BERLIN — Students at Stephen Decatur High School (SDHS) got a glimpse into the realities of the college experience when government teacher Laurie Chetelat invited 11 recent graduates back to share their experiences.
The 11 graduates returned to SDHS from a host of schools, including Salisbury University, Arizona State, Towson University and Princeton University. Some are recent college students while others have been in continued education for several years. They answered questions about everything from securing scholarships to how to deal with homesick issues.
Staying mentally healthy and happy is crucial to doing well after high school, according to Claire Cooper, an Animal and Food Science major at the University of Delaware.
“You should never be ashamed of wanting to go and get help, never be ashamed of wanting to go and talk to somebody, and if your friends make you feel like you should be then they’re not your real friends,” she said.
Michelle Ott, a Secondary Education Math major from UMBC and Salisbury University, agreed. She told SDHS students that there should be no stigma attached to seeing a counselor in college. The experience is “very cleansing” and helps deal with things like homesickness, loneliness or just being overwhelmed by the change from a high school to a college workload.
That transition can be a nasty surprise for a lot of incoming college freshman, said Ali Justice, a Communication Arts major from Catawba University pursuing a Masters in Mass Communications from University of Florida. For student athletes like herself, the overload can be even easier.
“Being a student athlete, they always preach life in balance … don’t overwhelm yourself,” said Justice. “You want to challenge yourself but don’t overwhelm yourself and set yourself up to fail.”
Taking AP classes in high school can skim off some of that initial burden freshman year. Most of the 11-person panel recommended enrolling in between two and three AP courses per semester, though participation in things like sports and clubs might make it tough to keep up too many courses.
“I would say to try to take as much AP as possible because even though you choose a major you’re going to have to take [general education course] in all of your classes,” said Brooke Harman, an Elementary Education major at Salisbury University.
The resources are available at Decatur to lay the groundwork needed for success in any school, according to Bonnie Eisenman, a Computer Science Major at Princeton University. Though initially intimidated by a perceived lack of “cultural knowledge,” Eisenman had the tools she needed to keep up with even that school’s infamously high expectations.
“I think Decatur gave me a really solid foundation and I caught up really quickly,” she said.
Most of the panel agreed that just picking the right school and getting finances in order can be half of the stress. When choosing a college, Tim Li, a Computer Science major at Arizona State, recommended going off the beaten path.
“It’s the local knowledge that you want to seek out,” he told Chetelat’s class. “You don’t just want to listen to what the university wants to tell you. It’s very different.”
Eisenman also suggested relying less on the tour guides provided by universities and more on the students you encounter there on visits.
“If you just ask random people, you’ll get some interesting answers,” she said. “And don’t trust the answers the tour guides give you because at a lot of schools they’re required to give certain answers even though they may also be students.”
Even if a graduate can find the perfect school, cost may play a hand.
“There’s no such thing as a free ride,” said Justice. “You always have to pay for something whether it’s books, fees, rent; there is no such thing.”
Justice added that “there’s no scholarship too small” and that students need to go after everything they have even a remote chance of getting including athletics and academics. It’s up to them to be proactive, she said.
“So they have to do their homework?” asked Chetelat. “These guys can’t just expect someone to come knocking on their door?”
If you want scholarships or support, you have to be the one to make it happen, said Eisenman. The same goes for securing internships during and after college.
“They don’t publicize them that heavily but if you go looking for them — Google, Facebook, Microsoft — they all have these kinds of things,” she said.
Approaching everything with an open mind is key, noted Justice. While everyone will be “humbled in college,” it’s something that can be prepared for and overcome.
Strong communication helps, said Li, and maintaining a lifeline to family and friends via phone, Skype or weekend visits goes a long way.
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