Guidelines to Survive Your Freshman Year

Dear Freshman Scholar,

            First and foremost, to feel afraid during the first quarter at California State University, Los Angeles is normal. I felt that way too when I began the fall quarter. I believe that every freshman student at one point felt afraid to attend their first year in college. However, freshman students should be proud that they are attending a university because it takes courage to be in the position of a college student. I am proud to be the first in my family to attend a four year university; therefore, it is a privilege that I finished my freshman year at CSULA. Through my first year in college I surpassed fears, doubts, and oppression. As an incoming freshman student, you will encounter many obstacles that may make you feel you do not belong at CSULA. On the contrary, you must remain positive and attain your dreams. Although coming to college may seem frightening, freshman students can succeed with guidance because students will develop confidence to overcome the challenges of college.

            To elaborate, I recommend that incoming freshman join a program that provides college guidance such as the Educational Opportunity Program or First Year Experience program. My mistake as an incoming freshman was not applying for EOP because I struggled at the beginning of my first quarter. I can vividly remember when my registration date came during the summer to begin the fall quarter; however, I did not know how to register for classes. I managed to figure out how apply on my own. Unfortunately, I struggled getting a math class because all the math classes were full. I felt helpless, so with fear I went to the math department to ask for help. Fortunately, I was given a math class and a secretary informed me about FYE. At CSULA getting classes is an issue, so when the secretary told me that FYE gave priority to their members I was interested. I emailed the FYE program, and I was allowed to join the program since I was enrolled in an English course. In the FYE program, I was put in a discussion group and was given a group leader. My discussion group would meet once every week to discuss school, social life, and society. In the article Who Gets to Graduate? by Paul Tough, he discusses a program he created to help students who were on the road of failure at University of Texas to achieve instead. Paul Tough sates, “…with the right support, both academic and psychological, these students can actually graduate at high rates from an elite university like the University of Texas”. I agree because by joining FYE I have gotten guidance through my first year in college. Consequently, I have a 3.9 GPA because of the workshops, discussion groups, and study sessions the FYE program provided. The FYE program also provided my group with priority and took away the stress of getting classes. My leader, Uriel, helped my group cope with depression and encouraged us to give our best. Since the FYE program is precisely to help freshman, I will not have guidance through my three upcoming years. For the same reason, I advise all incoming freshman to join EOP because they will guide college students throughout their college completion.

            Hence, it is important to get guidance from a program because incoming freshman students will need to think critically about their major. At CSULA, there are many impacted majors such as: child development, social work, criminal justice, and nursing. Thus, incoming freshman need to make a wise choice about their major, unless they are willing to sacrifice more than four years to reach their major. Indeed, it is not impossible because many college students are getting in the impacted majors. However, I recommend that freshman think this thoroughly because I was never informed that my major was impacted. In spite of being impacted, I will strive to reach my dream major because the FYE prepared me to overcome the challenges in my college journey.

Moreover, for those students who are enrolled in remedial classes, my best advice is to not to be afraid. I was placed in remedial English and the title oppressed me. In fact, it caused me many sleepless nights but I gained confidence with the proper advice from my FYE mentor. In Lives on the Boundary, Mike Rose introduced a quote by Maslow, “What is stressed… is the category in which the person belongs… not the person as such” (125). This means that labels affect the person who is being categorize; for example, I was affected for being categorize as “remedial” because of my entrance exam score. When I enrolled in English 95, I constantly heard the word “remedial”, so I searched it. According to the website urbandictionary.com the word “remedial” is synonym to: dumb, rem, stupid, retarded, slow, cancer, and fool. This affected me because in high school I took honors classes. Thus, I was astonished by the way I was seen to the university because I knew I was not “slow”.  I experienced depression, but with the counseling of my mentor, professors, and friends I learn to think positive. Thus, I agree with Maslow because a label is more oppressing than a person’s disability.

Concurrently, I would like to inform all incoming freshman that college is not what the media depict. The media never shows the reality of college life because they always make college seem like it is all about parties. Perhaps other universities are party schools; however, incoming freshman should know that CSULA is a commuter university. I wish that I would have known that CSULA is a teaching school because I expected college to be like the movie Pitch Perfect. However, I am not saying college is boring because honestly it has been a pleasure attending CSULA. Obviously, through my experiences, I have learned that this university is about learning. For example, my largest class is Communication150 which consists of forty students. Whereas, a UC university might have a lecture hall with ninety or more students. Therefore, small classrooms offer a broad education because professors have the opportunity to engage with their students on a more personal foundation. Furthermore, I always look forward to a lecture because I have meet some great professors at CSULA that have expanded my knowledge.

All in all, it may be scary to attend a university because of the independence. However, I highly recommend for freshman to join a program that can help you cope with all the emotion college conveys. A program will be great to build leadership skills, friendship, and guidance. For those students who are in remedial courses, my experiences proves that it is possible to get out of those classes with effort. The main element to survive college is to think positive because with confidence I conquered the most difficult year at CSULA that twenty percent of students drop out, freshman year.

Sincerely,

Marisol Quintero

 

Work Cited

Rose, Mike. Lives on the Boundary. New York: Penguin, 1989. Print.

Tough, Paul. “Who Gets to Graduate?” New York Times.com: The New York Times Company, 2014. Web. 3 June 2014.