grandmother frequently said, “If it’s not one thing, it’s one thing” and that is so true! Tests, Quizzes, Homework, Attending Lecture, 3-Hour Labs…IT IS JUST ALL TOO MUCH!

Time Management is key!

Time Management is such an individual thing, everybody has to find what works for them. There are so many tips, guides, and opinions on the topic that its just way too overwhelming. I am no expert. I am still trying to figure it all out myself, but don't worry -- it may take a while.

8 weeks into my first semester, I am still figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Something that doesn't work is reading every single word of the textbook. If you read the textbook from cover to cover, you are setting yourself up for disaster and I learned that the hard way.

Another things that slowly creeps up on you is procrastination. In college, procrastination is like the devil: it seems good at first but at the end of the day, it always bites you in the butt. DO NOT listen to that little voice in your head that tells you to do it tomorrow, NO! Do it NOW while you have the time because tomorrow will bring it’s own struggles.


All in all, prioritizing is crucial. Is pulling an "all-nighter" to play Grand Theft Auto V more important than studying for tomorrow’s test? You tell me.

Some people are able to do everything at the last minute and still succeed but for the rest of us who are actually human, we must effectively manage our time to get everything done in a timely fashion.
















“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva

I'm In The Midst Of It All

 

Do you like change? Do you adjust to new situations easily? How well do you know yourself? 

These are questions that I find myself asking and answering on a regular basis as I embark on this next chapter in my life. I am a first semester commuting freshman at Stevenson University in Stevenson, Maryland in pursuit of becoming a neurosurgeon. 

I’m quickly realizing that college is nothing like what we’ve watched in the movies. It’s a lot of hard work, not only academically but socially as well. It is definitely a full time job in itself. 

We are basically planning our life; yet, nobody has ever had the decency to actually tell us the truth! They camouflage the truth using flowery clichés. The transition from high school to college is different for EVERYBODY. They ought to tell us that high school is the time of our lives…it’s laid back, we don't have to worry about making life-changing decisions, and most importantly IT’S FREE! 

In addition to cost, there is other lacking preparation. According to this fancy institute, “40% of white students who graduated from high school in 2002 were considered ‘college-ready,’ compared to 23% of African-American students, and 20% of Hispanic students.” Most of us college students don't have money trees in our backyards and cannot afford to “find ourselves” for tens of thousands of dollars per year. 

No! I don't have all the answers for you incoming freshman or for you concerned parents, but I do aspire to expose some truth from the experiences that I have had thus far.

“To know yourself, you must first sacrifice the illusion that already you do.” 
― Vironika Tugaleva