Bethel University-Saint Paul Top Questions

I gotten a new outlook on the possibilities that life has to offer. Not only by being knowledgeable, but by also being able to contribute. To give something back to those less fortunate. The knowledge I gain from college is shared with those around me. I believe that college has shaped me to become a better person. The education I recieve is not only important, but also very rewarding. It is a challenge to get most out of the college experience. To juggle with work, family and hobbies, but in the end it helped me improve in all areas of life. It has been valuable to attend since I learned a lot on how to deal with the real world. Before I started my first semester, I asked myself "Is college right for me?" The only way to find out was to take classes and see if it was right for me. To my amazement, it did become a good choice. Not only did I learn a lot, but I also gained confidence in myself and started to socialize with other students. It made me feel good. Going to college is definitely worth the experience.

I came out of college not only with a feeling of accomplishment, but with a desire to learn more. The things I have experienced during my 3.5 years have changed me for the better. During my college experience, I met many friends that I expected to last forever. Some friendships didn't last to graduation, and that's real life, but I already know of a few friends that I will never lose touch with. Beyond my closest friends, my professors are some of the people I trust the most. College has granted me a safety net of friends and advisors that I can look to and recieve help from in every stage of my future life, whether my trial be academic or otherwise. When I studied through an off-campus program, I was given the means to succeed independently in a strange and different world. Finally, my college experience granted me many class experiences and discussions that have changed, shaped, and opened up the way I think and react to the world around me. Only a month out of college now, I cannot sit in a classroom without feeling compelled to apply for another higher education experience!

I have learned the basics of my future career and how to prepare for it. I have learned many things outside of the classroom as well, such as learning from other people. The strong sommunity life on campus has also allowed me to make life long friendships that make me feel apart of a bigger picture, rather than just being another student at a big university. I feel very accepted and that I fit in at this school. I also like the atmosphere of a Christian school, and it has taught me how to live out my faith. I also like it for the great athletics program. It is a NCAA division III school, which makes it easier to participate in sports without having my academics suffer. Overall, I would recommend this school to anyone who likes a smaller, christian school atmosphere.

My college experience so far has proven valuable to me in so many ways. College has not just given me an invaluable education, but also a broader outlook on life, new opportunities and hope for the future, as well as taking me a step closer to achieving my life-long goals and dreams. However, the single most valuable aspect of my college experience has been the personal pride it has given me. Being the first from my family to ever attend college, has been a proud moment in not only my family's life, but mine as well - especially since attending college has not been easy for me. Being that I am from a lower-middle class family, our household income has prevented me from receiving any assistance. At the same time, my family could not afford to assist much either. As a result, I have worked full-time throughout my entire college career. It has been hard trying to find a class schedule that fits with my work schedule, and vice versa. However, despite my diffiulties I have slowly perservered. College has given me pride in myself.

College has been a time for me to grow as a person. This growth has occurred through the encouragement, high-expectations, and relationships given by and formed with my professors. Due to these three things I have become more responsible, driven, and appreciative. Growth has also occurred in the student life and strong communities found on Bethel’s campus. Because of these I have formed relationships that have helped me grow in my academics, in my spiritual life, and in my acceptance of other people. College relationships have brought me in close contact with people who are also striving to be successful and this has helped me become more successful as well. These relationships have also taught me to always stand up for what I believe in. Lastly, these relationships have been diverse and have driven me to be more accepting of all different kinds of people. Overall, this college experience has been very valuable to me because of the various ways I have grown as a person. Bethel University has shaped me into the successful person I am today, and will continue to shape me far into the future. Because of this, I greatly value my college experience.

Bethel has been a wonderful community for me to make friends, grow in my faith and become academically enriched. I love the campus, which is small, right near a lake with nature paths, but only 15 minutes away from the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. This allows students to be outside and feel like they can get away from the business of school while still easily being able to go to baseball games or concerts downtown. Personally, the relationships I have made at Bethel have been the most influential and important. All of my professors have an open door policy and love helping students in anyway that they are able. They truly care about the students' success. They have become people I can trust and turn to when I need advice on anything, even something nonacademic. I have also made strong friendships that will last my whole life. I am going to be in my freshman roommate's wedding this summer; those types of lasting friendships are not something you will find everywhere. Overall, Bethel has shaped my entire and I am extremely happy with my decision to attend.

Taking into account the things I appreciate and do not apparciate about my school, I have been able to realize how to exist in a community that does not necessarily aline with my beliefs, views, and passions. I have really enjoyed my experiences at this school regardless of the differences I feel I have with it because it has taught me how to be in a community with other people that I disagree with but can still appreciate their view point and values. I have learned about myself and who I am outside of whatever social context I may exist in. Being at my school, I have really discovered what it is that I am passionate about and thats my majors and living in a community that is committed to social justice and reconciliation. I have learned what it means to call myself a social worker, a reconciler, a friend, a sister, a daughter, and a girlfriend. I have been able to understand who I am outside of my family context and who I hope to be in the future.

I have a little piece of paper tucked in my wallet, which came from a fortune cookie I got at a Chinese restaurant in Vail, Colorado. It reads, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself." College for me has been just that: one whirlwind educational and social adventure, building community and friendships with people that I will know and love for the rest of my life. The excellent instruction in my courses has prepared me well for my (reasonably prestigious) internships at United Launch Alliance, and I have been developing my leadership skills as a Coordinator of our new student orientation program, overseeing a staff of 70 students. My involvement in the top concert choir as well as the theatre program has provided me with an attractive balance between science and the arts. College might cost both arms and both legs, but these experiences belong in a Mastercard commerical. As I departed last September for what would be a fantastic semester of study in Edinburgh, I recited a Mark Twain quote to my dear parents, of which the last three words are: "Explore. Dream. Discover." I encourage you to look up the remainder of that quote. Then... catch me if you can!

I feel the best thing that I have gotten out of my college are the friendships that come with it. I found that the social aspect of college is what really makes the experience worth while. My relationships with my teachers tend to also motivate me to make myself better and perform to the best of my ability with the challenges they give me. I find that people at this college really care for my well being and understand the difficulty one can experience during this time. This is valuable to me because the relationships I have formed with my teachers and peers are genuine and something that I can bring outside of Bethel to others.

College has become a place of learning that I would not trade for the world. Alongside the vast amount of learning that goes on in the classroom, from major studies that led to knowing more than I ever thought I would know regarding how molecules interact to general studies that have rounded out my education, I have learned so much about myself by attending college. As cliché as it sounds, college provides a clean slate to begin life. I am not saying that once I stepped on campus I became a totally different person, but I had the opportunity to start fresh. I was able to have my own personality shine through in a way that was not clouded by my associations (some good, some unnecessary) that had accumulated throughout growing up. College provided the environment of friends who were not tied to the biases of my past as I was not tied to theirs, leading to opening up and truly learning about others more meaningful than it had been. Through these friendships as well as through balancing school and challenges some call life, I learned more than I thought I had signed up for when I enrolled in college.

Before entering inot my college experience, I assumed that the primary purpose of higher education was simply the degree it promised. What I have found is that it goes so much further than that, by giving you an experience that is worth more than any diploma. Relationships that are made, serve strengthen us socially and psychologically. Success teaches us the value of staying in once and awhile on the weekend to study for Monday's exam. Failures probably has the greatest effect on us, we feel the consequences of our actions in sometimes harsh ways. This only pushes us on to achieve our overall potential. That is the true value of a college experience, and that is why I am thankful I have had one.

I have learned many things from my first semester of college. I have learned to live with another person--a total stranger--and I've actually enjoyed it. Obviously not everyone lives in a dorm, but I think it's crucial to live on campus to get the full experience of college. I've learned many time-management skills. College teaches one to prioritize and work quickly, and that is a valuable skill for life. Everything I've learned in my first semester of college can--and will--be applied to the rest of my life.

At Bethel the education was superb. I would not take back my experience for the world. I was able to explore life in a supportive environment even when I did feel out of place. The faculty gave me the much needed support I needed. I learned to laugh a little, cry a little and be who I am.

From my college experience I have gained the vitue of determination and dedication. I began my college journey as a means to reconnect with the feeling of fulfillment I recieved when volunteering as a preschool aid for my oldest son prior to his death. In many ways this journey has been my tribute to him and the one thing he loved most, learning! Along the way I have met some fantastic people, made friends. lost friends, and most importantly discovered the person I am ment to be. The challenge has been great; the rewards, greater! The most powerful lesson I have learned and wish to pass on to those who embark upon the journey of higher education is this, don't be afraid to push yourself for it is when you think you can go no father that you find your true strength!

I haven't really been in college yet. I am starting in the fall this year, but I can tell you what I expect out of my college experience at ECC this year. I expect to grow, and mature as a new college student . I also expect to find my dream career/ career path. Maybe this year, I will realize how hard work pays off because if I work hard to maintain good grades in my classes this year, then I will possibly win a big scholarship or grant from one of the universities that I want to go to. Going to ECC , I think, will be very valuable as far as an education goes. What I would learn at a university as a freshman, I could learn at ECC as a freshman for about 3/4 less of the price, and that is what I call a very valuable education.

It has shown me some key problems with the world and ways i can help.

The most valuable component of my college experience is understanding what it means to be a life-long learner. At my university, the professors emphasized that much of what we were learning in our fields of study was only the beginning. We were encouraged to question traditional beliefs to either change them or understand them more intimately. This process of continual examination ignites the continuation of learning beyond the classroom and facilitates discussion and growth in my particular field of study. Today, I can clearly see how well this mentality is serving me in becoming a better professonial and a better individual. I view learning now as an opportunity to stretch myself beyond my current limitations towards a better understanding of the world around me. With this continual growth and insight, I hope that I will be a positive influence and force in my home, my family, and my community, while maintaining a sense of humility and appreciation of the wonders life has to offer.

I have learned what it means to genuinely seek out truth in the name of God. I see the world as His beautiful creation, and I want to know more and more about it with each day I spend at Bethel. I have gone so much deeper in my relationship with God and can't imagine my life any different than the way it is now. Coming to Bethel was certainly something God wanted me to do, and I now know why--He brought me to this place to show me a side of Him I had never seen before, a side that provides for an academically-minded person. I have learned how to learn in the name of Christ.

My college education...hrm, sometimes I forget that I actually have a degree. Currently, it is hard for me to be extatic about my college education because I work as a Barista, getting paid $7.70 an hour. In high school, we were told, "Go to college, that is the answer to your career woes." NOT! Any more, college is just like a high school diploma...manditory to move just "make it" in this economy. Enough negativity though, I did get some benefit out of my college experience . I was able to go to Europe for a semester and that is probably the best memory of my young adult life. As many young people discover, college is a great time to begin finding yourself, analyzing your beliefs and stepping out on your own. It was valuable to attend school because I would not be where I am today with out that education or experience. Although I have my frustrations, college was necessary for my personal growth. Even though I sometimes feel my degree is worthless, I have to remember that it will open doors for me later down the road.

I would assure myself that deciding to do PSEO (Post-Secondary Enrolement Option) was the best choice of my high school career. It made the transition fairly smooth. I have been able to get a full year ahead in my college career. The decision was wise. Despite the hard work, it is very important to find a group of friends (especially when you are commuting). These should be friends that you can trust. Work hard throughout your senior. Do not have a senior slide. Watch out for your calculus II class. It is a lot of work. Overall, stay focused, but remember you are allowed to have some fun along the way.