University of Hawaii at Manoa Top Questions

What have I gotten out of my college experience and why has it valuable to attend? Honestly, it has been valuable to attend for the reason of meeting new and interesting people who are also working towards the same goal that I am, which is to further their education. I have so far seen people who are younger than I am, as well as those who are much older going for the same goal with different backgrounds supporting each other to help each other reach their goals. Which is also part of what I have gotten out of this college experience. I have learned that its also never too late to go back and fulfill your dreams and your goals to have a better life for yourself, or your children.

I am just starting my sophomore year in Hawaii and can't wait to get back on the island. I had a wonderful experience my freshman year with teachers, students and advisors. I have never been a very independent person, so being away from home was a bit challenging at first. After 2 weeks, I was already adapting to my new life away from home with a job at an elementary school and friends in my dorm. I started out as a Sociology major and after working with kids I realized that I had found my calling and changed my major to Education my second semester. When I come home for breaks and hang out with my high school friends, I realize what an incredible opportunity that I have been given to be able to go away to school. I think that it is something that I would suggest to anyone asking my opinion about going away to college, it is the greatest experience ever. I have learned to do things on my own and be much more dependent on myself. I consider this one of the best gifts my parents could ever have given me.

College enlightened me to the power of persistance. If you keep at something tirelessly, it will crumble in defeat, leaving only you to claim the remnants like so many treasure hunters in Berlin, 1989. If you obsess enough over the research paper with the due date looming under the toilet seat just waiting for a moment of vulnerability so it can nibble rabidly at your ankles, you chip away at it. You begin to ponder the ethics of black market organ trafficking to a depth reserved only theologic debates and NFL draft pick predictions. You become interested. You walk to the library and pick out two numbers, three paragraphs and a bibliography, and suddenly you have to write two less pages. Rinse and repeat. If you chase the strawberry blonde between Calculus and American History long enough, she'll get hungry. If you stomp into an office, any office, the Student Health Services office, for that matter, demanding "more" and "now," you'll get it. If you pick up that football and run forward, you won't make a lot of yardage in one go, but overtime, you'd accumulate at least one first down. At least, I think so.

I have enjoyed my college experience thus far as I like to feel accomplished, as though I am doing something to advance in life. College has taught me to be more self-sufficient, relying less on my family and more on myself to make things happen. The endless amount of resources availbe to college students is phenomenal. I find it very comforting that I am not alone in this big world, trying to get ahead. I attend school alongside my peers with the same or similar goals, which creates a support system that wasn't available to me prior to attending college.

Attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa has been a very good learning experience because this school has developed a spirit of independance in me. At my old school I was more reliant on other people for things that I needed and did things the way other people wanted me to do them. While I am not completely independant yet I now have the drive to do things independantly and to seek out opportunities if I really want them. This is important because the world will not hand you things on a silver platter and if you really want something in life you need to take initiative and go get it. The University of Hawaii at Manoa has also been a good place for me because the College of education's teacher education program is set up in a cohort model so all your methods courses are with the same people and you are placed in schools with those same people so that you get a tight knit sense of community. The college offers a lot of support and c feedback on lesson plans and assesment tools you use in K-12 classrooms through your mentor teachers and cohort coordinators.

I've made numerous professional contacts that arel helping me better my educational experience. I've learned to take advantage of faculty who enjoy passing along more than just what in a course's study materials. I actively seek guidance and mentoring from faculty who I've identified as willing to shape learning skills for students that show their commitment to and enthusiasm for the holistic learning experience. I've also learned to develop better self-initiative skills, focusing on work that goes beyond the basic required course requirements. I've honed my study habits and proactively pursue what I wish to gain from each course. I don't ler the professor determine how much I get from a course but rely on active engagement with other students and professors to achieve my goal of getting the most bang for my dollar. I've acquired greater patience and awareness, understanding that there is diversity, students coming from different backgrounds, culturally and educationally. It's become important to me to be of service, supporting and helping other students whenever possible.

I came to this college to get an education that will not only increase my knowledge but help me get a better job in the future to come. So fr I am pursuing this goal but during my journey I have attained things that at the end mean somuch more. I have great friends that I shared many memories with that I will never forget. I seen places that before I came here I would not even have dreamt of dreaming and nowi am living it. I am taking the initiative and making my own destiny and one I can mold as I please and having a great time on-campus, off-campus, in class, and everywhere in between while getting an education which no matter what happens can never be taken away from me. I believe I am and will be achieving more than enough valuable things out of my college education tohonestly say this was the best decision I have ever made in my entire life and I will learn from it and enjoy it as much as I can while I can.

Well, beyond the obvious furthering of my career prospects, I have learned that I love things that I did not know existed, and opened my mind to so much more than I knew was out there. Although I am an art major, all of the other subject areas I have taken courses in have influenced my work. Women's studies, mythology, and art history are some areas that I previously knew nothing about, but now they are an integral part of my work. College has changed who I am and what I have to say, and given me the means to say it.

By going to a community college right out of high school I gained confidence in myself. I found that to be the best thing I could ever ask for. And because of the pleasant experience and education I receieve I'm going to transfer and be ready and sure of myself. And the feeling I have when I can express myself properly is so valuable that I wouldn't change a thing if I had the chance.

My college helped me to have a better understanding of the cultural diversity unique to Hawaii. This is valuable to me because I intend to become a physician who serves population of Hawaii. I need to be sensitive to various cultures Hawaii?s population has to offer in order to promote effective and honest interaction with the patients. This in turn, will aid the patient to have more respect for the treatment plan I will be giving them and will promote the compliance that will result in their well-being.

The college experience is valuable, because it is during this stage of life where you go to specialize in a certain career. However, it is not the type of career you have chosen that makes an impact on your life, but the things you do that gradually mold you into a rounded out person. College challenges you to be independant and to put forth your best effort. Individuals gain independance by learning how to take care of yourself. For me, this was actually difficult , because cooking isn't one of my best skills by far. Going to college especially tests your initiative to do things; with the many options that colleges provide in the paths a person may take the clubs, research, and the myriad of other activities that could be undertaken there would only be benefits. Furthermore, the opportunities in a college experience expands the perspective of people, and causes this important aspect of evaluating the world around them and to really consider the importance of their decisions. By simply going to college I have expanded the borders of what I can do. I see myself undergoing personal growth, increasing my knowledge, and making the impossible possible.

Having attended three very different colleges (a small 4 year college in a big city, a 2 year community college in a small rural town, and a large 2 year college in a big city), I have a unique perspective of what college life is like. College has been more than an academic learning experience for me, but also a growing experience including: leaving home, dorm life, being the stereotypical "poor college student," changing majors several times, and finding my true calling in life. Among all the lessons I've learned, these stand out in my memory. I have learned that I hate being alone, but, after sharing my bathroom and shower with strangers, relish in having my own private space. I know more about the value of a dollar than I ever did at home, shopping at the dollar store for foodstuffs. I know how to read bus schedules and ride a bus for 2 hours one way just for a job interview. I appreciate home cooking and study groups now more than ever. The best part of college life is simply learning who I am and how I learn.

The most valuable thing I've gained during my college journey is the confidence and knowledge that I am capable of wonderful things.

Wow. The change from being a high school senior to a college freshman is bigger than I ever would have guessed. Not only are you thrown into a whole new group of people; you're living in a different state far from home and taking on academic challenges that are unlike anything you've ever experienced before, even in AP classes. While I couldn't wait to be my own man on my own without those nagging parents around, I had no idea how heavy the responsibility would be and how hard living by myself would turn out to be. You don't really appreciate that support until you don't have it any more. College is not just some big party. While it's fun, you have to take it seriously. You're there to learn, not just play. Let me tell you something that's a huge difference: the teachers don't care if you come to class or do your work. After all, you're PAYING to be there and they get paid the same whether or not you pass their class. You don't want to waste your money. Your goal: to earn that degree.

As a high school senior, I thought I could take on the world. Although I still feel as if I can accomplish anything, it's not quite as easy as I had anticipated. Knowing what I know now, I would go back and warn myself to be prepared to struggle and fight for anything and everything. In high school, you could get by on pure wit; you could get an "A" on a test without studying, or get straights "A's" by just simply doing what is expected of you. However, as I was quick to learn, college is no where near as easy. If I could go back, I would, without a doubt, practice studying, not only before tests, but on a daily basis. I would tell myself to practice the good habits that are required of a successful college student. I would go back in time and tell myself to not make the mistake of taking on six classes and a full time job my first semester in college. With that said, I would warn myself to take baby steps, after all, isn't it always the slow and steady ones that win the race?

If I could go back and talk to myself as a senior and highschool, I think I would tell myself to prepare better. When I first started off my first semester at the University of Hawaii at Manoa I was all over the place and definitely not prepared for the classes I had signed up for. I think that I would have said to myself, focus a little more on studying and don't worry about giving into peer pressure and attending certain parties or what not. For the most part, I'm proud of myself for surviving my first semester in college, but if I had a little advice from my future self, I think that I would definitely succeed with flying colors.

It's been said that college is like high school times a hundred. This is completely untrue, because no matter the experiences you had in high school, there is no factor imaginable to compare that experience with college. The twelve years you have spent in school so far have been a sheltered and sparse education, and in the years you spend in college you will learn more than you have in your entire life. The important things to remember are: study what you love, not what others choose for you; a good nights sleep helps a lot more than last minute cramming; and don't trust the professors who say something ?probably won't be on the final.? But most importantly, these four years mark the transition between being a boy and being a man, if you learn nothing else, learn to be the man who you want be.

I would tell myself not to fall for "senioritis" because that really messed up the end of the school year for me. I would also tell myself that when I got to UHM for school that there is no reason to hold back or be unsure, that I should just throw myself into getting involved with school organizations like I was in high school. I know as a senior I said I wanted a break from all the involvement, but now I know that it was all the participating in clubs and activities that really made high school so much fun.

i would have told myself to get ready for a crazy ride but i would not change anything about my life!

UH isn't too big. You don't have to go to community college first. E'veryone at UH wants you to suceed, from your teachers to counselors, fellow students, & staff. They will all pat you on the back. there are only a few jerks and they are everywhere in life. So, don't be afraid, dive in the deep end.