Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

As a Lewis & Clark College graduate, I am a better critical and analytical thinker. In college, one is challenged to expand their creative problem solving abilities in academia and in the real world regarding careers and relationships. In college, I also learned how to budget my finances and manage my time more efficiently. Learning how to successfully live away from my parents who are in Colorado and creating my own community in Portland were important as well. The college experience is not just in the classroom or on campus, it is about the time spent living away from home, learning how to interact with peers, and attaining life-long skills to be a successful individual in the career world and in society. It has been valuable for me to attend college because of the academic knowledge and life skills I have learned, which are necessary in the work place and in my daily interactions with the public in my job. Also of value is my desire to give back to the community on a small or larger scale. My career goals are to affect positive social change, a drive Lewis & Clark College helped instill in me.

what I have gotten out of college is an expereince with the outside world with teachers that dont call your house, students who actually want to be their, a chance to interact with people on a more mature level,. the people in a college enivornment are better for me. it hs been valuable for me to attend is because I'm going to culinary arts and for businees mnagement. it will and has tought me a lot about the businees and resturant world.

I have not yet attended college however, I do find it very important to attend. I plan on attending a Christian college in the fall semester of 2011. I graduated in 2009, and I am definately ready to get back on my feet and get back to school. It is very important to attend school after high school for many reasons, but the most obvious is to better your education and find a carreer that best suits you. Who wants to wake up to a job they do not enjoy. I say go to college, find that career that makes you who you are, and what makes you the happiest. I know I will not be that person whose sitting in the rocker chair when their eighty singing their "shoulda- woulda- couldas." I am going to attend college and make the best of this life. I am going to do everything I ever dreamed of and have no regrets in the end. Attending college is a valueable and important part to making your life just that much more extraordinary.

Wisdom.

A very rich blend of cultures from allover the world. LC being a very intact and close community, cultural transfer occurs really fast and community dwellers starts engaging with different cultures and make the most of their college education. Moreover, there is more interaction between teachers and students unlike many other colleges and universities which makes it easier for students to cope with college life and get on with it even before they realize it.

I’ve been in college now for two years and I can honestly say the education I’ve received is far above anything I learned in high school. I’ve been stretched academically and encouraged by professors to get involved in the community. The college experience has taught me more about my degree so that I can be more equipped for a future career. It has also helped me to grow as an individual and understand others. It’s valuable to attend college because knowledge is power, therefore a college education will help career seeking individuals reach personal goals. Along with learning and maturity growth while going to college I’ve also had a blast. The friendship and experiences I’ve had will always be special to me. Another thing interesting about attending college is the different culture I've been exposed to. So many fun, good, and interesting things happen during college and it’s essential to many careers so it's definitely a valuable investment in an individuals life.

I graduated from college six years ago, and I am still realizing countless ways the experience has enriched my life. First of all, it was valuable for me to attend college because I gained skills that provide an outstanding foundation for any profession: critical thinking and analysis, research, and communication. College solidified not only my love of learning, but also my skill in seeking out knowledge and information and both retaining and communicating what I learn effectively. Secondly, my college experience was valuable because I gained independence and confidence. While I was fortunate enough to have my college funded through family contributions, scholarships and minimal loans, it was the first time I was truly in charge of myself, and I learned how to conduct myself with poise, savvy, and humility. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, my college experience was invaluable in terms of the relationships it fostered. I have several lifelong friends and an incredible network of other classmates and professors who have contributed to my success in more ways I can ennumerate here. The people I shared my college experience with, and many who I continue to share my life with, were and are the best part of college.

While I am addmittedly a completely different person now than I was then; I'm pretty sure I can make my past self listen to me fairly well. First, I'd have to question the possibilities and implications of my existence in the past however, remembering my goal, I would proceed onward to the college discussion. The most predominant and pressing issue I would make is cost. A college tuition I once thought a cheap and simple thing: necessary to all that want it, and solveable by easily abtained scholarships for the masses. Going to a private university, however, I found this view utterly demolished in the span of two years. The second? A conversation on direction of study. Originally an intended economics major entering a Liberal Arts school; I felt completely out of my element for the better portion of my Freshman and Sophomore years, outside of the time spent with professors in my current academic interest (East Asian Studies). More than anything else, I would stress to myself the importance of choosing a field where you feel your interest resides and know that you can and will succeed. Without that, the education itself is worthless.

Were I able to advise my high school senior self on how to prepare for college life, there are a few key details I would be sure to mention. One of the most important of this is to not procrastinate and maintain organized, efficient study habits. It may have little effect in high school where there might be at most twenty or thirty pages a week to read, but in college, with somewhere around a hundred pages to read a day, it can make a world of difference. Secondly, I would tell myself not to stress overly about the difficulty of college classes. As this year has progressed, classes have gotten easier, not because the material has but because I have learned that college is not an impossible, intimidating task but a continuation of my education in which I pursue my own interests, not dragging myself to class but looking forward to it. Finally, I would inform myself that it is best not to take time off from a foreign language. It is not something to be learnt overnight, and in a school so focused upon diversity, it is essential as well as uesful for the future.

If I am any gauge of the experience that is first semester freshman year, then I feel like any high school senior could benefit frmo the following advice: Be patient. Life is longer than you think, but it will be made short by rushing off in the wrong direction. I feel that many (myself included) walk into the college experience thinking that with their high school diploma comes the tools to run headfirst into anything. Unfortunately, many seniors are unprepared for making decisions for themselves without an authority figure there to keep them in check. The excitement of wanting to do everything, meet everyone, and be generally well liked can lead one very deep into situations for which the average high school senior is unprepared -- and let's face it, college freshman are just high school seniors two months down the road. With this in mind, I say again, the best way to get what you want out of you college experience is to know yourself, know what you want, and be alert for those things that bring you far away from finding zen within the whirlwind of higher education. There is always time.