University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

College has been an experience full of vast opportunities to broaden my social skills and furthering my education in topics that I find most interesting. While it may be arduous to leave home and jump into an entirely different setting, the end result is worth all the effort. With only a year and a half of college completed, I have already found that I better understand what type of person I am. College allows a chance to discover who you are and to learn to defend your own values when in the presence of people who may attempt to alter them. If I had not taken the step to attend college, I would not possess the mental strength to withstand all the pressure life can bring. Becoming a well rounded person, as well as an independent individual, are only a few of the surprising results that have emerged from pursuing a degree.

I have been able to learn more about myself as a student and as a person over the past three semesters. I have also been able to surround myself with people that I feel will continue to be there for me for the rest of my life. I feel that my college experience has helped me to see what I want to do with my life, and the work I need to put in to achieve my goals. I also now am able to see what my strengths and weaknesses are in an easier. It has been valuable for me to attend college because without it I feel that I would still be lost. The University of Pittsburgh has given me the opportunity to try at my strengths and learn from my mistakes. I feel that I can now go into the world with a greater understanding of myself and others.

My college experience has been a great learning experience. I have made new friends, met a lot of new people, and learned that I can live 11 hours from home by myself. I have had to learn to deal with people I do not like and try to make the best out of these experiences which I think every student should have to do-learn.

College, for me, was a wonderful transition from high school to university. I have been able to receive my associates degree without a single college loan or credit card; mostly surviving on a meager job and government Pell Grants. My tuition costs are about half the price of my friends in universities and I am always thankful I started out at a cheaper level. This has allowed me to accumulate credits without accumulating massive debt. Another really helpful aspect of community college is the smaller course sizes. Many of my friends in universities complain about the size of their classes and I believe that the- smaller then university; bigger then high school- sized classes were a helpful transition. College has prepared me for the future of my University career and I cannot wait to begin. With the experiences I have had from Community College I have an informed idea of what is expected of me in higher education. I think community college will help me succeed in more rigorous academic situations.

My college experience has really taught me how to have responsibility and maturity. The University of PIttsburgh enabled me to take a variety of broad classes to help pin point what I want to do with the rest of my life. It has really opened my eyes to issues around the world and made me think outside the box. This in turn made me realize th need for me to transfer to a school that fits my interests and desires more closely. I want to major in Public RElations and need to attend a school with a great school for communications and the University of PIttsburgh made me realize what I need to find in whatever University I choose to transfer too.

As college experiences typically are, mine has absolutely been life-changing. It has not been the typical "fresh start", cathartic, eye-opening experience; rather, its impact has come through the subtle daily differences that college life entails. I've had to adapt to an independent, urban lifestyle coming from a small Pennsylvania suburb. Now, I only know the classmates I have reached out to, not my entire graduating class. My professors do not know me unless I make the active effort to get to know them, unlike high school teachers that took the time to at least learn my name. I must fend for myself, which is a struggle in and of itself. This experience has taught me the incredibly vital life lesson that any experience is only what you make of it. College has been such a wonderful time for me only because I chose to make it one and my actions followed through on that choice. The education has been rewarding and the social life has been enjoyable because this is what I wanted my experience to be like. The value of this lesson will certainly carry me through the rest of my years in university and beyond.

Since I've started college, I've finally discovered where I want to go in my life. I feel more confident and more determined than ever before, and I know coming to University of Pittsburgh is responsible for that. I've learned so much both in my classes and outside of them, and I've made friends that I know I'll stay close to for life. I started college a bit later than most, and I feel that as a slightly older student, I have the experience and the desire to make the most out of my college experience. I'm certainly trying to!

One of the statements I am most disappointed to hear people say is that going to college is a waste of time because they need to study things that are not exactly relevant to what they want to do when they graduate. Beyond the concept of what a classical education actually is, college teaches a person how to follow a process. Earning 120 credits in four years (more or less) is a tremendously long process with many steps along the way. In order to be successful, students must be diligent, keep timelines, stay focused, and achieve a goal. They must do this with a myriad of distractions in an atmosphere they are likely not used to from when they lived at home. This translates into experience that is helpful for the rest of the student's life regardless of whether he or she ever actually uses what they learned in Psychology 101. If I never use what I learned in my Russian Mythology class I will still have had a valuable college experience because I can see a goal and know what I have to do to achieve it.

My college experience has taught me more than just the formal teachings from books and professors. It taught me how to be a life-long learner. Each day my personal, professional and social lives are enriched with learning experiences. In my personal life, the one question that my 2 year old son Lachlan asks endlessly is "Why?". This simple word is an important learning tool for him. It provides him with the ability to learn more about people, places and things. Some unimportant to us but all important to him in order to gain understanding and make sense of the world all around him. When teaching him, I suddenly realize that his simple curiosity causes me to gain a better understanding. In applying this to my professional life, I learn daily from the children and families that I work with. I learn that different families have a variety of dynamics that make their household function for them. I feel that my education has been valuable to me in developing the person that I have become.

"College encompasses many trials which encourage maturation and independence." Thus is the mantra that many parents drone to college bound children, pushing the reluctants out the door and into adulthood. Yes, this idea may be veritable in its own right, yet beyond that statement is where I find my meaning in a collegiate education. Beyond the lessons that college life teaches is the complete and utter satisfaction of seizing the American dream of an advanced education and building a future for myself, based on my own funds and ideas. While I have quickly learned the importance of eating healthy, balancing finances, creating time to study for eighteen credits of classes while balancing twenty hour work weeks, and squeezing in time for friends, I have gained so much more. After two years of college life, I have found my identity in my studies and through my independence. While I have learned survival skills, I have acheived skills to thrive and grow as well.