University of Arizona Top Questions

I have gotten out of college more than I ever dreamed of. When I graduated high school a couple of years ago, all I wanted to do was work. I got a job, but less than year later, I got laid off. I essentially didn't have anything to fall back on. I made a decision that I just didn't want to have a job for money, I wanted a career that I could enjoy for the rest of my working life. I have been attending college for two semesters now, and I love it. I love learning, period. I attend a community college and I adore all of my professors. My school is good quality with quality teachers and that's what makes learning enjoyable. I know I am getting a quality education. It is important for me to make myself and my family proud and happy for me. When my family is in trouble, I want to to be stable enough so they can lean on me.

Even though I am only a freshman in my first semester, i have learned more than i thought i would learn. As a result of interning with Arizona Student Association, i gained many skills that will benefit my future. It has definitely been valuble to attend because everday is different and everyone a student actually leanrs something new. It undeniably came as a shock to me how much i would actually learn education and cultivated wise.

My college experience, thus far, has been absolutely incredible. I never imagined attending a school better suited for me. The campus has an extreme passion and pride in who we are. There are so many unique and graspable opportunities on campus to build friendships and relationships, making our campus seem friendly, motivated and determined. It has been valuable to attend due to the large number of students creating real-world situations. There are so many positive reinforcements that have allowed each and every student to grow, at their own pace, towards their desired goal. I have created so many vauable connections and friendships that will help advance my life-skills as well as my ultimate career goals, hence why I am attending college. Overall, my college experience has been somewhat of a dream, something I never thought would truly be happening to me, living the life of an ordinary teenager.

My college experience started off rocky but has grown into something that is truly remarkable. It's been a big transition for me to go from high school to college. College life was actually a lot more work than I had anticipated. I felt I had all the skills needed to be successful in colleg I just needed to snap out of the scare of "college" and apply them. I remember thinking at the beginning of the year how diffficult my assignments were and the different courses that assignmed them. I almost had second thoughts thinking I didn't actually belong in college. There were so many people that I felt were smarter than me it was intimidating. I have now learned that college is not about how smart you are because it became clear that there will always be more intelegent individuals. It is about understanding yourself (how you learn). It is ok to ask questions and not expect a clear cut answer. It the fact that you are thinking and engaging in material. Just that has helped me to not only be a better student but a better person.

College was always just another step in life for me; it was what my parents and I had always expected I would do after high school, but I was never really sure what to expect. The first year of college is a period of hypergrowth. Few people actually realize it but after being in college for a month, life in high school can't compare. College was the first time I had ever lived away from home. It sounds like it would be scary but college-life doesn't allow for fear; immediately we are thrown into schoolwork and classes and suddenly it's strange going home and having a curfew or hearing "will you be home for dinner? I'm making spaghetti." College also changed my relationship with my family; every time I get to see or talk to them it is more special because I can't afford to take for granted my time with them. Regardless of whether or not college changes a person's study habits, there is an increase in emotional capacity and college forces hypergrowth in independence; college is essential in the positive development toward the person each individual hopes to become.

After recently switching my major to business, I have learned so much. I found that I am a great leader and becoming a business entreprenuer is my true passion for the future.

Experiencing a post secondary education is preparing me to function as an adult in a contructive way. Learning financial responsibility, time management, accountability, study skills and networking techniques will all help me in my future career and throughout my life. The most important part of attending college for me is the maturation and growth in my attitude. Attending college is not simply about attending class, maintaining my grade point average and getting a degree. It is about viewing the world in a different and more mature way and realizing how my actions towards others can have long standing affects. After taking a two year break after my freshman year of college I returned to Augustana in September 2010. I am grateful and appreciative that I was able to get a second chance at a college education despite mistakes I had made in the past. I now desire to learn for the sake of learning, not simply as a means to an end. For me, a college experience and education will never be taken for granted.

I have learned a lot and matured greatly. It has taught me a lot in life and gave the skills to achieve greatness.

When I first applied to the University of Arizona, I foresaw my relationship with the University as a quick, four-year program to be checked off The List- a stepping-stone, swiftly crossed in order to reach bigger and better things. My first year of college, I classified myself as a ‘motivated student’, justified by a high GPA, but in actuality, I was ambivalent and uninvolved. The decision I made one year later to study in South Africa completely changed my life. Rubbing shoulders with other international students from Germany, Holland, and many other countries, introduced a global perspective, breaking down mental borders I had created for myself and allowing me to think outside the box. Surrounded by highly motivated, post-graduate students raised the bar of personal expectations for education. An unknown passion for sustainable developmental economics in Africa was unveiled, tied with volunteer work in some of South Africa’s townships. By studying in a developing country plagued with poverty and inequality, I have recognized my generations’ progressively more important role in the sustainable economic growth of the “Bottom Billion”, and how globalization, the converging of people’s knowledge and skills across borders, will end world poverty.

College. The institution does not disappoint. Higher education is the key to a better future, not only for the student, but also for the whole world. College is a time for self-exploration as students step away from parental care and supervision, and it is what students make of it. I plan to learn as much as I can about all there is to know about engineering, and be an innovator and a dreamer in the engineering fields.