Being a Senior. What comes with it? Besides celebration, relief, and a promising outlook for a good job comes reflection. I constantly tackle with the ideas of what could I have done better or differently, and are there any regrets.
I am a non-traditional student, which basically means it took more time to settle in on a decision of what would I be doing for the rest of my life. Should I have started earlier? I don’t think so. Working first helped me figure out what discipline to study. Waiting a couple of years and testing the workforce waters I believe has made me into a better decision maker, a more patient team player, and has given me better networking skills. Of course, choosing this path, or to attend right out of high school, varies with every individual.
Some cons to this may be that I have grown accustomed to one company’s way of doing business and it may be more difficult to adjust. And although some employers at Clarkson career fairs may like experience they tend to shy away from those who may have already acquired bad working habits.
To put this into perspective, I had attended a meeting with seven employers and ten undergrad students about two weeks ago in order to give employers insight on how Clarkson is improving and how Clarkson students rank among other schools. I listened as the employers for the most part agreed that a student with project involvement through their academic studies outranked those with related work experience. This baffled me. How can six years experience be not as good as or better than a school project? Even so, I still do not regret working first.
On top of being non-traditional, being a transfer student raises more ‘what-ifs.’ Yes, it did save a bunch of money, and I did end up transferring more than half of my credits in, but yet, I still feel a bit behind those students who have been here the full four years. Their communication skills seem to be sharper, and they certainly know more of what to expect from certain classes than I do. In a way, it gives them an edge. Plus the transition from one school to another can be frustrating, having to start over with forming study groups and adjusting to new teaching formats. But I feel that even with the advantages of starting here your freshman year that my decision to save a bit of cash didn’t harm me to a point where I could not catch up.
So what would have been the better way to go? And, is the way I chose going to set me back or put me ahead of the pack? The path I chose was the right one, the right one for me. Some of the only things I might have changed might have been to not cram the necessary core classes into two years but rather spread them out. Other than that, let’s break out those caps and gowns!
-Tonya Buddie, Integrator Article
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On the idea of a 2+2 program for college. My high school really tried to push a lot of kids into going to a community college for 2 years then transferring to another school. Their main reasoning was always because of the money. The guidance counselors then justified it even more by stating the fact that "all your working for is that piece of paper at the end". However, I would like to argue that college is so much more than just trying to get that diploma. There is so much more that you have to learn about yourself by living out on your own that seems to get overshadowed and forgotten until you reflect on it. So is there anything that I would have done differently? Probably. But do I regret anything? No way. I am extremely grateful I was able to afford to go to a great school for all four years.
ReplyDeleteI have similar feelings with the 2+2 program. I first attended HVCC for 2 years while living mostly at home before transferring here. I of course did it to save money. I mostly lived at home and being a very introverted person it was hard to get involved on the campus.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first came to Clarkson it was different but still hard for me to find my place. The majority of the people in my classes had already been here for 2 years while it was all new to me. I do feel like I may have missed out by not being here for all 4 years. I agree that living on your own to is one of the most important aspects of college. It helps you learn more about who you are and being at Clarkson for just over a year has led me to realizing this.
Reflecting back I am happy with my decision because it will save me a lot of money. Although it may have made it more difficult for me to adjust, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.