The University of Montana Top Questions

My college experience taught me so much about life, and I am still learning incredible lessons. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is how to manage my time and keep myself motivated. In college it is usually not a requirement to read textbooks and my professors most often did not remind students of due dates for assignments. In order to keep up with the material being dissussed I learned to schedule time to study, write down any upcoming assignments and regularly check the course syllabus in order to make sure I did not forget any required assignments. When studying becomes hard and boring I keep myself motivated by setting small goals and rewarding myself when I reach them. For example when I finish reading a chapter in a text book I give myself a break and eat a snack or watch a half hour of televsion. Attending college has also taught me countless lessons about being independent from my parents. I have learned to keep a budget and actively seek answers to questions. Before going to college I would depend on my parents to pay for everything and do things like make doctors appointments for me.

My father lost his job right before I committed to DePaul University in 2009. Although I was devastated, I understood the importance of going to college. I enrolled in Joliet Junior College to receive an Associates Degree with plans of transferring to DePaul in 2011. So far, my college experience has been great! I was awarded membership in three honor societies due to my outstanding GPA: Phi Theta Kappa (National Academic Honor Society), Sigma Delta Mu (National Spanish Honor Society), and Alpha Mu Gamma (National Foreign Language Society); I have made many friends through these societies too! I think it is extremely valuable to attend any type of college because it will provide experiences and challenges that will help form a student’s character; it has helped form mine! The teachers and resources in college are extremely rewarding; there is never a day I do not utilize what my school offers me. I enjoy and seek the challenges presented to me which have shaped who I have become today. Honestly, I am happy I attended a community college first because it has prepared me to succeed at DePaul this fall and in whatever I choose to do in the future.

College has taught me many things, from mathmatics and coding to learning how to properly throw a frisbee. I have learned more about myself and my profession than I thought possible. I have realized that life can be hard, and sometimes if you want something bad enough you have to suffer for it. There have been weeks where I had to make it on the bare essentials and times where I was living the high life (for a college student) but I don't think I would ever trade my experiences or what I've learned for anything. College truly transformed me into a mature, responsible, respectful person. I could definitely say that I've learned all these things: computers, history, math, science, language, and more about theatre than I can put in words. But I think that these things are truly insignifigant in comparison to what I learned about human nature and myself. Thank you, Payton Jessup

My college experience has shown me my strong personality points and working skills, thus giving me a direction I wish to go in my life. I have been, and continue to be, provided many volunteer oppertunties to give back to my community and to improve my own career skills. Between attending classes with my peers and these vounteer oppertunties I have built good social ties that may help me aquire a stable career after graduation. I have been exposed to different people of different backgrounds which, I believe, has helped me grow as a person, allowing me to be more tolerant and excepting of all people. Without these, and may other influences, during my college life I don't believe I would be the person I am today. I woudn't have the motivation, the open-mindedness, the experience or the maturity to go forth into the professional world and be the competent person that I am capable of being. I hope in the time to come that my college years will continue to encourage me to grow both personally and professionally.

While attending college I have had the pleasure of making new friends and exploring new places all while furthering my education. College is a great time of young people's lives and they should enjoy it, I certainly have. College has taught me life long skills and brought me into new friendships that will last me a lifetime.

My college experience is no where near complete. I have just began this life changing experience. So far this experience has challenged me to seperate my social life and classwork. This has become the biggest challenge in the year and a half I have been at The University of Montana. The University itself and Missoula, the town U of M is in offer so many activities outside of school it is almost challenging to complete any sort of classwork. Having to discover this on my own, it has taught me how to succeed at both good grades and an active social life. I have a group of four best friends and many close acquaintances, and attend two Honor Societies and multiple clubs. It has been valuable for me to attend college, because statistically speaking a college graduate gets better paid than a non-college graduate. I have learned to balance multiple disciplines in my life, have met my very best friends, and have experienced more opportunities I ever would have if I would not have attended The University of Montana. College changes a person in many ways, and I would never replace my choice to apply for this experience.

Learning is incredible I am so thankful for my opportunity to pursue my education. I have learned so much just about ways of thinking. I am excited to learn even more as I continue. The sharing of knowledge is a wonderful experince, it allows you to see and experince the world in a whole new way. Seeing things from anothers side, looking at problems and solutions from many views is the best way to go about getting anything done in life. It helps to make a better future for us all.

My college experience has dramatically shifted upon my transfer. I originally attended a community college in Wyoming (Central Wyoming College or CWC). My major of focus being Theatre, my education at CWC was exceptionally good, however, once I transferred to the University of Montana (UM), I felt as if my eyes had finally been opened within the first few weeks of classes. I was exposed to so much new and intellectually stimulating material that I was almost overwhelmed. Over the course of my first semester at UM I soon discovered that I was rapidly advancing in my knowledge of the Theatre, ranging from subjects that I was fairly comfortable with to ones that I had hardly studied at all. One of the most shocking discoveries upon starting my classes was how much about acting that I did not know. I of course took several acting courses at CWC, but the information presented to me during my first acting course at UM almost ecclipsed all that I had previously known. My instructor was invigorating, pushing me harder and farther than I had ever gone at CWC. This has been invaluable to my education, and has me constantly excited about my future.

It was affordable as I am an instate student. I also enjoyed the skills I learned from both the Media Arts Department and the Dance Department.

So far in my college career I've gained much knowledge and experience in regards to my major. But more importantly that that, I've learned to be self-reliant and self-sufficient! The U of M may not hound its students academically-to gain a 4.0 or be honors students; on the contrary, it is the somewhat hands-off approach that teaches its attendants. Teaches us that in the "real world" (that youth is SO often lectured about) no one is going to be there to send you email notifications or to schedule a mandatory appointment in order to accomplish what you need to be successful in life! You get out of life what you put into it, and your success is no one else's prerogative, or obligation!