Continuing on to college is an exciting time; a new surrounding, a new group of friends, new classes and exciting clubs and organizations to get involved in. However, it is a big transition from high school in a short two months. Whether or not a person is moving away from their home town or going to a local school, college is a frightening and overwhelming period in a student’s life.
Not only is the academic transition difficult, the social transition is as well. It is hard to find that balance between school and social life in such a new environment, and for many students, the first environment with (almost) complete freedom. Many students go from an extremely busy schedule to having far too much free time. Other students feel overwhelmed by the pressures associated with social life in college, like drinking, drugs, their figure, etc. It is easy to get wrapped up into too much partying and not enough studying, or the other way around. Not that too much focus on academics is negative, but there needs to be a healthy balance for a good transition and experience. But it is difficult to find that balance without the skills and past experience of being independent and making choices.
Most students in Europe, after graduation from high school, take at least a year off before they go off to college. They use this time to travel, to work, or just to take some time off from academics. In one sense, this could be a good time to let the “burn out” from college fade and give students some time to figure out what they like to do. In this year, they are able to “discover” who they are, or at least try to. On the other hand, it could decrease the likelihood of students returning to school, because they enjoy the freedom of living in the real world.
It is evident that the college is a big transition period, and also one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life.
Do you think that two months (from high school to college) is enough time to prepare for such a big transition? Being independent or in an environment away from parents is a situation that people handle differently depending on an individual’s background. Do you think there would be less drinking/partying/social issues if students had a year or two to mature before college? We all have different experiences that brought us all together here at DU. How has your college experience been? Do you think that your experience would have been better or worse if you took more time off between high school and high school? How has your experience in college been overall? How did you handle this transitional period? What advice would you give to incoming freshman?
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These questions are so interesting because I think they vary unbelievably from person to person. I actually did take some time off and I could not be more thankful that I did. After high school, I spent the summer at home in Idaho, running around outdoors and working, and then I took the fall semester off and went to Costa Rica. I went as an international volunteer helping teach English in under-funded elementary schools. The experience was amazing and it really gave me perspective on how lucky I was to get to attend college.
While I was down there I lived with other volunteers, most of whom had already completed college, and they gave me a lot of great advice. Each one of them could speak from experience and tell me that college does not have to determine what you do for the rest of your life. They suggested to me that I go to college and try to learn as much as I could about many different subjects and keep my options open for the rest of my life. For me, it made going to college seem like a less daunting experience.
I also had the opportunity to travel every weekend while I was down there. I truly believe that taking time off to travel can open your eyes and allow you to grow. I met so many people from all different backgrounds and I got to see so many beautiful places. I came away from the whole experience feeling much more sure of who I am as a person and much more comfortable in the world around me. In the end, I think this made the transition to college much easier because by the time I finally went, I was much more ready and excited to be there.
Personally, I do not think that a two month time frame is adequate as a period of time separating a student from high school into a university setting. I was able to take two years off after high school before entering into college. I used this time to adapt to life on my own. I acquired a paying job, moved out on my own, etc. So by the time I entered into college I was much more stable, much more focused and I realized how important it is to do well as an undergraduate. I don't believe I would have had this mindset directly after high school. I'm sure that it varies between different individuals, but for the most part, American children would do better academic work if they took time off in between high school and college.
I don't believe it would behoove anyone to mandate a certain time frame interval between the two, but it would be advantageous to adapt that break as a social norm. In America it seems like there is a very specific laid out plan a student needs to follow if he intends to prosper financially in his adult life. No where in this rigid formula is there a break in between the two levels of education.
It is the case that many students who come directly from high school into college abuse their newfound freedom, which is why as a parent one should expect this and plan accordingly. One can do so by allowing a high school student more and more freedom up until their departure for college. This would better prepare them for university experience. Entrance into college seems to have taken shape of bar/bat mitzvah as it represents a type of passage into adulthood even when it is clearly not appropriate for a many individuals.
Thanks, Sarah & Jessica, for your very thoughtful reflection and questions. I think this issue is an important one for us all to think about. Devyn and Ben, thanks, too, for your initial response--I think you both make a number of important observations about this transition. Your perspectives on taking time off are insightful.
I do want to clarify the purpose of these reflections, though, just a bit. Ideally, these should relate in some way to our course material, whether as it relates to service-learning, homelessless, writng, research, the public good, etc... Is there a way that we can think about this transition in a way that relates to the work we're doing together in class?
Devyn's initial comment provides a helpful connection, I think. So here's a possible way to extend Sarah & Jessica's initial thoughts:
What role might community service, volunteering, service-learning, or any other form of encouraging (or requiring) students to engage with the civic commmunities outside of DU help undergraduate students make a more successful transition from high school to college?
The transition from High school to college wasn’t as big for me as I thought it would be. I’ve been a pretty independent kid all my life. And every summer, I’ve traveled to music festivals for as long as I can remember, so I’ve gotten used to being away from home. If I hadn’t been away from home for months at a time and if I weren’t so used to doing my own thing, I think the transition would have been a lot different. I think it would be a nicer if we had more time between graduation and college, because that was when I spent most of my time getting to know my parents better, working, and bonding with my friends. When school started, it was really strange for me to move my stuff from my home into a new environment, but I was really excited for the whole college experience to begin.
In Europe, people drink before they are allowed to drive, and I think that helps a lot with lowering the accidents caused by people who drink and then drive, because people aren’t tempted to drink and drive. However in the states, kids start driving before they can drink, and therefore there are a lot of accidents caused by underage drinking and driving. But because the drinking age will never be lowered, I don’t think that drinking/partying and the maturity of people will be changed that drastically by a year or two.
In response to Professor Bateman's question, I think that doing community work, volunteering, and any other form of help would really help students because of the way it shows us what the real world looks like. I almost thought about taking a year off to maybe work in the Peace Corps or for Green Peace, but I think I was too scared to be different and to take a year off. It might have been the fact that I was scared that if I did take a year off, I would never go back to school and the fact that I would basically be behind everyone my own age.
I’m really enjoying my time at college. I can be who I am and I’m allowed to do what I want to do with my time. I’m also able to make my own schedules and work the way I want to.
For the incoming freshmen, I think it’s a really good idea to spend a lot of time with your parents before you leave, because if you go to a school far away from home, you won’t be able to see them for quite some time. I also think that it’s a good idea to bring things from your home to your dorm room that will be able to remind you of the things that you love, in case you ever get homesick.
I think this is a very interesting proposition. One problem that could be encountered is making this a norm. In Europe it might be the norm to take a year off between high school and college to "discover oneself". The interesting thing is many of these students use this time to continue their education outside of the classroom by doing independent studies, studies abroad, or working to pay for school. However, as we are discovering with the drinking age conundrum, oftentimes social norms just do not transpose correctly with other cultures. It would either have to a) be regulated by our country to force students to take a couple months off or b) slowly become an adopted social standard. With the first, I think we would find problems with students just taking a couple months off to party or extend their summer vacations. Many probably would not see it as an opportunity to expand their perspectives or do an independent study. With the second, those type of social changes take lifetimes to become norms.
As far as my transition goes; one of the most important things for me was getting into a living learning community. Having an instant group of friends to transition to college with was very helpful. As for incoming freshmen. I think it is important that they know to just get out and get involved. If they just keep in mind that everybody is in the same position and them, then there is no reason to be ashamed to knock on a few doors and ask some people to go out to dinner at Nelson.
I also believe that taking some time off between high school and college is a great idea. I myself did not take any time off after high school and dove directly into the college experience and found it a bit overwhelming at first. At that time I was living back home in Venezuela were the culture and society is a very different from here in the States. We normally live at home even through college, we are not used to "going away" to college, specially if you live in the capital city of Caracas. So the situation is very different from the "usual" college experience here.
I think that transition time could be spent getting used to the "real world" maybe travel, maybe get a paying job, but it is certainly a smart idea to experience something different to what people are used to, this is a great chance to expand ones knowledge and take this new knowledge to college.
My advice to incoming freshmen would be to not take everything so seriosly and to enjoy the ride while finding a balance of activities.
I think that while the two month transition from high school to college is short, it is in fact enough time to prepare. I strongly believe that in our society taking a year off of school in between high school and college can prove to be disastrous. Children in Europe may be raised differently, and thus may be mature enough to deal with taking a year a off of school. Here in the United States however, I think often times young adults who take a year off, are less likely to return to school. As for drinking and partying I honestly think it is going to happen anyway, even if young adults are given one to two years to mature before attending college. I think part of the reason so much drinking and partying and bad decision-making occurs when people get to college is because kids are so eager to get away from their parents and have their own lives, that once they get to college and realize that they no longer have to answer to their parents, they go a little bit crazy. I won’t sit here and say that one or two more years in between high school and college would not decrease the amount of partying/drinking and bad decision-making, but it will definitely still occur, as it is so engrained in college-life itself. However, don’t get me wrong I am not saying every single college student parties all the time and makes lots of bad choices. As for social issues, I am sure that one or two more years to mature before attending college would definitely allow students to be better suited to deal with certain social issues all college students face. However, it is again my strong belief that taking a year off before attending college is unwise and most often leads to the student not attending college at all. So far my college experience has been a pleasant one. At first like many other college students, I was homesick and lonely, but luckily I ended up having a great roommate, which helped a lot. I think that my college experience would have been worse if I would have taken a year off before starting school, because then I would have been a year behind all my friends and I would be in a graduating class with people younger than me, who I may not have had that much in common with. I won’t lie though a little more time to prepare for the transition may have been beneficial and I did have a difficult time in the beginning, because most of my friends were already off at school and I was still sitting at home. Overall though my college experience has been a positive one and I believe I handle the transitional period fairly well. My advice to incoming freshman would be to expect change, big change within almost every aspect of your life. Besides that just go into the whole experience with an open mind and be ready to make new friends and try new things. Most importantly try really hard not to be sad, because you could miss out on a lot things by dwelling on the things you are leaving behind.
This is a difficult topic to think about because I think that the maturity levels of teenagers can be so different from one another. For me personally, I think that it was vital for me to come to college right out of high school because I still have the motivation to pursue my education. I think that college might be a necessary step on the way to maturing. If I was just sent out on my own, or if I just stayed living with my parents, I would not be learning the valuable lessons that I gain every day in college life.
I think that this way of thinking could be reflective of the homeless population in our country. And by this, I do not mean to suggest that homeless people are not educated, but I just mean to say that having an upper level of education to lead to job security that only having a high school diploma does not. I have friends that decided to take a year off instead of going straight to college, and they are having a difficult time getting back into the swing of doing work for classes, and some of them are even considering dropping out again to return to that "free" life that they lived. I think that it is important to go to college because it allows us to mature. I think that if we could potentially provide college education for a cheaper amount of money, there would be less homeless people in the world.
I think that the transition between high school to college is certainly difficult, but I think that it is necessary to the maturation of teenagers. I think that education is one of the easiest ways to have job security in the future as well. But that is just my opninion. I love college, and I can't even imagine not going.
For me, I found that this two month period was plenty of time for preparation. This was just enough time to enjoy finishing high school, spend time with friends, and to look forward to the excitements of college. I do not think there would be much of a difference if students had a longer break. This is because our society almost dictates a certain amount of partying, etc. It is normal for kids at that age to spend time drinking and going out and it is as they mature that they calm down. Students mature greatly through school and spending more time being educated, not necessarily through living a carefree lifestyle. Thus far, my college experience has been enjoyable. I have found that I can balance my social life with school well. I do not feel my experience would have been better if I took more time off. Too much time away from school would have made it more difficult for me to be focused with my academics. The transitional period involved organizing my life and creating a plan to stay focused in school and in my social life. For incoming freshman, I would advise them to enjoy their summer and look forward to college. It is not a bad thing to be nervous and part of adjusting includes not knowing everything about the future. Enjoy what is unknown and be ready to work hard and have fun.
The night before the day I moved to DU, I was terrified. Even though I had spent the past 18 years preparing for college, and the past two months packing and repacking all the things I would need to make my freshman year perfect, when it came time to actually move, I broke down. However, once I arrived at school and started meeting people, my initial fear disappeared. I think that two months is enough time to adjust to the transition; I think if I had more time between high school and college I would have lost much of my motivation and possibly would not have come back to school.
I think one of the things that has made the transition smooth, is how easy it is to get involved with different campus organizations. In high school I was very much involved with my community and becoming a part of the DU community was an essential part of my transition. By getting involved with different service organizations, I think students are able to meet different kinds of people and also give them a greater purpose than just “school.” This might even keep some students away from the party scene, since they are then committed to a particular group.
I will admit that transitioning from high school to college is definitely a big step. However, it is not the few months in between that is the key issue here. Rather it is how the parents talk about it amongst their kids several months and even a year prior entering into his or her first year in college. For me, it wasnt too hard adjusting into college. I knew that for the first time I would not only be living away from home, but I would also be living out of state, around almost an entirely new group of people and being living on my own. Even though it sounds like such a big adjustment, I was very excited with this opportunity to be away from home and finally be in college. The reason why I was excited was because I am very used to being around my parents all the time and finally be able to experience a change at this time in my life. Also, my siblings are 9 and 13 years older than me, and it feels like I sometimes the only child.
It is hard to keep a balance during college because everyone is so busy with the various activities going on in each of their lives. However, once students are used to being away from home and are able to adjust into this new environment, it is very much possible to find a balance between academic and social life. Depending on the student, it is very easy to get caught up in all the intense social life activities that goes on during college.
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