Pre-College Worries

Hello and welcome back. This past Monday with my class I went to Orange High School for our first workshop with the sophomore AVID class. We will be going back periodically over the term. The workshop included introductions, ice breakers, and most importantly, what questions the students have about college. We will be resources for them to ask any and all questions they have about college. We want to address their concerns. Personally, I am very excited to continue with these workshops!

Before my first semester of college, I was facing a lot of unknowns. Sure, it helped that my sister had already gone through the college application process. However, we went in different directions after high school so I still had a lot of new paths to navigate. I guess my biggest fear was that I would not like the college I ended up choosing. Basically, I did not want to make the wrong choice. This was the biggest choice I had to make up until that point so there was a lot of pressure riding on that decision. I did a LOT of research on the colleges I applied to, comparing and contrasting them. I talked with my parents and friends about advice and how/what to choose. I visited some campuses. I asked endless questions. All that hard work helped me decide. I am glad to say that I made the right choice!

Some other worries that I was facing earlier on in the process were if I should stay in California or not; what I should major in (I’m majoring in psychology); how I would adjust to living away from everyone I know (it has been rough); how I would make friends in a new environment (I’m happy to say I was successful in that). I faced all these concerns with help from my family, friends, and advisors. I also did a lot of research (as I said before).

As I mentioned in my introduction paragraph, we talked with the students from Orange High School about what questions they have about college. Our AVID student had two questions: how do student loans work, and how do you choose if you want to go out-of-state or stay nearby. I had similar concerns when I was in high school. Price and location were huge factors in my decision of where to attend university. I hope that we are able to give the AVID students good advice they can use as they navigate the new and intimidating world of college applications.

Let me know what kind of worries and questions you had before starting college. Were you worried about your roommates? The food? Living away from your family and friends? How did that all turn out? Comment below 🙂

Clarissa