High School and Personal Challenges Essay

Submitted By xxatl26xx
Words: 882
Pages: 4

College Challenges

The transition to college is an exciting, new experience for most students. It is also filled with personal challenges that make the experience unique for each individual.
Some students may find challenges in the new environment such as dealing with a larger campus, issues in commuting, balancing school with a part time job or even with campus food. Other students may have no trouble with these items but find challenges in the work load. These challenges may include time management issues, increased difficulty of school work, loss of a support system from their previous school, or even making new friends and meeting new people. While each student’s challenges and experiences differ, the one thing all students have in common is that there are challenges. How well they handle these obstacles will determine their success in college and in life.

One common struggle among college students is time management. Even though there is less time spent actually in the classroom, there is a greater work load per class. In college, twelve credits are needed to be considered a “full time” student. Personally, I am a full time student at Bergen Community College. The average time spent in the classroom by college students is onlyin class incollege m, there is a greater work load per class. about twelve to eighteen hours. In high school and other secondary schools, the average time spent in the classroom is thirty two to thirty five hours. While the time spent in the classroom in college is only about half the time spent in high school, the amount of work that needs to be done outside of the classroom is much greater. The suggested study time ratio is two hours of study time to every hour spent in class. The challenge many students have is dedicating time outside of the classroom to school work and resisting the urge to fill up that time with their social life and a part time job. In James A. Perry’s article “First Things First:
Prioritizing and Time Management”, he states “The ‘perfect’ student probably works, physically, as much as he tries to study”. Just as Erica had said before, there is a perfect balance between work and play, and that is the secret to a perfect week or even semester.
Perry continues by saying “Consequently, students do not concentrate well when their bodies are tired- no one does”. This statement is completely true. With the work load and a job, sometimes the only time for homework are the quiet hours of the night. Some of these students have work late and school early so there isn’t much time for sleep. This can take a huge toll on the student and their success level in college. I admit that I am terrible at time management. I am a full time student; I have two part time jobs and a boyfriend. I find it difficult to find time for everything. I wish there were more hours in the day. I feel this way because not everything has an exact stop and go time and it is so hard to estimate how long each task realistically will take.

Students, as well as myself face the biggest challenge of procrastination. Leaving assignments to the last possible minute is one of my issues. But I believe I am in the majority of the student population on this. In college, there is more time given for each project and students are expected